22 January 2011

Bon appetit!

It's been two weeks now!  I'm settling into the customs and the language a bit more, although I still speak way too much English, but I've noticed something.  Today we took a walking tour of the city of Rennes, and a guide brought my attention back to the ancient buildings and the tucked-away churches.  I'm already taking this place for granted.  I want to wake up every morning with the realization that I'm so blessed to be here, because I'm not here forever!  The language, the FOOD, the cobblestone streets...  What a great place to be, even at 7 in the morning!

I should probably mention that my host family's grandaughter is staying here this weekend.  She's 4 months old.  And really really really cute.  Also the most fashionable baby I've every seen.  When family or close friends get together here (in my classy, haute couture slice of French life), they show each other their new clothes and talk about the designers.  Or artwork.  I just stare at the champagne and wonder how many sips I have to take to be polite.  Tonight I politely bowed out of a dinner party that started at 8, and I can hear them still talking through my door.  It's midnight.  The French and their dinners...

It's time to talk about cultural differences.  You know, like the difference between hugging (American) and giving "bises"or kisses on both cheeks (French), which is very overwhelming for someone with a personal bubble like mine.  Or the difference between "vous voy-ing" and "tu-toi-ing", the more and less formal ways to address someone in the second person.  I still use the more formal "vous" for my family (with frequent slip-ups into informality), while a lot of my friends were told to "tu-toi" their families at the first meeting.

The biggest cultural difference, though?  FOOD.  Oh my goodness, yes.  Where to start?

Breakfast ( le petit dejeuner): Usually small, like coffee and a piece of bread (My host mother bought me cereal, thankfully.)

Lunch (le dejeuner): I've eaten at lots of creperies as well as the Resto-U (school cafeteria), and I can promise you that the restaurants are better.  (Surprise!)  I live in the Brittany region of France, which has a culture that's sometimes very unique from the rest of France, and one of the regional specialties are galettes.  They are sometimes called crepes in other regions, but they use a darker flour and usually include cheese and egg.  Delicieux!  Today we had oysters* and smoked salmon (yum).  
*I've had them in soup as a kid and didn't really like them, but I thought I'd give them another try.  They looked like they came straight out of the sea, and my family informed me that in Brittany you swallow them without chewing.  Okay, I thought, I can handle that.  Funny thing is, when you swallow an oyster without chewing, all you taste is salt water.  Not my favorite food.

Afternoon snack (le gouter): This one is mainly for little kids and the occasional American college student.  This one is my weakness.  I've visited a boulangerie every day after school this week.  My extremely thrifty Michigan college self is shocked!  But it's worth it, even if every day I have to promise myself that I'll start running tomorrow...  I've gone through several "This is my absolute favorite place and I'm going to be a regular!" phases so far.  Also, this one grocery store has massive bars of Swiss chocolate that are okay, I guess...

Dinner (le diner): This depends on the family, but mine is an extreme case: 8:30-9:00, somewhere in there we'll start.  I KNOW.  Hence the gouter.  My host mother serves lots of fish and vegetable dishes, which sounds healthy, right?  They're all amazing, and there are two very good reasons for that.  Butter and cream.  That sentence about running also applies here.  We eat bread (baguettes without butter) with every dinner, and I was introduced to a dessert called "fromage blanc", or "white cheese" the other night.  It tastes like bitter plain yogurt (to me) that you sweeten with jam.  Hm.

In case you are wondering, I have eaten escargots, and they were amazing.  I have not seen frog, rabbit, or deer pate yet, or I think I would have tried them.  I am also developing a large cheese repertoire, but we're still working on that one.

And the best part is, I've only been here for two weeks!

2 comments:

  1. Really!? Fashionable babies...hmm.

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  2. OH MY GOODNESS. So I found your blog on Facebook, and after having read about your experiences, now I want to go back to France SO BADLY! I am so happy that you're settling in. Can't wait to hear more!

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