12 Things French People DON'T Understand (Anglo-Saxon culture that makes them say WTF?!)

[@florianandre6891]

What I have found strange in Anglo-saxon countries is friendship between men and women. In France, it’s totally normal to have friends from the other gender, study, eat, go to a party, share a flat with him/her without implied romantic feelings. In Anglo-saxon countries, genders seem to be more separated ^^"

[@jessa5388]

I think it depends where you live and your circle of friends. I'm an American woman and I've had many male friends and roommates. We used to go to dinner after work because that's when we had free time. That's normal among my friends but I know some women would never go out to dinner with a man unless they're dating or related.

[@atengku9660]

@@jessa5388 No. It's still a problem. Gf/bf will become uneasy if their partner has friends of opposite gender.

[@gbosqueh]

I'm from Brazil and think the same about anglosaxon culture. Even boys and girls schools... I thought that was something left behind. Boys and girls could be friends but they'll walk in different groups

[@jenniferpearce1052]

@@jessa5388 I agree with you! I've had dinner 1:1 with a friend's bf (she knew) because we were also friends! It wasn't romantic, just friends! Totally ok.

[@evelynbaron8357]

@@atengku9660 Could be age related? I went to an all girl school and at university I had lots of guy friends, one or two of whom years later I am still close to and the only guy I dated who objected was also, to me, pathologically jealous so he didn't last long. Depends on what you accept or not; I couldn't imagine someone dictating my friendships.

[@littlelucie21]

I am a 31 year old French woman but I have grown up abroad and mostly attended American schools. My goodness you have nailed everything... everything!!! Great video

[@cathjj840]

@uta gordon This year (2022) it's really catching on a lot more. Paris is really not made weeks at over 32° (85F?) several times over summer, with many days well over that, too.

[@slendersicecream]

When I was studying in the US I found it very weird as a French person to see students coming to class wearing gym clothes or other very casual clothes. I was actually told that I looked “French” because of the way I dressed to come to class, for example wearing a skirt with tights (what would have been super common I France). No judgement here of course, just it surprised me

[@dreamdisturber]

Some of them take it to the extreme. I do wish that Americans’s would fix themselves up a bit more.

[@jmb1101]

My daughter's elementary school (K-6th grade) had an exchange program with a french school. The girls were all so impressed with the french boys because they wore nice sweaters and scarves! US boys in that age range (and most girls) don't ever "dress up."

[@dreamdisturber]

@@jmb1101 The French do love their scarves.

[@sarahmichie4382]

I find it baffling - from our European eyes it appears messy and disrespectful, but it's totally normal there. Even us Brits think they're dressed down :)

[@jmb1101]

@@sarahmichie4382 I am an American and while we are all a bit on the casual side, teens are the worst. Many grow out of that messy stage. My daughter is in it now and it makes me crazy! I also think it depends on where you live in the US. Yes, most wear athletic wear, but in the cities and around cities, we are definitely more put together. I think our weight problem may also play a roll in the horrible clothing choices.

[@maryokeefe5351]

I admire the way the French educate their children about good eating habits. The Italians do this as well, a hot lunch provided at school, etc. Interesting point about lunchboxes and inequality, I never had thought about that. I enjoy your channel.

[@joanlynch5271]

It also forces you to be social during lunch time.

[@anastasia10017]

I worked in a daycare center for a bit where the parents had to provide a packed lunch for their kids. What I saw wasn't so much "inequality" as a HUGE difference in parental care. There would be one kid with a home made lunch, another with a vegetarian "health" conscious lunch all tofu, brown rice, cashews and kale , and then there would be the little kid whose parent couldnt be bothered and would just drop a bag from McDonald's on the table and leave. It wasn't a matter of money or social class, it was a matter of giving a damn about your kid.

[@briegleruyet4139]

@@anastasia10017 ...and educational apparence. Sorry. And sorry, but if you say that for high/mid class school, it could be real...but in less uniform school...it makes difference. Then I don't think that vegan menu IS good Idea for kids growing UP, neither tofu in high quantity. And how much cost Kale???? I love lunch box as bento for example...but to be clear it's too much Time for active parents.

[@briegleruyet4139]

@@NotEvenFrench for canteen, it's not the case for everybody. Many kids go home for lunch. Lunch boxes are more regular at work, even if there's some social rights about lunch and hygienic habits or equipment for lunch, that's why there are canteens. And last thing: even if it's better now, canteens in school are awful and disgusting. It's really hard to create tasty meals in collective restauration and rules.

[@sharondavid-melly1498]

In America we let a large part of our child population starve. Shameful

[@petrieberries]

Primary school in Norway we dedicated 1 day a week just hanging around in the forest with a fire and cook different foods on the fire. Two of the moms would always pack into their kid’s lunch box a sweet bread you were supposed to take a tiny bit and wrap around a stick and grill and it was soooo nice. Sometimes we were instructed to build a shelter out of logs and branches and first aid stuff but mostly we just played and wandered around unsupervised.

[@anaisrebella8568]

I’m French living in New Zealand. One thing I would add to the list is actually a pet peeve of mine. How people do the dishes here. Basically most people here fill up the sink, throw some dish washing soap in it and lightly scrub the dishes with a brush and pull out the dishes out of that dirty bubbly greasy water and put them on the drying rack without rinsing them, only to be forgotten until they need the item again. The dishes are actually not thoroughly clean and you can even taste the dish washing soap in your next glass of water. I often re wash the things I’m going to use because of that. Growing up I was taught that the brush is used to scrub the main crumbs/stubborn sticky stuff, then you use a non abrasive sponge with a drop of dish washing soap on it to carefully scrub all the surfaces of the dishes. Then you rinse everything with clean water. And only then you can put the dishes on the rack to let them loose most of the moisture, but when you are done, you use a kitchen towel (a separate one than you would use to dry your hands!) to dry everything and put everything away. You don’t really see crowded drying racks in French home, you just put everything away so the dishes don’t catch dust. Another thing I find what the f* in New Zealand is the idea of home insulation. Here ( Wellington) in most homes you find that insulation is "achieved" with carpet everywhere and heavy curtains on the windows. Most homes, even newer ones, don’t have double glazed windows and the only source of heating is an electric heat pump that consumes A LOT of power, adding a tasty power bill in winter on top of already stupidly high rent. Not to mention that those heavy curtains trap the condensation on the windows and create mould;floor carpets catch all the dust and are so hard to be kept hygienic. I was blown away to find out that this is actually normal. In comparison, in France most houses/building have at least double glazed windows and central heating. That way you don’t actually see your breath fog up and keep warm in winter without having to live in your pile of blankets. And you would almost never find carpet flooring. You would get linoleum/tiles/wood that are easy to sweep/vacuum/mop. That said, I absolutely adore living in Wellington and I can’t imagine ever go back to France. You made so many good points in your list that actually reminded me how I love the freedom of not being constantly judged here compared to France. Because most points get back to this: French people tend to be really judgmental and harsh on each other’s. I love how I can express all my little joys, and how people get excited with me for them too. I love how I can go out and about in my comfies if I feel like it and no one will ever judge me for it. Or the other way around, I love that I can dress how sexy I want and not be judged or hassled. I would trade my strict primary school education for the joyful claps anytime and I’m happy that if I have kids one day they will experience the New Zealand way rather than the French way. I was so shy and awkward when I was a kid and I felt judged/bullied/not understood, not only from the other kids but also from the teachers. Which just made my school days a nightmare. The strict eating habits that we are educated with are good and bad. I was feeling extremely guilty every time I would eat something outside the hours, and I ended up with eating disorder. I love that here no one will ever judge you for what and when you eat. You can never possibly know what a person is going through, therefore you can not be the person to judge them. I love you New Zealand.

[@anastasia10017]

that dishwashing craziness ? it's the same in Britain and i would guess the british brought it to NZ and Australia. drives me nuts. It is totally an English thing and they have been doing it forever. if you point it out to a brit , they look at you as if you are the crazy one. it's not the just the french that dont get it. NOBODY gets it except the brits.

[@davehart2094]

Not how we wash dishes in my house im from America tho and blk smh at rhe dish washing lol

[@jenniferpearce1052]

I wash my dishes the way you do, except I don't wipe them. I let them air dry and put them away the next time.

[@zeryphex]

@Anaïs Rebella I am a natural-born American. Thank you for giving us your personal insight into France and its way-of-life (in English). I'm sure French people talk about the difficulties, all the time ... but in French. I believe I also read that the Québécois also have a different culture than native French people.

[@anaisrebella8568]

@@jenniferpearce1052 🙌🏻 glad to hear some people do it the more hygienic way.

[@chrisl.423]

It's illegal for minors under 16 years old to work. Most teenagers in high school would babysit, petsit, wash cars, help in the garden to have money on the side. Between 16 and 18, you can work, but it's highly regulated so employers would tend to not hire minors. However, after 18 years old, lots, lots, lots of students are working part-time jobs, in fast-foods or similar jobs because it has flexible hours.

