I’m heading to France next Friday, partly for vacation, but also for school as part of the "study abroad" program. I’ll be spending a week there attending classes, visiting some big companies, including L’Oreal and one of the biggest banks in France, BNP. We’ll also be visiting the Chamber of Commerce and the EU central government in Brussels, Belgium.
As part of the academic work, I need to write a cultural paper about my experiences in France. What better to do that then to blog about it so that you can help me edit my findings! So in the next few weeks, I’m hoping to put up a new post while I’m over in Europe. I should have Internet access at the hotels, or at the very least, cafes around the city.
So, what have I learnt about France so far?
- The French can get very excited and passionate about things, like politics, but they can come across as aloof and proud. This is mainly due to their protectiveness of the French language. To get the French to open up, try approaching with some attempted words of French instead of starting with English
- Electronics, sports goods and other American imports are expensive in France right now. This is strange, since the high value of the Euro should theoretically mean that US goods should look cheap in France. This warrants further investigation
- The French place a high value on education and use that as a guide to social standing. The level of education, and the place that you went to school are two ways to determine social standing. While this happens to a lesser extent in the US, for the most part, it is wealth and position that determines that here.
Anyway, look here for further travel updates!