First week in Strasbourg: I ate a baguette in front of the European parliament, saw a demonstration and I complained about the French government as a conversation starter – let’s check some clichés about the French and see if I am transitioning already!
Baguette.
Yes, of course the baguette. I eat baguette, everyone eats baguette. You can get baguettes in the arte-Café and it is delicious. The only time I could not get a baguette anymore was just before curfew at 6 p.m. when I was on my way home from work. I thought this could be a sign of a crisis, but the next day there were baguettes everywhere again.
Food is the most important thing in the world.
That is very true. I agreed with that before but now I eat like the French and I will gain so much weight in the next months. Big portions, long lunch breaks – this is how the French live. The cafeteria at arte is also out of this world. The meals look super fancy and taste delicious. (We can still eat there thanks to a special hygiene concept.) I did not see any snails or frogs on the menu yet though. But then again, it’s only been one week so there’s still time to come across some of those.
No other languages than French.
As of now, I still speak other languages than French around here. But I have to say that I am in a special situation. As I work and live in the Alsace-region, a lot of people speak both German and French. And young people even try to speak English with me sometimes when I clearly do not understand them. The French accent can be hard to understand, but I cannot confirm the language hating cliché here in Strasbourg.
French people smoke a lot.
I can definitely confirm, however, that this cliché is correct as there are always people smoking in front of the arte-building (even though most of the staff is working from home). Looking at the numbers there is not such a big difference between Germany and France though: In 2016 16 million people smoked on a daily basis in France, that is about 23,9 % of the whole French population. In 2017 in Germany, 22,4 % of the inhabitants said they are smokers. That is not much less. In my experience French people are less strict about smoking. A cigarette just because it could suit the situation is also more common for young people than in Germany. Fortunately, I did not adopt that habit.
Less work.
That is correct. According to French law, a full week of work is 35 hours long, in Germany it’s 40 hours. That is nice but since food is so important here, I am still in the office for eight hours a day. I just eat longer than I would in Germany. According to the times, when I have to be reachable, I could even do a two-hour long lunch break, even though practically only one is allowed.
French people complain a lot.
I thought German people complain a lot, but French people are a lot worse – the difference is they do not take the complaints as serious. It is called “râler” which means to complain just for the fun of it. And I actually started to do that as well, be it at the shop or at the office. It seems like French people love it when you throw a bit of shade on their government.
So, am I already transitioning into a French person? I eat a lot, I try to work 35 hours a week and I râle. Also, I cross red lights all the time now – so I am losing my Germanness at the same time.
I am on a good path to become a proper French person soon.