Top 10 Culture Shocks My First Week in France

1. You would think #1 is topless women at the beach, right? Actually, that didn’t even make the list, and I think it was because I was prepped for that, and even though I saw it (or rather, several sets of them), it was honestly no big deal to me. What did make #1 on my list is how thin everyone is. Not that everyone has a perfectly trim body—not at all—it’s just that you rarely see overweight people here.

2. Everyone is extremely tan. People don’t have just a healthy glow; they are downright over-baked. Even the ladies in their 60s with leathery skin from so much sun damage are still super-duper tan. Makes me and Jase feel pretty pale, but I am still religious about sunblock on my face, and I wear a hat at all times outside.

3. Obviously prices have been a culture shock. No more Costco or buying in bulk—things come in small units and everything is pretty expensive. Jason just filled up the car, and it cost 91 Euros for 66 Liters of gas, which in American terms cost about $121 for 15 gallons of gas, which is roughly $8.00 a gallon. The cheapest milk is around $5.00/gallon. With all our international purchase fees added in, we have spent about $700 on food for one week, and I swear we don’t have a lot to show for it. We have not eaten out a single time either, except at McDonald’s once. I have got to shop smarter; we cannot keep paying grocery bills like this.

4. Strong Cheese. I know, I know, I should have expected this one, but really, the cheese here, whether grated, sliced, or in blocks, is much stronger than American cheese. I never realized how mild “mild cheddar” really is. The French are known for their delicious cheeses, but I’m just not quite accustomed to the stronger flavors yet.

5. Tats and Smokes. The clichés about French people ALL being smokers is probably not true, but coming from Utah, I am seeing and smelling cigarettes like never before. Also, tattoos are pretty popular. Lots of beautiful ankle art on women.

6. Narrow roads. This is another one I should have been prepared for, but I haven’t driven yet because I am nervous about how narrow the streets are in some places. How people don’t sideswipe each other constantly is beyond me. Tomorrow, I am going to force myself to face this fear and drive for the first time. Wish me luck!

7. Everything here is so small! Small appliances, small cars (which makes sense due to the price of gas and narrow roads), small portions (you’ve heard it before: the large drink here is like a small or medium back home), small dogs, small houses, small people—you get it. My washer can fit maybe a half load of laundry, and the dishwasher here is tiny. Most things are about 20-30% smaller than what I am used to in the US. We really like it here, but we live so comfortably in the US; I just can’t get over it.

8. No Central A/C. The French don’t believe in it, I guess. They open their windows at night, and that’s that. The problem with that is we got devoured by mosquitos when we opened our windows, and we were STILL way too hot. I can already tell we are starting to acclimatize though, but I sure miss the whoosh of nice, cool air when I go inside the house in the summer.

9. The experience of grocery shopping. Did you know you have to buy your own plastic grocery bags at the stores here? We kept ours to reuse them, but kept forgetting to bring them in the store, so we had to keep buying new ones, and even bought some canvas ones to use, then forgot to get them out of the rental car yesterday. To date, I have had to buy new grocery bags every time I have gone to the store, which is about 5 times now! Also, if you don’t have exactly one Euro coin, forget being able to use a shopping cart! You can’t get one unless you insert the coin, then you get it back when you return the cart. A reasonably good system, but it’s annoying when you have no change. So, buy something you don’t really need just to get change, and . . . yep, more stupid tax.

10. The language. This goes without saying, but I was a little surprised that nothing, and I mean NOTHING is in English. In the US, we have so many of our labels and signs in Spanish, so I guess there was a little part of me that thought the French would make it a little easier on foreigners. Believe me, I would kill for even Spanish right now, but no, the French love French. I don’t blame them. It’s a gorgeous language. I just need to understand why my cheese says “rape” on it (FYI, it means “shredded”).