[@RemyCW]

Don't forget that hollidays are verry long. Summer hollidays between July and August, are often used to have a summer job (in July) to pay hollidays in August. In Ingeneer schools or commercial schools, proportion of upper midle class and upper is verry high. There is not too much need for job as family provide everything. At University, the main cost is house. A small appartment neer university could cost nearly half a full time job. You need monney. And for less rich families, there is no other solution than working as much as possible and fidding a deal between Courses - Learning and working. And keep a little time for pleasure.

[@amelieguillaud7665]

Yes it's not because French children are lazy, it's just that it's very difficult to find a job before 18

[@jilliandreams]

In the US it’s common to work “under-the-table” at a young age. I started landscaping at 13 as my first job.

[@RemyCW]

@@jilliandreams Your expression "Under the table" is so strange ! As a french, I hear only the litteral meaning. Is it for job in the house, including garden of course or is it only the size of the children ?

[@RemyCW]

@@jazmine9570 @Jillian Dreams Ok. It seems to be similar to the french expression "Dessous-de-table" wich means "money not known from taxe administration". But generaly, it's more connected to corruption. The equivalent for "Under the table" in our context here is "black" or "au noir" (in french the two expressions are used)

[@attrapehareng]

Intuitive eating is individualistic. We're social! That's why we all eat at special times, it's to eat together. Intuitive eating means eating alone and we don't want that.

[@reinana8441]

I remember preferring not to eat at all in high-school or feeling deeply depressed if I was eating alone in the cantine. So yes I think eating alone is not common in France or we will think of you as a loner

[@boxonothing4087]

@@NotEvenFrench There's a point here. Having lunch is a social activity for many. You're not only having lunch at the same time as the people around you, you're having lunch WITH them. Meals don't really stop conversations, that's also one of the reasons why they can go on for so long. Eating and having a meal aren't the same thing, one you're doing alone, ther other you're doing with people. If that makes any sense to you, that's a sign you're undoubtedly frenchified.

[@marinebretaudeau]

@@NotEvenFrench I get the point but partly disagree, I am a French girl and always eat on my own, and some of my friends do the same.. I do practice intuitive eating btw, I love and need to pay attention to the food I'm giving to my body :)

[@a.l.7337]

@@reinana8441 and what's wrong with that?

[@reinana8441]

@@a.l.7337 there is no right or wrong with that. It's just a feeling

[@jbyoungfr]

C'était très intéressant! Ça fait plaisir de voir que vous parlez réellement de ce qui se passe en France et non pas des clichés lourdingues et très caricaturaux (et parfois faux) qu'ont de nombreux étrangers sur nous. J'aime beaucoup découvrir ce que pensent les étrangers de nous. Ce que vous dîtes sur ce qui choque les étrangers sur la France (par exemple le système de santé, les études ou la cantine) moi à l'inverse ça me choque que ça ne soit pas comme ça aussi ailleurs, ça nous paraît tellement normal ici que tout le monde puisse se faire soigner ou faire des études sans que ça ne coûte un bras.

[@sacrebbleu]

I'm French with an Aussie boyfriend - we live in London and go to a farmers market on Saturday which means that we generally have lunch at 2pm. Every week, WITHOUT FAIL, my dad will look surprise and say: 'You're eating now? It's a bit late for lunch' Skipping lunch and waiting for dinner would probably make more sense to him. Sorry dad, I was hungry at 2 🤷‍♀️

[@sacrebbleu]

😂😂

[@cynthiaarrowsmith5709]

Lol

[@helenedevys2498]

I'm french and I hate the fashion of super long fake fingernails, I think it's horrible so you're pretty right :D

[@juju_ladouce]

@@NotEvenFrench fake tan 🤮😂. If you're white you're white and if you're naturally tan it's good too. Why do you want to change that? And my question is: why using fake tan when you live in a sunny country? You have just to go outside lol (with solar cream of course)

[@Mehlia626]

@@juju_ladouce if you wear a proper sun block you won't become tan as it prevents sun damage. I wear sunblock and will apply a light sun tan so I don't look like I live in the antarctic but also have healthy skin.

[@ladysensei1487]

Maybe it depends on what part of the US you’re from but I actually feel like a lot of Americans don’t like the fake nails, Kardashian look. Many perceive this to be shallow or even unintelligent to dress that way. Some do like it but it tends to be younger girls like under 25. Obviously, there are exceptions.

[@Rachel-rs7jn]

I think there seems to be more of "we dress for other people to look at us" culture in France. I'm American, and I don't prefer the Kardashian look with the long nails either, but I also just don't care. If I don't like it, I don't do it. If others like it, let them do it. It doesn't affect my day, and I'm certainly not going to waste energy thinking about it. I'm obviously not saying Americans don't care at all about what other people think, or judge each other, but we definitely get dressed for ourselves first. That's why comfort is king.

[@JennyT101]

Many Americans hate this look too, and still find it pretty trashy.

[@msballet101]

Im from Ireland but I had a teacher from New Zealand in primary school and she did that exact clapping rhythm!!! I had completely forgotten about it but all the memories came flooding back as soon as you did it. I always thought it was just something she did but apparently not hahaha

[@Backsoon35]

America too we do that clapping rhythm, in every school basically

[@suzannecooper5323]

@@Backsoon35 What?? Where? Never in ANY of my school did experience this. I’m from the US and I’ve never heard of this rhythmic clapping. I went to both public and private schools at different times, and I started out in Montessori. The US is a big place. Maybe it’s regional?

[@Backsoon35]

@@suzannecooper5323 yea you have a point, but it’s probably not even a regional thing, but more of a “common thing”if you’ve heard it, and “foreign” if u haven’t. And also a thing of, some teachers do it, some don’t. But I can assure you basically everywhere, here and there teachers are clapping that clap.

[@PA-yp6rw]

I'm French and for me it is Paris football supporters rhythm ( you have to yell Paris at the two last claps)

[@maggiemae2585]

@@suzannecooper5323 My son had a teacher who did that clapping, and we're in Ohio. I didn't hear it growing up in Kentucky.

[@IM_AYKHARAAD]

I’m going to add something, but it’s more something that Europeans don’t understand about Americans and Canadians : the fact that taxes are not included in the price of a product in a store. So when you go to the checkout you pay more than what was indicated. The same is for the tips in Northern America in restaurants, because in France waiters are paid normally while in America, they need the tip.

[@712pin]

Just for explanation. In the US every single state, county, and even city might have different sales tax laws and “rates” so it would be impossible to have that price added up on the sticker. It doesn’t take long for you to become aware of this and mentally always know you will probably be paying tax in the neighborhood of 8% on items you buy. It becomes normal to mentally calculate that and also the 15% or so you will be tipping at a “sit down” restaurant. Meals in restaurants are generally cheaper, but the wait staff (often working for low wages) is paid additionally for their level of service, which is usually quite good.

[@Fridaholic]

Europeans use a VAT system of taxation. Americans do not (can't speak for Canadian system). That's the difference and why the total price isn't indicated until the register.

[@IM_AYKHARAAD]

@@712pin OK, thank you for these explanations. It’s interesting to see how different things work in different places in the world. In Europe (or at least in France), we are not used to pay more than what’s indicated. It’s like the price you see is the price you pay, because taxes are already included. So when you go to the checkout, there’s no “bad surprise” (in French we say “mauvaise surprise”), if you see what I mean. And even if every state, county or city has its own tax system, Europeans would say: “Yeah but why didn’t you write the real price? Whether taxes represent 8, 10, 15 or 50 % more, you can still advise people by rising the price in the store.” So yeah... it’s a bit confusing for Europeans. But anyway, yes we just have to get used to this and then it’s OK. About waiters in restaurants, in France waiters are already paid about 10 € (12 $) per hour anyway whereas I heard 1,5 or 2 $ in the US. So, in America (not just the US), waiters are paid for quantity and quality of service. In Europe, they are just... paid. 😂 We actually just pay for the food, I don’t have the impression the pay the waiter. Once you paid the dishes, you can leave. So yeah, Europeans don’t like to pay more than what’s indicated, and we aren’t used to this I-gotta-pay-10-percent-more mentality. 😂 Maybe more Europeans need to be aware of that. 😆🤷🏾‍♂️

[@79other]

Australia is the same. “Hidden costs”. The tax is always the same in that store, so why not put it on the label.

[@IM_AYKHARAAD]

@@79other Ha ha ! Thanks, I was just wondering if Australia had the same system like in Northern America. So, it’s kinda the same for New Zealand, isn’t it?

[@justasksally]

Literally watching this from my bathtub whilst eating cheese and a fruit roll up at 11 PM in shame. 🤣

[@carter7808]

You are my spirit animal lololololol

[@emilypresleysee]

Feel NO SHAME! Cheese is delicious and fruit roll ups are divine. Enjoy them at ANY time of day 👌❤️ (From a fellow late night, comfort food tub nosher.)

[@lunatuna79]

LOL why don’t I know you? This was the awesomest comment I’ve read in a while.

[@evelynbaron8357]

LOL

[@zeryphex]

@Sally ... "sarcastic shame" since I am sure that you could care less what regimented French people think about your eating habits. LOL

[@himeshan9835]

As an introvert in France, I would have liked to have a lunch box and eat wherever I wanted, instead of having to find a group of people to eat with at the cantine, only not to be alone :/

[@sweetxheart18x]

I went to a Catholic school in the US as soon as you are taught cursive handwriting from 1st grade to 8th grade we weren't allowed to use print handwriting. When I went to public high school I was shocked to discover that most public schools don't even bother teaching cursive to children, only a few knew cursive handwriting.

