So the other day I thought of writing a post about French Stereotypes and whether or not they're true. Because that's totally original, right? Also because I'm too lazy to write about my personal life at the moment. Anyway, without further ado, here's the list of French stereotypes I've come up with, and whether or not in my opinion and with my experiences they're true or not.
1st, French people smell bad (False... mostly) I'm not sure exactly where or when this stereotype started but I'm pretty sure it was probably during the summer. I'm only saying this because the French for some reason refuse to use air conditioning pretty much everywhere except the supermarket, which can make just about anyone smell bad, French or not. (Especially me) Also, for whatever reason things with scents/tastes (deodorant, gum, etc) seem not to last that long here. My deodorant says 48hrs protection, but I can tell you from experience it definitely won't keep you from smelling bad for a whole 48hrs. Anyway the smelling bad isn't really a problem since (just like in the US... omg) people bathe daily here. Although I do have my doubts about this one guy in my class who smells like ass and cigarettes all the time, but whatever.
2nd, French people smoke... A LOT (True, unfortunately) Holy crap do French people smoke a lot. Its totally gross and annoying if you happen to enjoy breathing. There aren't that many no smoking areas here in France and even when there are, people don't always listen. If you ever happen upon a french lycée (high school) I'd advise you to not breathe until inside the building, because there's usually about half the school outside (including teachers) smoking. And just about every one of all ages smokes too and everyone is just totally fine with it. I've even seen middle schoolers smoking, its kind of sad. That being said, I have no idea how the majority of people here aren't dying of lung cancer and how the life expectancy is 85yrs. (its probably that damned universal health care they have over here. Commies.)
3rd, French people are rude assholes (99.9% False) From what I can understand is that the whole rude French person stereotype pretty much stems from foreigners going to France but not really respecting the whole French culture, which admittedly can be a little ridiculous when it comes to politeness but whatever. When in Rome, do what the Romans do. If anyone is wanting to come to France definitely at least learn "Bonjour, parlez-vous anglais ?" (Hello, do you speak English?) instead of just bombarding some poor French person with English right off the bat. And always ALWAYS ALWAYS say hello before starting a conversation with someone. (by the way saying Hello in France also always consists of the cheek kisses (bisous) or a handshake) In my experience the only people who have fit the whole rude French stereotype was some bitchy lady at the French Embassy and a few of the Parisians.
4th, French people detest Americans (100% False) Seriously I don't know where this stereotype comes from, but seriously its like America crazy over here. Its kind of ridiculous. Probably 90% of my school has at least one article of clothing, or a bag, or a phone case or something with the American flag plastered all over it. Literally no one has been mean to me because I'm from the US, and in fact no one has been mean at all really. I normally get three responses when people find out I'm from the US and they are as follows "okay", "oh, that's cool/awesome! do you live near New York/Los Angeles?" and of course "OMG WTF REALLY?! you're so lucky to be American!!!!!111 HAHAHAhahha" Unfortunately that last one only happened about once or twice. Although, weirdly enough some people over here have insisted that I don't speak English, I actually speak "American".
5th, French people eat alotta bread and cheese, and drink alotta wine (True) - This one is completely 100% true, but is that a bad thing really? Nope, not in my opinion. And since the bread here is magic it won't make you feel gross and bloaty and it won't make you gain 10lbs by eating a piece (or several). Woohoo!
