Okay, so I've failed. I am leaving France in less than 3 weeks and I haven't posted in over 8 months. But I have a entry I wrote back in November and never posted. And I hereby vow to do some recap of the year's highlights before I leave French soil. Then starts the real adventure as I readjust to life back in the US.

So here is the second and final installation in my long-running series of "10 Things about France"...

10 things about France - 2nd Set

1- Style - So there is no single, French style that I can pick out. I'm trying to figure out what makes the French so infamous for their fashion and style. And I don't mean the haute couture, but just the everyday French. There isn't anything obvious. You could take some American women and some French women in a line up and not necessarily see a huge difference. But on the overall, I'd say it's a more put together thing. Whether they're going for a classic look, hip hop, bohemian, etc. They just look put-together. And that’s another thing; there are so many different styles. I’ve seen some rather interesting looks. The secret seems just to wear it with confidence.

2-Flavors - It seems that the French like tropical flavors and fruit flavors like apricot and peach. The gum here is more often flavored with tropical fruit and even though Coca-Cola (Coca) is popular, the majority of soft drinks have a fruity, usually citrusy/tropical flavor. They also put black licorice (or anise) into their gum. Uck!

3- Toilets- I've mentioned this one to several people, but it's worth repeating. There is a vast difference between the many different toilets available in France. Most are similar to American toilets with the only difference being a button (or two) rather than a handle to flush. However you'll also find turkish toilets or public toilets that occupy a single room and wash themselves after you leave.
My best example of this difference was on a trip to Paris. On the way there we stopped at a gas station and used the facilities. Turkish toilets (basically rectangle basins in the ground with marks for where your feet should go). There was running water, but no soap (thank goodness for Purell!). Later I used a bathroom in Paris itself, the entry took you below ground so I expected something of a metro cleanliness. Instead I walked into what looked like a hotel lobby with plants and decorations and a welcoming attendant who took our 'tip.' Each bathroom was in its own little room with toilet, sink, soap and mirror. Best 40 centimes I ever spent.

4- Smoking - Smoking is a common stereotype associated with France. But within the last decade the French government has worked to educate the population about the hazards of smoking as well as ban smoking in public buildings. Your stereotypical Frenchman might smoke, but he's not going to do it in a stereotypical café. I felt that younger generations were probably like the United States, there are smokers, but most realize it's an unhealthy habit with lasting damage. If kids are going to smoke, they have to do so furtively. Imagine my surprise when waiting for the bus at the high school where I teach, the 3 or 4 students waiting with me all had their cigarettes going. I also see parents walking out with their child in a stroller and smoke coming up from their cigarette.

5- Smells- On this subject, France is truly a land of contradictions. You have the smells of marvelous food-- of bakeries and patisseries that just make your mouth water. It's the country of perfume and you'll get pleasant whiffs of perfume or cologne as you pass well-dressed French people walking down the street. On the other hand, you'll also experience very strong odors, some so unpleasant you can't identify them or wouldn't want to even if you could. These are often in places where dogs (or maybe humans) have decided to do some marking.
Not everyone likes perfume (or bathing) as much as I do. The person on the bus next to you may smell like Chanel no. 5 or she or he (usually he) may smell like he's been exercising all day in a shirt that hasn't been washed for weeks. One day I stepped on the tram to be greeted by a very unpleasant very overpowering odor. The doors closed behind me and there was no escape. There have been unpleasant odors on the bus or tram, but this was nauseatingly strong. Thank goodness the trams run every 7 minutes or so, because I got off at the next stop and waited for another tram.

6- Nom / prenom - This is more a language thing than a cultural thing. Basically name = nom. In the states you tend to give your full name (at least first and last) starting with your first name. Or someone will specifically ask for your last name. In France it's the last name followed by your first. I can't tell you the number of times someone has asked me for my "nom" and I responded incorrectly with my first name.

7- Waiting on bureaucracy - To get paid you need a bank account, to get a bank account you need housing, to get housing you'll need proof of salary. And so it goes. Compared with the horror stories I've heard (assistants running around for weeks trying to straighten everything out), I've been very lucky. I'm staying at a Foyer that is used to students, visitors and assistants. I got my bank account open without a problem and I'm just waiting for my card to buy a phone so I have a number to put on my documents to immigration. [Update – I’ve still been relatively lucky, but I’ve had my own share of problems. The bank card was not enough to buy a phone card; I needed a carte de sejour. Never mind that France stopped issuing cartes de sejour so I will never receive one. Luckily, that too is settled. I’ve done the medical visit yet there still seem to be administrative things to settle.]

8- Bureaucracy (continued)—It’s not just the waiting that gets to you. It’s also the lack of consistency. You can go to the same office, sometimes talk with the same person and receive a different answer. At the SEMTAO office (public transportation) some assistants were able to easily get a student card while others were not. Even at the foyer, I’ll receive completely different answers depending on who I ask.

9- Redheads (or lack thereof)- You see a lot of color in France. There's the typical pale color of western Europeans, the tan, leathery look caused by life near in the Mediterranean; immigrants from Europe, Africa, Asia, India, and the Middle East all help to create a very thorough mix. But one thing I don't see is redheads. Looking around I've seen every shade of blond, brown and black but only once have a seen a redhead. Maybe they're all up north in the Celtic/Norman areas. Or maybe they were chased out at one time or another. I can only imagine that Sami, with her tall stature and cropped red hair will have an even more extreme experience in Chile. [Update, I have seen more redheads throughout the year, but they are still a rarity]

10- Accent- For the longest time, my goals was to work on my pronunciation and have such a good French accent that it wouldn’t be obvious that I wasn’t French. Oh, naiveté. If I had really thought about it, I would’ve realized that people I know from other countries who have lived in the States for many years, still have a noticeable accent. It is something that I will never lose. But now, I am grateful for it. Sometimes, it’s frustrating when people changed automatically to English or when shady characters hear my American accent and follow me down the street and try to speak to me with the 10 English words they know. However, in dealing with administration or shop-keepers, I often feel I get a bit of a break. They see I’m making an effort, they understand my vocabulary and they realize I’m not French so I might not now all the rules and procedures. Plus, I’ve heard that French guys find American accents attractive ;)