As you might imagine, life in a village in Languedoc is not the same as life in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here are just a few of the differences we've noticed so far, with more to come in future posts.
When we make errors in our French (an all-too-frequent occurrence), we are gently corrected in a way that does not embarrass us. For instance, when in a boulangerie to buy a loaf of bread, I asked for un baguette & the boulanger repeated our request correctly -- une baguette, as though she were confirming our order, rather than correcting us. The same thing happens when we mangle our pronunciation of a French word. We have yet to run into a situation when they snickered or pretended not to know what we were saying.
Speaking of stores, when entering a store one is always greeted -- "Bonjour monsieur" or "Bon soir madame", not only by the staff, but usually by the other patrons as well. When leaving, it's the same thing: "Bon soirée" or "Bon journée."
The polite greetings, however, do not always translate to what Americans would call customer service. For example, we went to the local Carrefour (large grocery on the edge of Pézenas) recently & wanted to purchase an item we saw in the sale flyer. We looked where we thought it would be & didn't find it so we went to the customer service counter to ask where we could find it. The young woman there looked at the ad, shrugged & then asked a colleague. The 2 of them pointed vaguely in the direction I had already looked, but I went there again, in case I missed it the first time. When I didn't see it there, I returned to the counter & was given yet another shrug but no further assistance. Keep in mind that the Carrefour is a rather large store & there are many items. The good news is that I eventually found it myself.
Driving here is different. One-way streets & signs indicating "no left turn" seem to be mere suggestions. Drivers will often tailgate, sometimes honking the horn, & will pass at the earliest opportunity, only to drive even more slowly than you were in the first place. If you are going to need to change lanes to exit it's a good idea to do so long before you have the need, as drivers here are not always generous in allowing you to move in front of them. They, of course, will cut in front of you without giving it a second thought. One evening, on our way back from a couple of days in Provence a driver tailgated dangerously & swerved around our car at the last second, nearly pushing us off the narrow country road. Defensive driving is the rule. On the positive side, when someone parks in the middle of the street, people don't seem to get upset -- they merely back up & find an alternate route.
The concept of forming an orderly line (queue if you are British) is hit or miss here. When boarding a bus it becomes a free-for-all, with everyone bunched up at the door, trying to be the first to board, and absolutely no consideration for the elderly or infirm waiting to board. Nobody pushes or shoves or argues & everyone gets on the bus. If boarding a bus or train that is already fairly full, people "of a certain age" or frequently offered seats, more often than in the US. At the grocery yesterday the line for one of the cashiers came from 2 separate directions simultaneously. We guess it all worked out, but we never saw the entire thing because when another cashier opened we made a mad dash & were out of the store shortly after that. We have to say, though, that everyone seems calm & takes it all in stride.
We're not sure whether prostitution is illegal here. There is one road we travel frequently that has many prostitutes standing or sitting along the side of the road, waiting for business. It is out in the open so we wonder what the law is here. In the States, one generally only sees prostitutes in really bad neighborhoods -- & only when the police feel like allowing it. Here, it seems like a part of everyday life & it's taken in stride. Attitudes toward sex & bodies are definitely different in France than in the US.
Speaking of bodies, it's not unusual to see a man urinating in a parking lot or against the side of a building. It's viewed as a natural act, & not something to hide. I'm a bit ambivalent about this.
Shopping malls: Just as in the US, at malls here you'll find "mall rats" -- teens hanging out. Of course, the malls have the usual mix of stores, cafés, cinemas, etc. One thing we've seen at malls here that we've not seen in the US is farm animals. A couple of months ago we were in a mall & heard strange sounds, so we walked down the hallway & around the corner to see what caused the noises. We were surprised to see 100 or so cages of large birds -- every sort of chicken/rooster imaginable, some of which were quite bizarre-looking, as well as some pheasant, geese, peacocks, etc. They were apparently for sale, but it had also become an attraction for local school groups. Too bad we didn't have our camera with us that day.
Then, yesterday, we were in a different mall & saw a crowd gathered around a small fenced-in area containing farm animals....sheep, goats, chickens, rabbits, a squealing pig, etc. It was a sort of a petting zoo, & the timing of the display was probably to coincide with the school holiday & the children were really enjoying it. To be honest, having always lived in major metropolitan areas in the US, we're not entirely sure these displays are uniquely French, or whether similar things can be found in small towns & rural areas in the US.
Holidays & fêtes: There seems to be an endless calendar of holidays & fêtes here, some religious, some national, some specific to a town or village, & the majority of them seem to have a specific food or pastry associated with them. There is a cake for Christmas (bûche de Nöel), a different one for Epiphany (galette du roi -- similar to New Orleans Mardi Gras king cake) with a favor/charm baked inside. The person who gets the piece of cake with the charm inside is declared king & wears a paper crown. One interesting trivia fact is that the galette served to the President of France does not contain a favor because since the revolution of 1870 the French constitution states that nobody living in the Elysée Palace will wear a crown. There is a different pastry for St. Blaise (the local patron saint), & crêpes are served for Candlemas. Beignets -- similar to donuts, but without the hole -- are the pastry eaten at Mardi Gras. Foie gras seems to be the favorite food for all celebratory occasions, & oysters (along with lots of other shellfish) are de rigeur for New Year's.
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