[@cathjj840]

Studies have found real advantages to cursive writing. First of all,you can go much faster. But it's also been found that taking notes in cursive leads to much more thorough retention of the subject at hand. Another plus would be being able to read old documents written that way. Some school systems that had abandoned it reintroduced it later.

[@donnawalker742]

In the sixties in the US, we were taught cursive in second grade and then , like you, expected to use it exclusively. Very sad that some schools have dropped it from their curriculum, it is so much faster and also better for learning.

[@Pazu84Vaucluse]

apparently things have changed a bit in france, we used to be reuqired to buy a fountain pen, but not anymore

[@TheSekretaare]

I'm from Latvia and there are no lunchboxes either. Meals cooked and provided by school's canteen.

[@TheSekretaare]

But having watched American TV many kids think lunchboxes are cool.

[@slendersicecream]

Very interesting video! As a French person I have to admit I agreed with pretty much everything you said! I personally never heard of the “not doing a sport because it’s risky” but it sounds like something French people could say honestly. Thanks for your good work!

[@simoneb4177]

As an American I've never heard about the too risky of a sport either, so it was interesting to hear. Perhaps it is the western region that I live in is why I haven't heard of it. Love your videos! 👍

[@scientistrue]

oui je l'ai entendu souvent en France. Faire du sport, c'est avant tout prendre le risque de se casser quelque chose.

[@nico_dudu913]

Yep pretty on point I am french but leaving abroad for the past 15 years and married to an Argentinian. Definitely food is the big difference with every culture. I was trained to eat at certain time of the day for french people eating healthy eating the right food veggies fruits is extremely important and we are taught from a young age by the cantine those rules. Also yes eating outside of eating hours is frowned upon. My wife definitely does not understand that from my culture as an Argentinian and it is just engraved in my brain that is what I believe and the lunch break at work at 12pm-1pm is a must for me I need a proper break and proper food and at least 40min to eat. Very french

[@anne12876]

Mon copain est aussi Argentin. J'ai toujours de la difficulté après 3 ans quand il me dit qu'il va revenir pour souper et qu'il rentre à la maison à 20h30-21h ou lorsqu'il commence à préparer le souper vers 20h. Ça fait déjà plus d'une heure que j'ai faim moi! Est-ce que vous avez les mêmes défis dans votre maisonnée?

[@nico_dudu913]

@@anne12876 olala oui pareil !!! cependant j'ai une femme très comprehensible cependant elle est végétarienne (un comble pour une argentine a mon sense!) mais elle c'est habituée a manger a heure fixe meme sinon elle sait que je perds patience

[@anne12876]

@@nico_dudu913 Ma belle-mère et ma belle-soeur sont veganes!

[@boxonothing4087]

About the "not getting excited about ordinary things" part. It's not that we don't get excited, but all the time and energy you spend telling everyone how great something is you don't spend enjoying it. Then there's also that cultural thing that despite sometimes lacking humility ourselves showboating is something we really don't like, and turning your emotions into a spectacle can easily be misconstrued in that way. It's not a no-go, it's merely something you don't do around people who don't know you that well because they can't tell if you're just putting on an act or being yourself. Appearances are still extremely important, and the way you behave matters just as much as the way you dress.

[@mamaahu]

I don’t understand this “putting on an act thing”. Is it something French people (sounds like young people) would do because they care so much about what other people think? It sounds like a subtle thing, but very self-conscious to temper your enthusiasm because someone else couldn’t relate. Wow! Definitely sort of a high school mentality in the US, what seems like a pre-occupation with imagining what others think of you. But being judgmental of others is frowned upon here and being openly critical is too. Definitely a cultural and values difference. Being authentic is pretty highly valued where I am in Northern California. Being phoney is not appreciated particularly.

[@drjekill8418]

As a french that just finished engineering school working part time at dominos, I'm shared between 2 points of view : yes part time is not that common but when you start working you notice you are not alone at all as a student working part time, just it's hard to find one, places are not unlimited and there is many asks (just in my shop that was more than 3CV per week)...To find one is huge work, especially without experienced! On another side, yes many people get help from the gouvernement as grants and that make things easier, even if, looking at last news about student misery, that's not enough... The point took apart, other points are quiete accurate and I learnt some stuff! :D Ps: sorry about mistakes, i fight against my corrector to wright in english ^^

[@mariebambelle7361]

For the air-conditionning, there is also this "green-idea" that we should not put energy in refreshing somewhere. If heat is unstandable to the point that we NEED air-conditionning, it means that we shouldn't live there. I know, we can tell the same thing with cold temperatures in winter but, you know, we are not always logical !

[@pasdenomdegroupe]

@KeaTiki it's not hard to open a window or close your curtains so the heat won't get in though.

[@euloizechamot7841]

In lycée i had classes until 6pm then a lot of homework, impossible to have a job too. I was only doing babysitting during weekends. But at the university, I had a part time job during the year (10 to 15 hours a week) and a full time job during summer break (who was almost 4 months). And I had a lot of friends who were doing the same.

[@lrcebuon722]

I am French and when I was in high school a long time ago, I had 40 hours of lessons per week , and homework to do... it may be the reason why they don’t take a job. But you’re right, it is not usual...

[@aci1970]

And also, enjoying their teenager years. Teen years are for studying and making friends, not working

[@laizer2323]

En vrai on a surtout les études bien moins cher ( pour les écoles publiques comme l'université, le lycée ) et pleins d'aide comme les bourses, APL et compagnie donc bon tu peux te dispenser de travailler contrairement aux US

[@Julie-go6oc]

I am American and had that much school work too but I still worked full time in high school. A forty hour work week.

[@lrcebuon722]

40 hours of school and about 15h of homework were enough for me ! I’m probably a little bit lazy!

[@pierren___]

Les 35 heures, c'est dès l'école primaire. De la folie quand jy pense

[@augiemusky]

Eye-opening video. I have not been to France, but have hosted , housed, and tutored French teens. This helps me understand why they often seemed baffled by our lifestyle.

[@charlota8493]

Hello ! Thank you for your nice video! I am French and I fully agree with you. I would add to the list: the concept of dating. Especially to have mutiple dates at the same time. I would say this maybe changes a little bit through dating apps. Usually, in France, either you are single or your have a boy / girl friend. There is no middle way. Once you start to kiss, you are almost automatically together. This dos not prevent to break up a short time after if this relationship does not work though. So if you kiss somebody else few days after you have kissed the first person, this is already cheating. This "I would like to become exclusive?" question is so blow minding for French. Of you course it is exclusive from the very first kiss!! So shocking! :D Do you agree ?

[@n.b.3521]

It was like that when I was in high school in Ontario, Canada in the 90s, but it seems things have changed. I get the impression that many young Ontarians now don't even really try to date in any form. It seems the age at which they have their first serious relationship (not to mention when they first start being sexually active) is older than it was during my generation.

[@sarahso5738]

Oh I can see myself in every points you mentioned ! Particularly the snacking part (why eat when you don't need to ? it feels so unhealthy) and the overly enthusiastic reactions 😂 My sister has an American friend she made while in University. And everytime I see her react to something I can't help but think "How American...".

[@pasdenomdegroupe]

And we kinda look bad at these overreactions i think ! Also i will never understand how you can eat foot after dinner. I can understand the afternoon if you had a small lunch, but after dinner, what is the point ? You're gonna sleep anyway, you don't need energy, you are just getting fat.

[@soulfire900]

Gotta find joy in the little things.

[@Samchocolate11]

@@pasdenomdegroupe - Some fruit to refresh you (unless you have that for dessert in your dinner).

[@drunkindonuts13]

I think Americans are just more bold than most other cultures, and we feel a freedom, even a sense of comfort, knowing we can be ourselves and express our feelings. We really embrace this. Having said that, I feel that all this acting overly enthusiastic about small things may actually be generational. Young people tend to do this a lot right now, and it's annoying. It does seem fake, even to other Americans.

[@cathjj840]

@@pasdenomdegroupe When you know they have dinner at 6 or even 5PM, that leaves some time to fill unless you're in bed before 9PM and up at 4:30AM. Lots of Americans have such ridiculously early hours

[@gasteletzwane1005]

I'm french but I do not object to air conditioning as a principle. I just can't get it when one set it lower in the summer than in the winter, I can't see any logic in that... having to wear a sweater inside in the summer and shorts (well I didn't but saw coworkers do) inside in the winter.

[@gasteletzwane1005]

@@jazmine9570 I lived a couple of years in the US and that's where I found the AC to be set too cold in the summer and too hot in the winter. In France, when there is AC people usually set it up to more reasonable temperatures (to save energy cost I guess).

[@taylormitnick5418]

people usually set it colder in the summer because it is hotter outside so they need to overcompensate. it is true though that in the winter public places will put excessive heat on.

[@marylandu.s.391]

My parents were French, and you’re right eating was very regimented. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had to come home from school for lunch.

