You know you're French when...

I’m going for a few days (I don’t know yet when I’m back) in Brittany, AKA “the part of France when it rains and they drink and there are pigs everywhere” (pfft, certainly not true).

So no posts until then, but submissions are open and I’ll read them gladly when I’m back!

À bientôt mes chéris !

(Not many submissions these days, and I’ve been kind of absent lately so I allow myself… And after all it’s my blog I do what I want)

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From Anon: How are exchange students received in France? Do people actually talk to them, or do they have sort of a hard time making friends?

A: I’m gonna repeat myself, but we’re gonna treat you guys right. Generally there are no prejudice, and as long as you’re nice we’re nice to you. Just make sure you know a few French (or at least enough English if it’s not your native language) to be understood ;)

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From internallyme : May you recommend any interesting French blogs :)? . A blog like this one,interesting facts, Paris, Dos & don’ts etc . Merci beaucoup

A: I don’t know any, sorry :/ But I do my best to be a bit various and not only post the basic facts, but also little things I can find around the interwebs that concern France. I was thinking about pushing this side of the blog a little further, so stay tuned if I find some material for it! :)

I received two questions related to the last one I answered…

femmeamericaine vous a demandé :
Are the French (and the rest of the world, I suppose) really that anti-American? I’m not stereotyping anyone, I know of course not everyone hates America, but I’m just wondering how many people really think so lowly of us. Because I am an American who will be spending a long period of time living in France, and I like to consider myself an American that doesn’t fit the American stereotype (I don’t think I’m arrogant, I consider myself aware of what’s going on in the world outside of my country, I’m very open to other cultures/ways of life, etc.). I’m just afraid that I’ll be judged for my nationality because of other Americans who ARE rude or arrogant before people even get a chance to know me.
Just wondering, thank you =)

A: Don’t worry. Here in France, we also have a lot of people who are like the American stereotype you described… There are rednecks everywhere after all. And those are the ones who would judge you for being American, exactly as the American rednecks would judge me if I came in USA. But I don’t think you will see many of them, I guess you’ll study/work somewhere where people have the same mentality than you, won’t you? So well, don’t be afraid, we might have a bit of prejudice but as soon as they see you’re nice I don’t think people would hate you just because of your nationality. :)
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internallyme vous a demandé :
Oh wow really i never knew you like the spanish language :O i can speak it , but i just wish i knew how to speak french! i’m extremley fascinated by it , & it can seem really hard for me sometimes because of the way you have to pronounce the words, & it’s VERY VERY fast. Yes of coarse i know not all French people are rude , i know there are really nice people!. I wonder , do french people have any stereotypes on Americans? & you should post a video on you speaking your wonderful language! :D

A: Yeah, French seems to be an extremely hard language to learn for foreign people D: Our grammar and our accent (or should I say accents, because each part of the country has a different one…) are a living hell. But it’s possible! My Mexican friend (him again) only spent a school year in France, he arrived in September only able to say “bonjour, merci, oui, non” and left almost bilingual. It’s just a matter of practice, and when you’re in a full French-speaking atmosphere it comes quicker than you can think!

And, a video of me speaking French? Why not! Just tell me what to say and I’m totally in :D

I got two questions about our delicious culinary specialties. So just let me put on my toque.

cestmaterre vous a demandé :I know most probably don’t make this but does anyone have a recipe for real french bread? (Where I live some try to pass Italian bread as French, so I’d really appreciate the info.) Merci!

Wow wow wow, first you need to know that we have gazillions of different breads. There’s not a “real French” one. Or maybe the baguette. But I don’t know how to make a baguette. But it mustn’t be really hard either.

Because YES, making bread is (in theory) the easiest thing in the world. So here’s my grandmother’s recipe for the “well it’s a basic bread it doesn’t have a name”. Get ready, it will be fast.

Take 500gr of flour (it’s about 1lb), 1/4 litre of water, a big spoon of coarse salt and some baker’s yeast.

In a big bowl, put the water, the salt and the yeast, stir. The put the flour half by half and keep stirring. When you have a big ball of sticky white thingy, put some flour on your working surface (so that it doesn’t stick everywhere) and knead it.

Let it settle for about 7 hours, then knead it again, cut some large notches at the top (it’s not to make it prettier, once I didn’t do it and the bread exploded) and finally put it in the oven at 220°C (about 430°F) for 45 minutes.

ALL DONE

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Anonyme vous a demandé :Just wondering - I learned to make ratatouille from a New England cookbook. I’ve heard that some use carrots, I don’t. After many debates on the proper ingredients for ratatouille, I’m finally asking. What is in a proper ratatouille, or is it a regional thing?

If I’m correct the ratatouille is from the southern part of France. But it became a popular thing everywhere and everyone has their own recipe, to be honest. In her ratatouille, my mother puts some tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, carrots, zucchini and a bit of garlic. But you can also put some eggplants, no carrots, and so on. In short, there’s no “proper” ratatouille. 

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And now you made me hungry, I’m gonna have lunch. Bon appétit.