So that's pretty much it I guess. I know I left out the French people eating a lot of butter, and I can tell you (at least in my area) almost no one eats it. In fact, I had butter once so far in my almost three months of being here and that was when I made pancakes. Anyway, what I really hope is that if you can take one piece of wisdom from this blog post, its that stereotypes are annoying, mostly false, and should be done away with. Its true that there are reasons that stereotypes exist, but those reasons are generally exaggerated and probably not even relevant in everyday modern life. And if you ever, ever, ever, ever visit a foreign country don't have any expectations as to what its (or the people) are going to be like and at least learn a few phrases in the local language, you'll be surprised how much nicer and more helpful people are when you at least try to respect their languages/culture! :)
1st, French people smell bad (False... mostly) I'm not sure exactly where or when this stereotype started but I'm pretty sure it was probably during the summer. I'm only saying this because the French for some reason refuse to use air conditioning pretty much everywhere except the supermarket, which can make just about anyone smell bad, French or not. (Especially me) Also, for whatever reason things with scents/tastes (deodorant, gum, etc) seem not to last that long here. My deodorant says 48hrs protection, but I can tell you from experience it definitely won't keep you from smelling bad for a whole 48hrs. Anyway the smelling bad isn't really a problem since (just like in the US... omg) people bathe daily here. Although I do have my doubts about this one guy in my class who smells like ass and cigarettes all the time, but whatever.
2nd, French people smoke... A LOT (True, unfortunately) Holy crap do French people smoke a lot. Its totally gross and annoying if you happen to enjoy breathing. There aren't that many no smoking areas here in France and even when there are, people don't always listen. If you ever happen upon a french lycée (high school) I'd advise you to not breathe until inside the building, because there's usually about half the school outside (including teachers) smoking. And just about every one of all ages smokes too and everyone is just totally fine with it. I've even seen middle schoolers smoking, its kind of sad. That being said, I have no idea how the majority of people here aren't dying of lung cancer and how the life expectancy is 85yrs. (its probably that damned universal health care they have over here. Commies.)
3rd, French people are rude assholes (99.9% False) From what I can understand is that the whole rude French person stereotype pretty much stems from foreigners going to France but not really respecting the whole French culture, which admittedly can be a little ridiculous when it comes to politeness but whatever. When in Rome, do what the Romans do. If anyone is wanting to come to France definitely at least learn "Bonjour, parlez-vous anglais ?" (Hello, do you speak English?) instead of just bombarding some poor French person with English right off the bat. And always ALWAYS ALWAYS say hello before starting a conversation with someone. (by the way saying Hello in France also always consists of the cheek kisses (bisous) or a handshake) In my experience the only people who have fit the whole rude French stereotype was some bitchy lady at the French Embassy and a few of the Parisians.
4th, French people detest Americans (100% False) Seriously I don't know where this stereotype comes from, but seriously its like America crazy over here. Its kind of ridiculous. Probably 90% of my school has at least one article of clothing, or a bag, or a phone case or something with the American flag plastered all over it. Literally no one has been mean to me because I'm from the US, and in fact no one has been mean at all really. I normally get three responses when people find out I'm from the US and they are as follows "okay", "oh, that's cool/awesome! do you live near New York/Los Angeles?" and of course "OMG WTF REALLY?! you're so lucky to be American!!!!!111 HAHAHAhahha" Unfortunately that last one only happened about once or twice. Although, weirdly enough some people over here have insisted that I don't speak English, I actually speak "American".
5th, French people eat alotta bread and cheese, and drink alotta wine (True) - This one is completely 100% true, but is that a bad thing really? Nope, not in my opinion. And since the bread here is magic it won't make you feel gross and bloaty and it won't make you gain 10lbs by eating a piece (or several). Woohoo!
So that's pretty much it I guess. I know I left out the French people eating a lot of butter, and I can tell you (at least in my area) almost no one eats it. In fact, I had butter once so far in my almost three months of being here and that was when I made pancakes. Anyway, what I really hope is that if you can take one piece of wisdom from this blog post, its that stereotypes are annoying, mostly false, and should be done away with. Its true that there are reasons that stereotypes exist, but those reasons are generally exaggerated and probably not even relevant in everyday modern life. And if you ever, ever, ever, ever visit a foreign country don't have any expectations as to what its (or the people) are going to be like and at least learn a few phrases in the local language, you'll be surprised how much nicer and more helpful people are when you at least try to respect their languages/culture! :)
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