[@towaritch]

The worst was the Sunday lunch. We take breakfast later on Sunday, but nevertheless "tout le monde a table" at 1 PM and we had to force down Sunday roast and potatoes without being hungry. After that we spent the afternoon in a haze, digesting the excess food.

[@mariebambelle7361]

Actually what is funny is that intermittent fasting is slowly coming to France but with french issues like "how am I going to explain to my collegues that i don't go to the cantine with them 😱?" or "which meal will i stop having ?" (because, remember, in France you MUST eat at 8am/midday/4pm/8pm so you "cannot" break your lunch at another time)

[@sarahmetaireau1564]

Yeah, I so understand! I do intermettent fasting, I skip breakfast but I have to hide it, it's a secret really that I only told one person and then I felt I had to justify myself - very much. Crazy when you think of it.

[@littlewoofey]

I have done IF and lunch boxes a few years ago in France quite naturally though and everyone was doing it at my job. Funny thing is be careful with IF, I was later diagnosed with mental anorexia and bulimia and to my doctors IF is one the first steps toward eating disorders. They do advice about intuition eating but definitely not IF 😊

[@sarahmetaireau1564]

@@littlewoofey Thank you for that piece of advice, I have been doing it for a while, maybe I should stop now... to be on the safe side...

[@littlewoofey]

@@sarahmetaireau1564 I think that as long as you know it and it does not turn into an obsession it is fine :)

[@ppcc5340]

I'm French and I don't (totally) agree with your point on part time work when you're young. I think's it's absolutaly true up until the end of High School (Lycée). But a lot of university students actually need to work part time. True, University is cheap, and there are various financial helps one can get depending on his and his parents income... But still, to pay rent, transports and living (esecpailly in more expensive cities like Paris), a lot of students depend on part time jobs. This has been highlighted by the COVID pandemic, as due to lockdown and the closing of bars, restaurants etc., a lot of students lost their jobs and are still really strugling. Other than that, I really like your videos, you have a very interesting perspective on France and French people, please keep going! :)

[@puccaland]

In the US for example that's 85% of the students who have a full time job if I recall correctly. That's not even remotely the same in France.

[@nukata1425]

The thing is that up until you’re 18 (adult to the society in France), it’s really difficult to find a job due to restrictions on hours, salary, contract etc. (on top of the fact that there isn’t much time to have one). So even if you want to works for “pocket money” or helping out, the only thing you can do is babysitting mostly.

[@ppcc5340]

​@@puccaland I thought I replied to your comment already, apparently not, my bad. :) So in any case, here it is: I did not mean that young French people work as much as their US/NZ counterpart. I felt like the image of French society one could get from the video is that students having a job while studying is extremely rare, which is not entierly correct. While it is probably true for teenagers under 18, things change for university students. The cost associated with studying (not so much tuition, more like rent, transports, food, etc.) make it so that a lot of them need the income of a job (full-time, part-time or during summer). In my personnal experience, more than half of my friends had a job at some point during university, ranging from "nice pocket money" to "absolutely necesary if I want to eat". If you look at official statistics, 46% of university students have a job (75% if you include summer jobs). Source (official) : www.vie-publique.fr/rapport/276357-lemploi-etudiant (see P6) What we call "précarité étudiante" (i.e students with financial struggles) has become a groing issue, with highly mediatized cases such as that of a student from Lyon self-immolating in front of his university (Source: www.france24.com/en/20191114-french-university-student-s-self-immolation-sparks-anger-over-living-conditions ), or the many stories rising from the COVID-19 pandemic. That's it for me. Also, if you have them, I would be very interested to see precise figures on the situation in the US :)

[@puccaland]

@@nukata1425 It is not difficult at all. Back in my days we could start working from 15 which I did at McDonald's which hires tones of students under 18 (more flexibility). Internet wasn't yet a tool and nowadays things like babysitting or tutoring are also easy to do. Did them as well but thanks to the word of mouth. Nowadays everything is easier.

[@puccaland]

@@ppcc5340 I understand where you're getting at. However we have 2 extremes here. The university students have the time to have a job but they aren't all the students in France. So that's actually 25% of the French students who actually work and we're much more talking temporary, part time, seasonal work here. etudiant.lefigaro.fr/article/pres-d-un-quart-des-etudiants-francais-travaillent-pendant-leurs-etudes_d44dd8f0-6322-11e7-a4f6-9cfaeb766eeb/ In the US www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/11/18/most-college-students-work-and-thats-both-good-and-bad Of course there are students who live in precarity in France. But again there is precarity and precarity. The precarity the French students have to face is nowhere near the precarity the American students or in other countries from the Anglosphere are facing. Like right now we are seeing students in France saying that they are having difficulties to buy food because of the Covid crisis. I let you check the help they got in several countries like the UK or the US. What I am saying is that the scales aren't the same and that's what I understood from the video. By the way 10% of the high-school students in France have a job and 30% work sometime during the year.

[@petersmith2040]

It’s very common in the French speaking parts of Europe for large companies with thousands of workers to have a heavily subsidized company cafeteria within their premises for their employees to eat their lunch. But most small and midsize businesses don’t provide that.

[@pierren___]

"French speaking parts of Europe" aka France

[@mtgmtgyoutube221]

I discovered today the concept of Intuitive eating when you are not hungry. It does not make sense at all but as I am French I guess it is normal. And yes, I confirm whatever task I am doing at some point I will stop and go eat around noon. You had me laughing a few times in this cool video!!

[@korichamberlain]

I don't think its intuitive eating if you're not hungry. I think intuitive eating is eating when you are hungry, instead of at rigid times. Personally, I have no natural intuition when it comes to hunger, so I think I would thrive somewhere where I'm surrounded by cultural cues for when to eat. Normally I either forget to eat all together, or overeat because I'm afraid I'm going to forget to eat. Not intuitive at all.

[@Leila2023_]

That school restaurant is amazing. We recently moved to the countryside and the school canteen is such a big deal here. They don’t use any product that’s not local. It’s an experience my kids wouldn’t have had anywhere else I think, It’s a real education in food and nutrition.

[@trotter7679]

School cafeteria friendly feedback; not a restaurant

[@JennyT101]

The only sports I've heard people here in the US talk about as being too risky are things like USA style football, and cheerleading (the kind with "fliers" where they throw you up in the air and crazy stuff). Basically, they have a very high risk of serious head and neck injuries, which can be permanent. There are a very high number of serious injuries associated with these two sports, so I understand parents not wanting their children to get involved.

[@sarac2019]

I’m American and I have never heard anyone speak of sport being “too risky” for healthcare reasons, but like you said for sports like football and cheerleading where the risk of acquiring an injury could severely alter your physical health for the rest of your life, yes. Sounds like a misunderstanding of high injury risk sports and why people avoid them.

[@BlackAdder665]

The more I learn the more I feel like the French and us Germans are very much alike. Apart unfortunately from the frequent occurence of people in trackpants in public. We do have them. And I hate it.

[@towaritch]

Trackpants are more and more common in F unfortunately...

[@jenniferpearce1052]

Yes. This is what is funny. As an American I couldn't care less if someone is wearing track pants! Why should I care? How does it affect me??

[@ardentynekent2099]

I would give track pants a pass if children would stop shooting children!

[@dreamdisturber]

Living in Louisiana, USA, have never had a lunch box. Every school here has a cafeteria where we ate at for lunch. Lunchboxes always seemed fun.

[@jessicapayne6549]

Really? My old school never had one 😅

[@dreamdisturber]

@@jessicapayne6549Both my elementary and high school had one. We’d get our trays and go down the line. Although, I rarely ate lunch during high school.

[@jessicapayne6549]

@@dreamdisturber Oh cool, in my old school we all ate our lunches in the classroom bc we had no where else to eat 😅

[@Insaneronald]

Working under 16 is illegal in France. 16-18 is legal but employers will have obligations etc so they usually always refuse. However almost half of students in university (not écoles) work on the side even if it's 9-10 hours not 20 a week. Student unions try to fight that as the ones who work end up having higher failure rates etc

[@borispoliti1008]

yeah that enthousiasm is tiring and does seem fake for us. on the other hand i m fond of saying things like :" it isn't so bad"when i m enthusiastic

[@Desanna]

I cracked up with grim laughter when you said that people put off going to the dentist because it can cost hundreds of dollars. Here in the states, dentist visits are never that cheap. They cost thousands! My mom spent over five thousand dollars at a single dentist visit last year, and it cost that much because she can't afford the insurance. This place is a nightmare, and I can't wait to get out.

[@saramilles]

This always sounds so crazy to me (french)... I remember that when I was underage dentist was free once a year so my mom was like "it's time to book your annual dentist appointment sweetie" every year even if I didn't need it. And since then it only costs me a few euros whenever I want to go as an adult.

[@chrisinnes2128]

It's the same here in Scotland

[@trishayamada807]

Or like me, I have dental insurance, but it only covers one cleaning a year, and maxes out at $1500. I needed a root canal and crown and one cavity filling repaired. That was over $4000 and my insurance covered $1500. If my dental insurance was not included on my health insurance I wouldn’t have it because it’s over $200 a month for a cleaning and $1500. It’s absolutely a ripoff.

[@soulfire900]

You're lucky you get to leave. I'm happy for you!(Texan)

[@doramccallin7966]

I disagree 100%. We do have dental insurance and visit the dentist twice per year.

