Hello everyone! YES, I'm alive and happy & I've finally found some time to write a post. This last month has flown by so quickly and every day was filled with either fun, stress, or relaxation. Leaving no space so far that I could justify dedicating to my blog. Have no fear though, you'll get the full scoop soon!
I've been in Europe for 32 days now and I have so much to catch you up on, but for now let me just tell you about my first weekend alone in France . . . PART I
Friday
My roommate, Violette, invited two friends over on Friday night, Cecile and Elise. Elise is Ivoire's proud mother. These are two of Violette's friends that she knew in high school. They were very nice. All four of us sat at the table, some of us sipping wine and others beer, just catching up. Of course I wasn't do any catching up. I was doing what I usually do with new people.
When I'm meeting new people, I am always doing one of two things: {ONE} Desperately trying to follow the conversation or {TWO} explaining everything there is to know about me and Americans in general. By their request of course.
In regards to number one, when people speak directly to me they slow their speech a little and simplify their vocabulary. They usually don't adjust too much for me, but they try to avoid using expressions or slang that I wouldn't understand. However, when French people speak to each other, I am often completely lost. They speak so quickly and use familiar language (especially young people) and I struggle to follow along.
Friday night was really great practice for my French overall. After sitting with the two girls for a while, three more came knocking at the door (or buzzing since we have to buzz people into the building before they can get to our door). Soon after another came around. By the end of it, I was listening to seven French kids (college age) talk back and forth at the speed of light all while French music was blasting from the speakers just behind the table.
After a while I noticed I was actually understanding people and following their conversations. When people yelled to me over the music and other voices, I was actually able to pick out what they said and respond. Imagine it for yourself: Think about how hard it is sometimes to talk with people at a party with music blasting and everyone around you talking. You're often yelling back "Huh?! What? Can you repeat that?" Now switch the language and you've got a real challenge on your hands.
We discussed a lot of things over the course of the night. Particular differences between America and France. I remember someone asking if college kids hung out the same way as were we doing. Sometimes we think that a country all the way across the ocean is going to be so different, but I honestly forgot I was in France for a little bit. Sometimes everything just feels so normal.
 |
| Smoking Kills {Credit} |
We did have a lengthy conversation about smoking. At times it feels as if everyone is smoking in France (we felt the same way in Germany). They told me that most people start smoking in their teens and it's generally accepted. They said that when they meet someone (their age) who doesn't smoke that they are genuinely shocked for a minute. An interesting thought for me since I'm usually more shocked when I find out someone smokes. There's a difference for ya!
A lot of people roll their own cigarettes here because it's cheaper than buying pack after pack. I haven't seen many people in the U.S. rolling their cigarettes themselves. According to Violette's friends, a pack of cigarettes usually costs them 7€ [~$8]. They then asked me how much a pack usually costs in the U.S. and I realize now that I didn't give them the best answer. After a quick Google search I see that this isn't the most shocking price and that some states have higher, but in North Carolina I'm not used to seeing a pack of cigarettes cost eight bucks. Then again, I don't smoke now & have never smoked so how could I be sure?
It's an interesting topic though. The perception is that the French smoke more than we do in America, but after researching a little bit, multiple sources had numbers showing more cigarettes smoked in America than in France. Here's what I think clouds our perception of how many people smoke: in America we highly enforce where people are allowed to smoke while France doesn't enforce it as much. You will almost never see people smoking in restaurants, stores, very populated areas, etc in the states. We have dedicated zones and no smoking signs left and right. When people come to France they see people smoking almost everywhere and that can lead them to think more people smoke because they simply see more of it!
The other shocking point which has statistics to back it: the percentage of young smokers in France is much higher than the U.S. In fact, France has the highest percentage of young smokers in all of Europe. Hence the conversation with Violette's friends when they told me that they're shocked when they see someone not smoking. They're used to everyone their age smoking. And boy do they smoke a lot. For the few hours they were at the apartment, there was never a time where a cigarette wasn't lit. As two people would finish their cigarettes, two more would be lighting up their next. I've never been in an atmosphere before of people just taking one after another as they did their bottles of beer. Also because at home people usually step outside to smoke a cigarette and they don't want to be away from the party for that long! Haha.
This became a post almost completely about smoking, but of course we had a lot of really funny and interesting conversations about everything under the sun.
It's an interesting topic though. The perception is that the French smoke more than we do in America, but after researching a little bit, multiple sources had numbers showing more cigarettes smoked in America than in France. Here's what I think clouds our perception of how many people smoke: in America we highly enforce where people are allowed to smoke while France doesn't enforce it as much. You will almost never see people smoking in restaurants, stores, very populated areas, etc in the states. We have dedicated zones and no smoking signs left and right. When people come to France they see people smoking almost everywhere and that can lead them to think more people smoke because they simply see more of it!
The other shocking point which has statistics to back it: the percentage of young smokers in France is much higher than the U.S. In fact, France has the highest percentage of young smokers in all of Europe. Hence the conversation with Violette's friends when they told me that they're shocked when they see someone not smoking. They're used to everyone their age smoking. And boy do they smoke a lot. For the few hours they were at the apartment, there was never a time where a cigarette wasn't lit. As two people would finish their cigarettes, two more would be lighting up their next. I've never been in an atmosphere before of people just taking one after another as they did their bottles of beer. Also because at home people usually step outside to smoke a cigarette and they don't want to be away from the party for that long! Haha.
This became a post almost completely about smoking, but of course we had a lot of really funny and interesting conversations about everything under the sun.
Fun Facts about the night:
- It was exhausting trying to listen to & speak French all night long .
- The music was a good mixture of American & French, sometimes both at the same time.
- At the beginning the girls shared a Pizza au Chèvre which is a popular choice in France.
- Whenever I zoned out from it all, I would just leaned over & start petting Ivoire.
- I spoke English with him because he's an English Bulldog, so obviously he understood me.
- I met someone who knows another English assistant living in Amiens!
- I got to hear my roommate speak some English for the first time, she was good at it!
- Cecile might lend me her old acoustic guitar to use while I'm in France!
- I got to try three different kinds of wine, drinking wine is still new to me.
- We had the living room window open all night to disperse the smoke, so we were all freezing and sitting in our coats and scarves. It was just like being outside after a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment