NerdyJill

Whoops! I meant:

Ha, that’s better!

So today I wanted to write about clichés on France. Don’t lie, you know at least one or two.

We, French people, are quite famous for our gastronomie (doesn’t it sound so posh when I put a French word every now and then?). It’s funny to me, because I eat way too much junkfood. And honestly, who eats enough with this?!

I’d need to eat 10 of these to be satisfied

My point is, we do have great restaurants, even though I’ve never tried them because I don’t have the money and, as I said, they serve teeny-weeny plates. It’s true that I’m trying to eat healthier, but I just go for soup or salad or fruits… And I do hope they’re not just in France. 

Though I have to say, I tasted croissants in several other countries, and I highly disliked them. But still, this is the same for every ‘traditional’ food of each country, isn’t it?

Honestly, I don’t know how you guys came up with that one. Is it because of Patti LaBelle’s song Lady Marmalade in which you hear ‘Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir’? Or because of the Cabaret Rouge? 

Whatever. Stop believing this. Not everyone is DTF. ;)

I know what you’re going to say. ‘Every country is defined by its capital city’. Okay. But my point is: everyone thinks ‘I want to visit France, I’ll go to Paris’.

Do you think this is France? Because it’s not. This is what we want you to focus on, because the Eiffel Tower is such a masterpiece of art.

The thing is, there’s so much more to France than just Paris.

Gotcha! Did you think this was a picture of Hogwarts? It’s not. This is the Mont Saint Michel in Lower Normandy. It is a village, and on top of it is the abbey. Amazing, isn’t it? And it’s just an example of the many wonders of France!

Oh God, do I sound like I hate Paris? I keep bashing it. This is honestly not my goal.

Above is the Pont des Arts, with all its padlocks. This is the main reason why Paris is considered the city of love (along with the landscapes). I’m not going to argue on that, although I personnaly don’t see what is romantic in padlocks. Don’t get me wrong, I get the concept, but still.

Moreover, as I said, this part of the city is just the one we want you to see. The rest of the town is just like any random big city.

Ouch, I’m offended. If you didn’t know yet, I’m French, and I speak English fluently. It might not be perfect, but I still am fluent. I know I don’t represent the whole 67 million people in France, but trust me, we language lovers exist. 

If I just take my example, and use the Common European Framework of Referance for Languages (CEFR - the different levels are A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2), my level in English would be between C1 and C2, my Spanish level would be between A2 and B1, and my level in German would be A2. I can also introduce myself in these three languages, French obviously, and Polish, Italian, Russian, Swedish, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, French Sign  Language, Turkish. And that’s just me. To be quite honest, I hate this cliché. But at the same time, it’s one of the easiest to dismantle. Moreover, even though I think they’re wrong, a lot of people from any country think learning languages is pointless. 

To be honest, I had never heard the cliché of French people bashing Americans until an hour ago, when my American friend (ily) told me it was a very widespread cliché; although I did know we French people are renowned for not liking tourists. 

It’s true that here, a lot of people could dislike it if you talk to them in another language than French (maybe it’s linked to the fact that we supposedly don’t speak any foreign language). I know I’d be pleased, on the contrary, but it could be the opposite for someone else. Think about it. If I came up to you asking my way in French, would you be pleased if you didn’t speak the language? Of course not. Either you’d be pissed, or embarrassed.

As for Americans, I have honestly never ever heard anyone bashing Americans. My mother even told me they were way nicer than Brits (don’t worry, UK, I won’t let you down ♥♥♥)

I feel like, in this post, all I have done is confirming yet another cliché about French people. We complain a lot. 

But it’s just so fun, you know? I love complaining. Well, not too much, otherwise it kills the fun.

This is it for my article on French clichés. If you know some others, let me know, I’ll add them here!

If you liked this article, please follow this blog and reblog this post so that your followers and theirs can read it and have some fun :) [ON TUMBLR]

And if you have some advice for me, or just something nice you want to tell me, message me! I’ll always answer.

Hugs,

Jill♥

PS: My OOTD (Outfit Of The Day).