[@meenalaregina7770]

Hi! My ex who is French worked part-time while he studied law. He was a cook in a restaurant. When we were together he loved to snack on Miss Vickie’s chips - he snacked more than me and I am a Canuck.

[@kimberlytrevino1893]

My french fiance snacks big time in the states. He says Americans know how to do junk food. But when we are in France he does not snack. 🤷‍♀️

[@DarleneA111]

My ex (French) used to make fun of me whenever I get very "enthusiastic". When I say "awww those flowers are sooo prettyyy" or "awww it's so cuuute!" or the like, he would smirk and say awwww with a bit of an eye roll. Didn't know it was a French thing 😆

[@heatherheaney4060]

Yes my French boyfriend does the same. Less now.

[@abcxyz-cx4mr]

@@heatherheaney4060 - So we shouldn’t saw awww a lot when dating French men? I’m kinda dating a French guy right now so I’m curious

[@gasteletzwane1005]

It's just that we feel you's not leave enough headroom of enthousiasm and expletive for a "once in a lifetime" experience ;-) But I sometimes say something similar to my colleagues: I'm not very sensitive to cold and I can walk the 200m to the cafeteria when it's 10°C ouside with a T shirt, they tell me "how can you do that, it's freezing!" and I answer back that they should keep aside some adjectives for time it's going to be actually -10°C !

[@heatherheaney4060]

@@abcxyz-cx4mr I still say it. I am not going to change something that is a part of me that I like. Just like my boyfriend doesn’t hardly smile and he would never do it to a stranger. Apparently it’s a French thing. I use to to think it was off putting and cold. But now just accept that is part of him. He now accepts that my awww cute.... comes with me. I think living in France and now Spain my awww cute has been toned down as when I hear it on some of the North American Influencers on KZbin it can really sound fake and annoying. Lol

[@alnath01]

@@abcxyz-cx4mr just be yourself, our differences actually make us alike ;-)

[@jmb1101]

When I was 10yrs old I went to a french school in Paris for about a month and LOVED the cantine. I can still remember the delicious french potato salad with vinaigrette and bread with unsalted butter. I adored it!!!

[@Roh410]

Oh boy I have stuff to say about this subject! So I've been living in London for more than a year and now it's been 3 months that I am living in New-Zealand. My partner is a kiwi and we're currently living with his parents. Two things that I can't understand : eating sandwiches all the time and considering this as healthy and normal, while in France we considered that as "manger sur le pouce" (eating on the thumb, litteraly) and for us this is unhealthy and not enough food to last a full day of work. On the same subject, those 15min meal without talking, eating fast together and then when you're done (and the others are not) you just clean your space and go back to your activities. For me it's like... what?! What about sharing and talking and enjoying this food full of flavors that have been made for hours ? haha

[@MultiElodiee]

Thing is in France, lunch is the biggest meal of the day, so you need time to eat all the food. And it's a key moments to socialize with colleagues, customers etc.

[@soulfire900]

At least in America, in school, we had 20-30 minutes for lunch. That included waiting in a 15 minute line for food if we didn't bring our own food. We also have 30 minute lunches for work unless we work at least 8 hours. We're conditioned to eat quickly and not waste any time so we can get back to work as fast as we can because each minute counts for our paycheck(which likely hardly covers living expenses so we squeeze what we can out of it) Also, when I'm eating, I want to eat and not talk. I'm hungry. Socializing is for after work/school. Now, this isn't everywhere. But if you work somewhere where they serve food, you still have to wait in line, then shovel food in your mouth because it likely took 25 of your thirty minute lunch to get food.

[@victoriaa2281]

That's partly because we've had a decent breakfast and then we'll be home having a big dinner around 6pm. And depending on the employment law in the country, in NZ for example, a lot of people are only entitled to 15 minute and 30 minute breaks, so that's definitely sandwich territory. ...and if you live and work in a decent sized French city don't pretend you don't line up outside a Paul or La Mie Caline for your little sandwich formules too 🤣 I've seen plenty of working French eat sandwiches for lunch

[@bge1234]

The clapping thing is funny. When I was in elementary school here in the US, the teachers would flick the lights off and back on a few times to get the room to quiet down.

[@Costanza_G]

Salut! I am from Italy but my mom is english, so I can understand your doubts. The majority of the things French do are the same here in Italy, in facts we call them “cousins” 😉

[@ouichtan]

We are cousins. We argue like siblings, we compete like siblings but we definitely behave like family 🤣🤣. I love you Italian cousins. From France.

[@AFrenchWomanLivingInDenmark]

I must say you were spot on! I was curious about the points you were gonna mention and it makes me realize how French i am even though i haven’t lived in France in a looong time 😂😅

[@AFrenchWomanLivingInDenmark]

@@NotEvenFrench thank you! 😊😊😊✨

[@alexispokemon6574]

So true about the air conditioning ! I'm french and I love the air conditioning, but my friends and family don't understand ! They always think they will get sick (not especially because of the germs, but more because of the cold), and I always tell them that millions of people live with it every single day (in south east Asia where I live), and they don't get sick :D

[@malgosiakaczmarska8036]

So funny to think that! Air conditioning units actually filter air nowadays! They’re great for people with allergies for example. What they’re not good for - is the environment, so I am with French folks on this one 😉

[@sadikarno]

I've been to Singapore a few times, and everyone is always a bit sick there. The constant switching from 35°C outside to 18°C inside building and cars made me get a permanent runny nose as well..

[@mevebelanger]

Have you been to Quebec, Canada? It's really interesting to see the difference with european culture because we speak french in a mostly english country and our neighbors are the United States so we are kind of a...nice strange mix. 😂

[@rb026]

C’est pour ça qu’on vous aime les québécois 😂

[@sameehapahar8848]

I regularly follow your videos as I plan to study in France ..... admirer from India. Best wishes for your future endeavours

[@iwantmaurclothes1]

Its funny because pretty much all this stuff from New Zealand applies to America too, whether that is good or bad 🤣

[@shaungordon9737]

Well they're both Anglosphere countries

[@bteducation955]

Love this, and your other movies too, they’re all so true! I moved from the U.K. to Paris last year and I’m still trying to navigate the cultural differences. However I will say I don’t regret it for a moment, France is an incredible place to live. Thanks for your super insights Rosie 🤗❤️

[@ulyanaheward932]

So I’m not French 😊 I grew up in Russia, and a lot of the things you mention about the French are very common in Russia as well. We had a canteen in school, no lunch boxes. Ever. We did have strict teachers , even in primary school and normal type classes, with dictations and math tests. And sometimes our teachers yelled at us. I live in the US and raised my kids here, and here behavior like that would warrant termination, or worse yet a law suit. I’m sure things have changed in Russia as well since I graduated in the nineties, but it’s kind of creepy how similar some French and Russian cultural idiosyncrasies are. We had health care completely free, so no one had to put off going to the dentist. And school kids or uni students did not work, not even part time. It was just not a thing to do. Uni education was free, and the government even paid a stipend to some. I did not get any because I lived at home with my parents. So there was kind of no need to work. All I had to do was get good grades. And we ate at very similar times. Even Russian shops and businesses closed down to lunch at the same time. And snacks did not exist either, not the chips and all that processed crap. But it wasn’t as “religious “ as for the French I guess. If we got hungry between meals we would make an open face sandwich with butter and salami or smth like that. It wasn’t as strict I guess.

[@agnieszkabatyra4332]

I wonder if open faced sandwiches are a Slavic thing, it's the only way we eat them in Poland, except fast foods ;)

[@ulyanaheward932]

@@agnieszkabatyra4332 Hahaha maybe. When I moved to the US, I thought a closed sandwich had too much bread, you had to stuff it really fat to even taste the meat. Never really liked those and after 26 years of living here, I still don’t eat them. I think they have open face sandwiches in Sweden and other Scandi countries.

[@maryokeefe5351]

@@agnieszkabatyra4332 Big in Sweden, too.

[@korichamberlain]

I'm American, and we absolutely approach sandwiches as whole meals. Meat and a salad on that thing. We should definitely be more open to open sandwiches as a snack, though. Its super easy and probably less processed (depending on what you buy) then prepackaged snacks. I know I just never think about it. Its like, if you never see something then you don't realize it's an option.

[@ulyanaheward932]

@@agnieszkabatyra4332 I def think it’s an Eastern European thing for sure.

[@fabiana_bdb]

The mealtime thing is understandable since meals are much more elaborate and time consuming to prepare (and shop for) so people must be ready (and hungry!) when food is finally ready at the table 👍🏼

[@ig2181]

thank for your video. I'm French and I love doing my self introspection by watching your videos

[@elacroix575]

I am French-Canadian and one thing I noticed amongst my English-Canadian or American neighbours is that they never stick to the name they’ll name their child. I always scratch my head when I hear someone say « her name is Catherine, but it’s Kate » or « his name is William, but it’s Bill ». I find that puzzling - if you intend to always call your daughter Kate, then why not register her name as such? This is something that French people rarely do. 🤔

[@irina-ty1336]

Hello Rosie. For the climatisation, there is two things to consider as a French personne : the electrical cost of having 24/7 the climatisator on ; and the thermical choc, we are told is a bad thing, and we are not used to. Image, in summer, it's 35°C outside. You go inside a shop with climatisation, the temperature drop to 25°C. And when we go outside, the temperature return to 35°C. The same in winter, outside it's 5°C, inside it's 20°C. The termical choc, going from hot to cold, to hot, is not a thing we like. It's exausting, and bad for the health we think. Plus, I don't know Newzealands, or USA, but we can propably also think about thermical isolation. French building have globaly a good isolation from the cold or the hot from the outside, so the climatisation is less necessary in general.

