So I have two finals and two papers down, three finals to go! My poli sci exams today were easy but tomorrow's French grammar and history should be harder.
Some cultural differences to reflect on...
--in France they don't preserve food. At all. Leftovers get left out on the counter or on the stovetop, sometimes in the refrigerator, but without a covering. I think this is due to the freshness of most food here. They don't like to eat preserved things. Food here is much fresher and less artificial, even when Megan and I buy frozen meals at the grocery store they can only be frozen for 3 days.
--although we were told at IES that the French are very private about their homes and their personal spaces, and that guests are rarely invited over, this does not extend to the significant others of children. French teenagers start having sleepovers with significant others at the age of about 16, and it becomes very frequent after that. Megan and I have noticed that our host brother's girlfriend is here a lot, but we figured it was just our family. A girl at IES who has a French boyfriend apparently shared that his mother told her it's very normal in France. Our host brother's girlfriend does everything from shower to do laundry here. Interesting, no?
--bathrooms. The toilet is in a separate room from the shower and sinks. And the showers have handheld shower heads but no hook on top so you have to hold them.
--customer service=NONEXISTENT. example: Megan and I waited for an hour in the post office today.
--smoking breaks...the staff at IES is never there because they are always outside smoking.
--PDA. All I'll say about that...
--Christmas decorations are much more prevalent which is fun!
--possibly more hatred of Arabs than in the US.
That's all I have for now. But this is technically part of my studying for my French exam! (our essay is on cultural differences) Check out new Picasa pics!
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