USA v. France

While back in the US (more on that in a later post), I often got asked these two questions:

~Did you have culture shock coming back to the US?
~What are the biggest differences between life in France and life in the US?

And so, here is my attempt to answer.

First off, yes, I definitely had culture shock for the first 2-3 days upon returning to the US.  The things that threw me for the biggest loop were:


*Language*
I know this sounds silly because I'm definitely not fluent in French, but it was strange to suddenly hear English everywhere again.  (Except maybe in Houston where you hear Spanish just as much as English now.)  So wait, you mean I can actually understand every little conversation around me, which means I can eavesdrop again?  Amazing! I also found myself using French words quite often--merci and pardon especially.

*Restaurants*
Ah yes, it took me several times of eating out to fully remember how fast and early Americans eat.  I've grown used to eating dinner between 7-8pm every night, even when I cook dinner at home, so getting back to the 5:30 schedule, was a bit strange.  I don't think I fully appreciated the length of a French meal until this trip back.  In America, we literally order, wait maaaaybe 15 minutes for food, eat, and pay the bill, which has been set at the table while we are eating.  This is one thing were the French really have right, I think!

*Cost*
Ohhhh yes, everything is so CHEAP in the US.  Going out to dinner, while it may be fast, is so much cheaper than France.  In fact, really everything is cheaper, as you can see by how much we bought while in Houston  (there's more not pictured here).  I always said I wouldn't be someone who brought suitcases of things back from the US, but obviously I am.  In my defense though, it's mostly clothes or things that cost exorbitant amounts in France (like contact solution at $20 a bottle), rather than American food I just can't live without.

*Shopping*
By this I mean how large every store is.  The first time I ran to the grocery store for my mom just to pick a few things, I literally sat in the baking aisle for a good 5 minutes just scanning all the choices of things.  It was a little overwhelming...I'm used to only 3 choices max for each food now!  I also got a few strange looks when I emptied everything out of my basket onto the belt, instead of putting the basket on the belt.  I guess you get used to things! :)

*Driving*
Actually, this was something I thought would be very weird coming back to, as I haven't really driven at all in the last year (minus stick driving lessons, and I feel like those don't really count, having ended in tears!)  But for me, it really took no time at all to feel right at home driving again.  Nick, though, says that for the first few days, his foot kept searching for the clutch.

After just a few days, everything seemed pretty normal again, and we had a great trip back to the US.  I was glad to come back to Paris, especially to the walking.  That's definitely something I missed about France; there's just something about walking everywhere instead of the stress of driving.