[@queenkobra805]

When you said "the dentist may be in the Hundreds of Dollars!" I ruefully chuckled in American, as someone with a $16,000 estimate on all the work my teeth need done as a result of not being able to access dental care At All for a decade. 😖

[@sams3015]

I hope this is not overly topical because it’s a nice easy going channel but I promise is mainly positive: I feel like in the “Anglo” world, it’s important to realise that Instagram / Kardashian look is clearly inspired by a Black Aesthetic, both based on Black women’s features and style. 20 years ago it was considered “trashy” by a lot of white people (big lips, curves, street wear, large costume jewellery, long nails etc ) , but then the Kardashians and Instagram added plastic surgery to it, changed other things around and it became the “baddie” look. I feel like because French style is so timeless it doesn’t really appropriate culture in the same way and it makes it easier for POC in France to adapt this style around their own style culture and features, in a way the more fast pace Anglo style can’t as it’s often designed with white people in mind. Obviously France has a lot of issues when it comes to racial tension and including POC but one positive is, it seems besides white teenage boys using Arab slang or following the French Rap aesthetic (which is heavily influenced by both Sub-Saharan and North Africa), there is a lot less of that copying other styles and aesthetics and it going uncredited. I think that’s a positive, I also feel when French people especially in fashion do get inspired by other cultures, styles and even subcultures they just seem more likely to credit where it comes from than we are (In my humble opinion)

[@lola.lola11.11]

Cultures are supposed to be like that, to have structure, like the French. Otherwise, it is not "culture".

[@marcelobonnet544]

Great comment Sam. I would like to that it seems tat African-American culture is going casual and becoming less elegant. I think it goes back to the 1990s with ganster rap. If you go back to the African American culture of 1950s you''ll see more elegant styles like Jazz.

[@murufufufufuuu8209]

I have to say, about the Arab slang, where I live everyone use it. As there were/is a higher number of North African/Arab people in cités (hood) their way of speaking spread in those places (and some words everywhere in France). Most of the people (almost everyone) know where it's from and it's not seen as a "racial appropriation" I think

[@maiaallman4635]

I am an Afrikaner from South Africa and our heritage partly comes from the French Huegenots, so I pick up little French aspects of our culture when I listen to your videos.

[@ktinland5132]

Hello I’m French lived in France my entire life. It’s interesting to see your opinions on the french culture. It’s illegal to work before the age of 18. After the age of 18 a lot of student at university work on Saturdays in restaurants (before the pandemic...) or give out private lessons with platforms like complétude or acadomia. during my university studies I used to give math lessons. As for eating when not hungry I can assure you that most of us do eat sweats and chocolates or crisps when we feel the need emotionally. Even if its not good for your health 😅.

[@anso8064]

Isn’t it 16 ? But yeah I agree, so many student have a day job.

[@jrr3558]

Salut . I love your videos. It is right : I hate seing foreigners eating or drinking while they are walking in the streets of Paris in the afternoon and also I hate the vulgar Kardashian look.

[@lylyn5038]

On oeut quand même boire dans la rue, genre notre reste de soda du fast food si on en sort ou un café qu'on a pris a emporter (surtout en ce moment les restos sont fermées) .... faut pas exagérer

[@jrr3558]

@@lylyn5038 Non c'est vulgaire

[@lylyn5038]

@@jrr3558 C'est vulgaire de boire une boisson emportée ? Haha il t'en faut peu

[@jackieclingman9707]

Having a “to go” cup of coffee is inappropriate too. Went to Paris for a visit and the friends we went with HAD to stop by Starbucks every morning and sip their coffee on the metro, while walking down the street, etc. They definitely got some looks from the Parisians. 🤷‍♀️

[@jrr3558]

@@lylyn5038 Dans la rue, oui. Ca ne se fait pas en France.

[@romulusthemainecoon3047]

I actually love the American enthusiasm for little things. High school sports, carnivals, parades, the smallest of holidays to huge deals like Thanksgiving - it gives us a lot to look forward to throughout the year! And smiling, laughing, shrieking with happiness at good news - I love it! Doesn't the world need more happiness?

[@dagnydo2472]

We appreciate the little things!

[@chloechesneau2534]

French here : We don't work before the age of 18, mainly because it's forbidden haha (except if it's through the school with apprentissage) and yes we have more than 35 hours of class per week + a lot of homework so we don't really have time. There are some things which are not so true, at least for me and my relatives, example the lunch boxes, we don't do it at school, but in the company which provide the tickets and do not have a canteen, we bring lunch boxes (mainly in big cities where there is no space for the canteen). We do eat food just to comfort ourselves, or when watching a movie even when we are not hungry, but I think this is true mainly for the young generation, our parents didn't do that. It's so true that we are not enthousiasthic enough !

[@hicetnuncmonamour]

Great video ! Thank you.

[@tomis5484]

I'm Canadian and the school lunch culture here is kind of a mix of cafeteria and self-made lunches. We don't get the cafeteria lunch option in school until highschool, (there's the pizza and milk program but most people are that along with the lunch they brought from home) and even once we have the cafeteria lunch option, we still have the choice of whether we want to take it or still make our own lunches

[@cherylynlarking191]

Really enjoying your information about French culture.Thanks.

[@anne12876]

I was nodding at every points you made. Quebecers are definitely Anglo-Saxons who speak French. The more I watch your videos about the differences between the New Zealand and the French culture, the more I realise that we are more alike than different.

[@meanwhileincanada]

Well unfortunately, Quebec is inside of an anglo-saxon country, so they were forced to accept many cultural practices because of the federal government. In order to fund something like a cantine at all of the schools, they would need to put the taxes up higher in Quebec, and the taxes in Quebec are already the highest in Canada.

[@pierren___]

No wtf, they are culturally and ethnically french. Québec state =/= people

[@anne12876]

@@pierren___ Sorry but we're not French, we just speak French. Like Belgians and Roman Swiss are not French either. Ask any French who spent enough time in QC and they will tell you that there are many differences between the customs and the way of thinking of French and Quebecers.

[@olivsolearero]

In the early 20th century, workers in industrial factories had lunch boxes. In french it is called "une gamelle" It was currently made in aluminum to warm it. Some people have lunch boxes now in France, but very rarely children at school. Many students have part time jobs in low social classes whereas it's not the case in upper middle classes.

[@teddie552]

I'm British and I also don't like over enthusiastic responses from people, it does seem very fake. I fit in more with the 'pas mal' mindset :P

[@timotheelegrincheux2204]

The words awesome and amazing are very much over-used in the U.S.

[@Rachel-rs7jn]

Here's another one (coming from an American perspective): I don't think French people appreciate the "rags-to-riches" stories like we do. We really laud a person who started poor and worked their way up to success and wealth. I think that (a), that exists less in France since there is much less social mobility, and (b) even if you did work your way up to wealth you shouldn't talk about it in France! 😄

[@Rachel-rs7jn]

I will add that I think our love of the rags-to-riches narrative has actually prevented us from supporting our poor the way we should, because there's the belief that everyone should be able to achieve success with enough hard work and so if you haven't, it was because you're lazy.

[@caciliawhy5195]

@@Rachel-rs7jn I completely disagree with that. most people who are very well off that I know give generously to charities. Look at the Gates foundation and I know people in my family who donate all the time. I think you're talking about the government which does provide quite a bit. Most poor people in the United States that I know of have TVs, often have a car, definitely a smartphone. If they choose to spend their money that they get from the government on things like that instead of food; come on the government is not the babysitter for us.

[@Rachel-rs7jn]

@@NotEvenFrench Thank you! 😊

[@ogamiitto8627]

@@Rachel-rs7jn Frenchie here, very accurate statements Rachel.

[@ameliemelo92]

@@caciliawhy5195 sooo american, yeah poor people do have money, they just don't spend it correctly. Actually being poor does not mean not having money, that is not the definition!

[@mgrd1118]

Thanks for reminding me I need to go to the dentist. I live in Canada and I have been putting it off for months now be cause it's sooooo expensive (500$ for one tooth here). I can't understand why we have to pay for something as basic as that. It's a need. In France it's a no-brainer, my teeth hurt, I go see the dentist. Teeth are part of the human body, why is it not considered as such. It can hurt so bad as well. I mean I'll never understand that ever. Free healthcare should be the norm.

[@carlablizard8514]

I thought canada had universal healthcare? Doesn't include dentistry?

[@mgrd1118]

@@carlablizard8514 Nope. At least not in Quebec, I don't know about other provinces. Mental health is not really included either I think. But it's definitly better here than in the US of course. It's just that from a french perspective I don't understand why dentistry is not considered as important as the rest of the body.

