France vs America: What you should know before you go

Most of this matches my experiences. Tipping culture keeps servers friendly and attentive. I had bad experiences in Paris but had been warned that it would be the case. I always imagined them as the "New Yorkers" of France and didn't think all French people acted this way.

I frequently drive on dirt roads where it's rude not to wave at everyone you pass whether you know them or not. You can't even get eye contact trying to talk to strangers in NYC. If you've ever seen Crocodile Dundee then you understand.

Smiling....a hilariously American thing. Even the natives were bemused by this custom by the early colonials, so I find it hard to believe smiling wasn't a thing in England. My face is getting permanent wrinkles on my smile lines. The stories of Davy Crockett include "grinning" a coon out of a tree. The Cherokee and Shawnee used names for Daniel Boone that had to do with smiling.

I don't know why so many Americans are so friendly with strangers. Perhaps we are curious about others since we are all so different. I love to hear the stories of others. Is it more common in less populated areas to build meaningless camaraderie with strangers?
 
Most of this matches my experiences. Tipping culture keeps servers friendly and attentive. I had bad experiences in Paris but had been warned that it would be the case. I always imagined them as the "New Yorkers" of France and didn't think all French people acted this way.

I frequently drive on dirt roads where it's rude not to wave at everyone you pass whether you know them or not. You can't even get eye contact trying to talk to strangers in NYC. If you've ever seen Crocodile Dundee then you understand.

Smiling....a hilariously American thing. Even the natives were bemused by this custom by the early colonials, so I find it hard to believe smiling wasn't a thing in England. My face is getting permanent wrinkles on my smile lines. The stories of Davy Crockett include "grinning" a coon out of a tree. The Cherokee and Shawnee used names for Daniel Boone that had to do with smiling.

I don't know why so many Americans are so friendly with strangers. Perhaps we are curious about others since we are all so different. I love to hear the stories of others. Is it more common in less populated areas to build meaningless camaraderie with strangers?

I don't know that it's only an American thing. There's definitely a cline in Europe in terms of friendliness to unknown people, if not actual smiling, with more of it in the south.

As for New York, like Paris, the people are brusque, direct, but I think a lot of that is because they're rushed, tense, surrounded by so many people, many of them foreign. If you make an effort in both places, it's usually rewarded in both places. As I've related, I've had wonderful experiences all over France, including Paris.

I've never been in emergency situations in Paris or France in general, so I can't speak to that, but I have been in New York: snowstorms, hurricanes, black-outs, 9/11, you name it, all the way to flat tires, getting lost, forgetting my bag etc., and you couldn't be around better people in those situations.

They're also incredibly accepting and welcoming to people of any race, religion, culture, who comes to settle in. If you try to assimilate, most of them will accept you no questions asked.

You just have to be prepared for the brusqueness and directness. I was reminded of it this weekend, doing hurricane coverage in Naples, Florida. Some idiot guy was walking his dog a few blocks from the beach during the lull as the eye passed over. Cuomo leaned over and shouted to him, "Hey buddy, this is a hurricane! Haven't you been listening? Take your dog and get off the street!) All said in a friendly way, but very direct. It gave me quite a warm feeling.
 
France and the United States of America are very interconnected. Among all the existent amazings in France, it is also worth knowing these unique works:

The Château de Rastignac located in La Bachellerie, near Bordeaux in the Dordogne in France.
AJQYAsX.jpg



The replica Statue of Liberty, a scale model in bronze of the Statue of Liberty hidden away on the west side of the Luxembourg Gardens until July 2012. The original sculpture was moved to the musée d’Orsay (also a must in Paris). The original bronze statue was replaced with a replica in 2013.
QwEHhuN.jpg
 
I don't know that it's only an American thing. There's definitely a cline in Europe in terms of friendliness to unknown people, if not actual smiling, with more of it in the south.

As for New York, like Paris, the people are brusque, direct, but I think a lot of that is because they're rushed, tense, surrounded by so many people, many of them foreign. If you make an effort in both places, it's usually rewarded in both places. As I've related, I've had wonderful experiences all over France, including Paris.

This reminds me of the years I lived in Japan. The people, one on one, were very friendly, but in groups, especially on the trains, they were very cold and never looked at you, or anyone else for that matter. I always thought this was a defense against the sheer weight of numbers; building a personal cocoon of aloneness.
 
This reminds me of the years I lived in Japan. The people, one on one, were very friendly, but in groups, especially on the trains, they were very cold and never looked at you, or anyone else for that matter. I always thought this was a defense against the sheer weight of numbers; building a personal cocoon of aloneness.

I definitely agree with you on that, but sometimes it's just some combination of genetics and culture I think.

A couple with whom we're very friendly has traveled absolutely everywhere; one of the perks of being childless I think.:)

Anyway, they were telling me stories of traveling in Eastern Europe and how nobody smiled at anyone else. My friend, who is a very "smiley" person indeed asked her Czech tour guide why people seemed to smile so little, and the answer was, well, we smile when we have a reason to smile.

I thought that was a pretty funny answer. Smiling is a way of signaling friendliness, lack of threat, the building of a bond, not because you're wildly happy.

It's the same thing in terms of wanting to be alone. I lived in Manhattan for eight years. You do sort of cocoon yourself in your own space; reading a book or listening to your own music while on the subway for example, because you're experiencing sensory overload; it's just too much. Or else you're so stressed dodging cars and pedestrians that you really don't have time to notice people around you.

What, however, could explain this except some ingrained desire not to connect too much with other people? I would feel uncomfortable if I didn't at least say hi, terrible weather, or been waiting long or smiled or something. They're two women as well, so no fear factor.

BqkCT3q.png


Waiting for a table at a restaurant in Italy
PDR57jo.png
 
The France vs America today is a thin political subject.

Especially for NATO
 
Concerning tipping, in German speaking areas its not like you have to, but its customary to give a tip and if the service was very friendly, it might be seen as ungrateful and even impolite if you don't at least round up. A fair tip is usually about 10 percent, but if you give less, its not that bad. But if you ordered a lot, got good service and don't give a tip afterwards, you might be seen as an...
Tips make up a good amount of the income of the service personell. Its not the same everywhere and its also different how you give the tip, so there are fairly big differences on whether and how you give a tip in Europe. Sometimes even between neighbouring countries.
 
Why compare countries, there are good and bad things in both countries.
 

This thread has been viewed 22044 times.

Back
Top