The French

Here are something interesting things I've learned about french culture that I'd like to share with you, in case you didn't know:

1) They do not like to show people around their house. The family I'm staying with has a HUGE house-and I didn't get to see any of it! They only showed me the room in which I'm staying. They didn't even show me the garden in the back, or say anything about it. It really is a beautiful house though and I'm so happy to be living here and in this nice neighborhood. My family did have me for lunch though, so then they took me into the dining room and I saw more of the house, but it is not in their nature to give you a "tour" of their home, so to speak.

2) In public they do not smile or even make eye contact with other people very often...they tend to look very serious and caught up in their own thoughts, and smiling can mean that you are interested in somebody, so people have told us not to do it!

3) They have different ideas about stores...most stores are closed on Sundays, and also a lot on Mondays, and there is no such thing as a store that is open 24/7. You won't find a place like Walgreens where you can get medication anytime you need it, you just have to wait until the next day.

4) I've also noticed that when I go to the grocery store people don't bag my groceries...haha. I noticed this because I used to work at a Pick n Save. You are expected to bring your own bags and bag your own groceries.

The culture is different over here, but not difficult to get used to. The only difficult thing, in my opinion, is speaking French(I'm still learning), especially since native speakers are going to talk really fast and with the accent it's hard to pick up on what they're saying.

I'll keep you guys updated with other interesting things I observe!