[@n.b.3521]

@@carlablizard8514 Healthcare in Ontario does not include dental care and a few other things such as physiotherapy. Pharmacare is also not guaranteed with some medicines covered, but most not or not fully. Eye glasses aren't covered. But many employers have benefit plans to cover those things not covered by the government and many dentists will provide discounts to those without an employer dental plan. Also, you can claim some expenses on your taxes, so even though you paid up front, you might get a bit back depending on your salary, etc.

[@LoutreBondissante]

Bonjour Rosie, Il y a certaines choses avec lesquelles je ne suis pas d'accord. Les "petits boulots" d'étudiants existent bel et bien (mais légalement à partir de 16 ans). A cause de la pandémie, certains étudiants ne peuvent plus travailler et crèvent de faim. Les aides sociales sont acceptées selon les revenus des parents. C'est très réglementé. Pour les écoles, tu as observé combien de classes quand tu étais en France ? Je suis professeur dans une école primaire et je "crie" seulement dans les cas extrêmes. La pédagogie et la façon de faire classe ont beaucoup évolué.

[@helenedevys2498]

Je suis française et cette vidéo est si vraie. Je me souviens avoir lu le livre d'un enfant américain qui était maltraité par ses parents (David Pelzer) et à l'école il était le seul à ne pas avoir de "lunch box" donc il ne mangeait tou simplement pas ou volait dans les boites de ses amis et je m'étais dit qu'en France, ça n'aurait jamais pu arriver car tout lemonde va à la cantine et mange ce qu'il veut.

[@Elfian66]

Techniquement, les parents ne sont pas obligés d'inscrire les enfants à la cantine (qui est payante d'ailleurs), certains font le choix de faire rentrer les enfants manger à la maison (les "externes" comme on les appelle). Et dans ces cas là, s'il n'y a rien à manger, bah ça revient un peu au même (l'humiliation publique en moins, certes, mais avec aussi moins de chance pour que la maltraitance soit repérée).

[@iyzabel]

@@Elfian66 la cantine est payante en fonction de ses revenus. Beaucoup de familles paient 0 euros pour la cantine.

[@Elfian66]

@@iyzabel oui je sais bien, mais ça dépend vraiment de la zone géographique et de l'établissement concerné (maternelle, primaire, collège et lycée). De plus, la maltraitance ne dépend pas du niveau de revenus.

[@aldonastraczek]

Eating between meals is indeed really weird. When I was living in Copenhagen, my kiwi neighbor kept giving his daughter snacks and was surprised she wasn't hungry at mealtime... Going out in workout clothes is definitely a big no no. I don't know how covid affected provinces but here in Paris people still dress normally and even though when we work from home we dress very casually, the days we are allowed to be in the office, most people wear proper work clothing.

[@robertahall4960]

That clapping thing is exactly the thing that is done and hockey games in Canada!! Interesting...Thanks!

[@bilibubule]

part time job is actualy super normal in france, not as early as 14 maybe but when you are16-17 and especialy post highcool study it is verry often that a student work part time for exemple at the univerisity you have not a lot of hours in classroom per week (around 20) so you have time to work part time and actualy lot of student do because they have no choices to pay rents, school, car permit, a car, etc you do it by necessity mostly

[@Vaelios3292]

All my friend (and me) have worked every holiday since 17-18 and half of them even have had part-time jobs. It's not a thing in high school but definitely common in college!

[@helenedevys2498]

Yes but it is not as common than in the US. I'm a french student and apart being a baby-sitter or an animator in the holidays most people I know don't really work.

[@bilibubule]

​@@helenedevys2498 ​ it mostly depend of your economic/social status, in private post highcool studies (economy, marketing, informatic, sciences,...) you don't and can't work part time but in the public system especialy university your schedule is design to allow it, again in france you would prefer to not work beside your studies if you can (better results, more free time, etc,..), not as common maybe but it's common for sure, that's my point

[@sariputraa]

@@helenedevys2498 most RICH people don't really have to work, especially theirs kids.... grosse nuance. dès qu'on n'a pas le support des parents, c'est une autre histoire.

[@pauline3616]

It depends on what you study. I am studying engineering and U never have less than 30 hours of classes per week.

[@marcomallevaey7998]

As a french, the habbit that strikes me the most is the anglo saxon way of being very enthusiastic about everything. It's not just that we find it weird, but also most of us find it annoying (We find weird most of the other things you talked about, but they're ok to us). I thnik we find that kind of enthusiasm annoying not only because it sounds hypocritical to us (weither it actually is or it's not) like you said, but also because it's LOUD, and we don't like loud people. We're taught not to be loud from our chilhood, you will rarely see even a little child crying at a super market cash register, teacher shout SILENCE because being lound for pupils is a mark of disrespect to their teacher, etc... so when we see adults being loud, or even shouting in a public place for no obvious reason, we can't help but thnik "what a poor education"... There are places meant to make noise : concerts, stadiums... and strikes protests of course ^^

[@malgosiakaczmarska8036]

Sounds very ... oppressive. And yes, some people are poorly educated. So .... what? If you’re not elitist - that shouldn’t bother you ;)

[@alexisjakubiak8035]

I'm American and feel much the same way, it's one of the things I so appreciate about the French. I went there on a class trip in secondary school and was so embarrassed by how a lot of the other students were behaving. I'm sure I do it too, but I agree the overly loud enthusiastic thing is just grating

[@stevenlawrie7819]

My experience of French school children is opposite to that. Very loud, boisterous and quite rude. The teachers tend to ignore their behaviour as well.

[@jakeryan4545]

"Have you no pride?" - No, no I don't. Haha. It's interesting because in the US the people that are most likely to dress up for university classes and stuff like that (although not necessarily a Wal-Mart run :) ) are people from the South. And pride is a big part of their culture.

[@Msboochie2]

What? On the contrary I find most southern people don’t dress, and not well at all. Well Caucasians at least. When I leave NYC I have to dress down, or stand out too much the generic mall clothes they wear. They don’t dress for anything, church, weddings, theatre, or even dinner.

[@soulfire900]

@@Msboochie2 I'm in Texas, and I get made fun of if I dress nice for anything. "Oooh, who you looking pretty for?" and "Aw you dressed up nice for us!" No, I want to look presentable. Good lord. I dress comfortably at home and friend's houses, but when I'm OUT out, I'd like to not have people think poorly of me.

[@jenniferkiehl6186]

I'm from Maryland, and went to a college in North Carolina. I was absolutely shocked to see girls with full makeup and perfectly curled hair (hot rollers, btw) for 8am lectures!!! Yeah, it may have been pride, but it also could've been vanity!

[@froggyaa]

totally agree specially black fpls in the real south like alabama mississippi louisiana

[@froggyaa]

@@soulfire900 maybe it is only me but texas is just a southern state not the real south the real thing starts in louisiana ahahahah

[@carola-lifeinparis]

They even make fun of cursive signatures like mine because it was too readable. I started elaborating it since living in Paris

[@iyzabel]

In the States, the administration made me change my signature to something readable or they wouldn't give me my papers.

[@orfor792]

The “clapping trick” is very common in France as well with young children (à la Maternelle). I just think it stops working when the children get older ;)

[@alyssacrisostomo2875]

Oh Rosie! I completely forgot about that clapping rhythm! So many primary school memories just came flooding back...

[@alexyvrande-sillard8563]

Bonjour :) Your video made me smile 😅 I’m french - from Paris. I agree that from childhood I’ve been eating proper meals sitting at a table with other people three times a day, and it’s something I enjoy, I wouldn’t snack at random times if I’m not REALLY hungry. Like there must be kind of a rhythm... x) I mean there’s something reassuring and “self-care” with our link to food. I mean a bed or the street isn’t a place to eat your meal no ?? lol Concerning school it can be very strict and disciplined, that’s true. But then when you get to work hard as an adult, you’ve done it for so many years you’re well prepared right ? I got a mail from Sécurité Sociale on my 24th birthday to tell me I had a free dentist appointment until the next month, and I should go just in case, even though my teeth are perfect. Isn’t that awesome ? Thanks Carte Vitale :P I didn’t work until university at the age of 18 in the summer, just as an extra to pay for my future trips, car gas and going out with friends. Not to pay for the University obviously because it was like 150€ a year, so I could afford it with one week babysitting... and I don’t even have CAF or bourse. All the Americans shouting how “omg Paris is sooo beautiful” and “oooh sir thank you soooo much for showing us the direction can we get you something ?” Like lady if you do this for everyone all day all night how do you still have your voice at the end of the day ?? Haha and how can you honestly smile THAT MUCH to someone random ?? I’m currently writing this on my couch with “casual-city-clothes” and I wouldn’t have to change my outfit to go out, just put on my shoes and go. I mean unless you’re in bed, or sick, or do exercise why would you transform yourself in a pink-candy-like British grandma with ugly sweaters just because you’re cosy on your couch x) haha And phone-wise I’ve had the same number since my first phone ten years ago, with the same operator ^^’ that way we get a new phone for super cheap with the “fidélité” when you need it :D never got a SIM card. Love your videos, makes me practice my English ;)

[@abcxyz-cx4mr]

Wait, so you don’t wear loungewear clothes at home? Clothes such as tracksuit bottoms and t shirts or even pyjamas? I don’t wear these clothes outside but I do wear them at home

[@moonkhey6136]

@@abcxyz-cx4mr WE absolutely do, just very rarelly outside. Depends on the social class, too, naturally.

