5 things I wish I’d known before moving to France.
Like any student of languages your 3rd year of University means spending that whole year in a foreign country. For me, that country was France — Mid-Western France to be more precise. I must say that I absolutely loved my year abroad and would 100% do it all over again. I could write a 10,000-word dissertation about how amazing France is. Saying that, there are still some things I wish I’d known before living there.
1. Food = danger!
As you can imagine, France is the land of food and food is the essence of life. My friends and I would indulge and eat out often because every town is littered with incredible restaurants. Although this food was by far the best I had ever tasted, I wish I’d known that I would come back from France having put on weight, because as amazing as French food is, it can make you fat. (Stop drooling and go back to your kale now).
2. Clubs.
Being a 20-year-old student means drinking, having fun and clubbing. I wish I’d known how different clubs in France can be. Hardly anyone is drunk, they’re full of underage students (which as an English teacher meant running into at least 3 of my students per night), people wear trainers and jumpers and the dancing is plain awkward. What is worse, despite the smoking bans, most clubs still have a designated smoking area inside to which the door is always left open, resulting in the smoke spilling out into the club and seeping into your hair and clothes. Ew.
3. Smoking.
As a non-smoker, I was not prepared for the amount of smoking that actually goes on in France. Literally everyone in France smokes. No matter their age; it’s the ‘cool’ thing to do. I did not realise just how severe this problem was, so, imagine my shock when on the first day working in the high school, I walk out of the main school door and see my 15-year-old students smoking alongside my 20-year-old students and all the teachers. What’s worse, I even caught some of my 13-year-old students rolling rollies. It’s a rather disturbing feature of day-to-day life in France.
4. Lunch breaks.
Now as a Brit I am accustomed to shops, banks, post offices and restaurants being open during normal working hours (from about 9 to 6). Not in France. All of these close between the hours of 12 and 3 for a lunch break. It’s just a part of their culture which to me seemed very strange, especially when I needed to sort anything out in the bank but couldn’t. Oh, and everything is closed on Sundays- and I mean EVERYTHING! So if you are planning to travel to France and maybe enjoy a lunchtime meal in a café or restaurant, you better check if it’s open beforehand because you will probably find yourself hungrily staring through the closed door of a restaurant.
5. Staring.
This is something I noticed on my first day in France. When you go out in public people stare at you. It’s not in a rude way, a confused way, or in a sexy way — they just stare. It was very disconcerting the first week or two I was there. I kept wondering: is there something on my face? Can they tell I’m foreign? I tried staring back to make them stop or to embarrass them by catching them in the act, but that did not work, and they just kept staring. Weird.
So, if you’re someone who loves to stare, smoke and procrastinate along with indulging in amazing food and dancing awkwardly, France is the place for you. If these do not apply, I encourage you to go anyway because you will not regret it, but make sure you remember the 5 things I wish I’d known before moving to France.