[@carola-lifeinparis]

Well observed, and the explanations are so logical. I was so surprised to get the food vouchers.

[@pjalexandra]

When I worked as an au pair in the south of France, my host mother/employer (who was actually an Australian ex-pat) taught me that the correct wardrobe for going to the supermarket is: never sweatpants, ALWAYS a belt with your trousers. I wanted to deny it, but looking around me, she was correct. Now I live in a mountain town in Canada where people walk around all day in technical clothes with gear hanging off them, and I long for a little political correctness around wardrobe choice.

[@chrisj.9882]

Living here in America, tons of people (especially young students) do sports. The concerns about health aren't so much about health care, but more about the risk of brain injuries. There's apparently been a drop in student involvement in football since peopled learned about CTE and all that.

[@elizabetheyma-davies8584]

I’m married to a Frenchman……and just one word Christmas! He likes a British Christmas but thinks it’s totally over the top in every way !!!

[@jean-claudevoillemin4618]

About lunchbox, when I started to work in a factory .... long time ago ( I am retired now; it was in the late seventies ) My mother was used to prepare a meal for lunch, simply because I was working in an isolated place under construction. I suppose it is still possible today ( to work in an isolated place with nothing around ) , but there is more services to have something delivered. Lunchbox for school .... nope.

[@Unammedacc]

Yeah. I'm french. I never use any superlative adjectif UNLESS it's needed. And it's kinda piss me off every time someone use one. If everything is "INCREDIBLE !", there is only three option : either you live in a fairy tale, which is great for you, but I'd rather think you're a bit naive, or you are just really discovering the world, and I guess you're 10, or it is also possible you don't know the meaning of the word INCREDIBLE. Cause for me, when something is INCREDIBLE, then it is really INCREDIBLE. Which means it really takes me a strong effort to believe it. Gradation is important in France. Because if everything is AWESOME, INCREDIBLE, SO CUUUUUUUUUUTE, then nothing is. That's just the norm. And so you have to find other words to describe such things when they really occurs. Because they do. Watching your channel for so long just make me thinks, French people are rational people in a crazy world xD. And being a very (very, very) rationnal french (I'm pissed when a french says "MEC ! C'ETAIT ENORME !"), I might just be a robot.

[@Unammedacc]

@@NotEvenFrench Haha. I'm not a Sea dude, I prefer a beautiful moutain with ice cap, rocky cliffs and an endless blue sky so blue that you feel like it's blinding you. However, I would probably just sit in the snow and watch it quietly and silently for half an hour or more ^^. For me something that deserve that kind of adjectives needs to be really breathtaking, or it has to speak to me deeply in a very powerful and shaking way. Btw I realize now that my previous message might seem a bit agressive. That was not my point at all (the "you" is impersonal in my mind please). Sorry about that.

[@HighTechFan_Geek]

@@NotEvenFrench something amazing is for instance someone saving a baby that fall from a balcony just in time, something cute is when a tiger take care or another animal specie. A beautiful bag is just beautiful.

[@cquinn03]

So true, along the lines of wearing sweat pants outside, that goes even further. I was chastised for leaving the house with wet hair (I was going to let it dry in the wind) because my friends insisted I needed to be fully coiffed. Also, I was moving from one au pair lodging to another and I had a few boxes, which I moved via walking, the metro, then walk a few blocks again. This was outrageous to my French friends, who couldn't believe I would be caught dead carrying a box in public. Very weird for me. I still really don't get it. They seem not to care at all about what people think, yet they make sure they look impeccable even to run outside to buy a paper.

[@trotter7679]

So how would friends in France get the packages to the new lodgings?

[@cultureyourself7415]

this is so accurate! I lived in the south of france for 6 months pre-covid and i can relate to everything you said

[@janamiranda4118]

As a former teacher, I totally did the clapping thing to get my students' attention. At my daughter's school, it's clapping with the teacher saying, "1-2-3, eyes on me." Students respond with clapping, "1-2, eyes on you."

[@jenniferkiehl6186]

Exactly the same in my son's school!!! (I'm in Maryland :)

[@brynhildk]

Some thing I experienced, as a French, is that “direct feedback” comunication, which can feel a lil bit rude for French people. Like a kind of radical honesty we don’t have.

[@missbecky5393]

At where did you experience that?

[@ibanezrossana6979]

I agree. I'm studying in France and I feel people here are not direct at all. They talk about you on your back once you left the room. I find it much more rude than direct feedback.

[@n.b.3521]

This is maybe the one thing that Canada does more similarly to France than other Anglo-Saxon countries. Like, we might seem to be direct, but we're not really.

[@brynhildk]

@@missbecky5393 with my bf who is a English speaker living in France. I never experienced such communication with French people

[@pierren___]

@@brynhildk its funny because to me its exactly the contrary.

[@kristiannsampson3126]

I absolutely love your videos! So interesting and informative 🙌 but the more i learn about france/french people the more i am so greatful to be born and raised kiwi 🥰

[@nathaliemangar4805]

French lives in U.K. first time I arrived there, people don’t shake hands or kisses, I felt like all my education on politeness out of the window. I used to it but miss it!! Useful when a man wants to kiss you because you are french and so proud to say « voulez-vous coucher avec moi ».

[@glenn1970]

I’m French and one thing I have trouble wrapping my head around is bullying (in high school, junior high ...). To me it’s just something that doesn’t happen here in France or at least not the way it’s depicted in most tv shows. We don’t really have the culture of popular kids vs nerds or school scandals that happen. So that’s the thing I’ll add to the list ☺️

[@glenn1970]

@@NotEvenFrench yes :-). I do feel like in France it’s absolutely not the norm. At least not my generation (I’m 32). Maybe nowadays with social networks it’s changed but when I was young it wasn’t a thing at all. I was quite chubby at the time, never had someone called my « fat girl » to my face. It’d be interesting to talk about this kind of cultural difference.

[@heatherheaney4060]

My boyfriend was picked on and bullied during school b/c he is French Moroccan and his clothes were not of the style that was in.

[@lapoirebavarde3193]

Il y a du harcèlement aussi en France, l'arrivée des réseaux sociaux en a certainement rajouté. Mais il me semble qu'il y en a toujours eu... C'est pas pour rien qu'on a l'habitude de dire que "les enfants sont méchants entre eux". Ce n'est pas la même chose qu'aux USA car il n'y a pas les "clans" comme on peut le voir mais il y a quand même des enfants souffre-douleur.

[@rachelEnMarcel]

Well, you were lucky. It’s true there are no cliques like « the jocks » « the cheerleaders » or « the nerds » as we see in american movies. But some kids definitely get beat up and bullied, for being nerds, not cool, or simply different and vulnerable.

[@glenn1970]

@@rachelEnMarcel let’s just say it’s different in France. I was not a popular kid at all, I was almost gothic at some point, watching Buffy all day long and saying to others that I was into witchcraft 😅 but I had my crew and not so maybe problems with others. Of course they called me « the witch » or crazy but that’s it. Not the bullying we can see in 13 reasons why for instance.

[@chloecovolan8705]

I am French (parisian to be exact) and If I would cross a person doing shopping in pyjamas i would be like "get dress please"

[@munnlrl]

From the moment she specified she was Parisian...I thought snob.

[@Squid_y]

@@munnlrl it's a false rumor

[@HommeAuCigare]

@@munnlrl Stupidest comment I've read on this video, so Parisian equates to snob in your tiny brain? Paris is the most populated metropolis in Western Europe, the "snobbish" Paris is in reality only a minority of the city. I've been living in Paris nearly all my life (nearly 30 years) so try me you insecure anglo.

[@froggyaa]

@@HommeAuCigare mmmmmmmmmmmmm obviously you never been to an auchan, mammouth or carrefour in saint denis, bagneux, malakoff it happens all the time and no one blinks an eye

[@HommeAuCigare]

@@froggyaa Mammouth has disappeared for like 30 years, irrelevant comment. You've probably been to France in 1975

[@ThesaurusToblerone]

OMG, the handwriting 😂😂 when I worked in primary schools and had to write on white boards and chalk boards, the French kids couldn't read my printed letters. So I tried writing in the cursive that I learned in Australia and the teachers told me that it was "wrong." French cursive has many more loops it turns out.

[@Sannive]

We don't get the lunchbox system here in Sweden either :) We have free lunch for the kids all the way through school and in the lower grades also a free afternoon snack before they go home.

[@pierrerichard870]

And the credit score system...i can't even!

[@Rachel-rs7jn]

That's a good one! The French definitely don't understand that having a credit card is better financially and even necessary.

[@steprich]

@@Rachel-rs7jn nope, we don't. Getting a system that incite you to depend on credit does not make any sense indeed to us. Providing means to live above what you can safely offer does not sound good to us. On the other hand, there is nothing in our system that relates or depends on 'credit score', so no _need_ to have a good one, no need to have any... Pushing to buy is overall seen as a negative... Does not mean that everyone has good finances, but may avoid some of the credit overload...