Culture shock : France

289 Pages·2012·4.138 MB·English

by  Taylor, Sally Adamson

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The CultureShock! series is a dynamic and indispensable range of guides F
for those travellers who are looking to truly understand the countries they r
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are visiting. Each title explains the customs, traditions, social and business
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CultureShock! authors, all of whom have experienced the joys and pitfalls e A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette
of cultural adaptation, are ideally placed to provide warm and informative
advice to those who seek to integrate seamlessly into diverse cultures.
France
Each CultureShock! book contains:
• insights into local culture and traditions
• advice on adapting into the local environment
• linguistic help, and most importantly
• how to get the most out of your travel experience
CultureShock! France peels away the layers of the French and their
country to reveal the heart of the Gallic temperament. The book navigates
through essential topics such as learning the French language, how best
to work with the French, observing their body language and even how
to choose wine in a restaurant. Glean practical advice on fi nding a home,
getting the utilities running and putting the children into school. Find out
more about the French, a complex people who maintain a cool composure
on the outside yet are inwardly passionate about art, romance, cuisine
and wine. Discover how easily the French recognise a foreigner just by
the way their salad and pasta are eaten and learn how to avoid being the
object of their criticism. CultureShock! France is a must-read guide to all
the essential information needed for one to feel right at home in France.
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CultureShock!
A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette
France
Sally Adamson Taylor
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This 9th edition published in 2012 by
Marshall Cavendish Corporation
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Tarrytown, NY 10591-9001
www.marshallcavendish.us
First published in 1990 by Times Editions Private Limited, reprinted 1991,
1992, 1993, 1994; 2nd edition published in 1995,reprinted 1996; 3rd edition
published in 1997, reprinted 1997, 1998; 4th edition published in 1998,
reprinted 1999 (twice); 5th edition published in 2000 by Times Media Private
Limited, reprinted 2000, 2001; 6th edition published in 2003, reprinted 2004;
7th edition published in 2005 by Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private
Limited, 8th edition published in 2008, reprinted 2011.
© 2012 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited
All rights reserved
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E-mail: [email protected]
The publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the
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Marshall Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited
ISBN 13: 978-0-7614-8067-9
Please contact the publisher for the Library of Congress catalog number
Printed in Singapore by Times Printers Pte Ltd
Photo Credits:
All black and white photos by the author except pages 3, 130 (Corel Stock
Photo Library); 14, 17, 30, 52, 72, 106, 127, 136, 152, 164, 166, 168, 181,
201 (Inmagine.com) and 58–59, 122–123 (Susan Troccolo). All colour photos
from Inmagine.com (cid:132) Cover photo: Getty Images
All illustrations by TRIGG
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ABOUT THE SERIES
Culture shock is a state of disorientation that can come over
anyone who has been thrust into unknown surroundings, away
from one’s comfort zone. CultureShock! is a series of trusted
and reputed guides which has, for decades, been helping
expatriates and long-term visitors to cushion the impact of
culture shock whenever they move to a new country.
Written by people who have lived in the country and
experienced culture shock themselves, the authors share all the
information necessary for anyone to cope with these feelings
of disorientation more effectively. The guides are written in a
style that is easy to read and covers a range of topics that will
arm readers with enough advice, hints and tips to make their
lives as normal as possible again.
Each book is structured in the same manner. It begins
with the fi rst impressions that visitors will have of that city or
country. To understand a culture, one must fi rst understand the
people—where they came from, who they are, the values and
traditions they live by, as well as their customs and etiquette.
This is covered in the fi rst half of the book.
Then on with the practical aspects—how to settle in with
the greatest of ease. Authors walk readers through how to fi nd
accommodation, get the utilities and telecommunications up
and running, enrol the children in school and keep in the pink
of health. But that’s not all. Once the essentials are out of the
way, venture out and try the food, enjoy more of the culture
and travel to other areas. Then be immersed in the language
of the country before discovering more about the business
side of things.
To round off, snippets of basic information are offered
before readers are ‘tested’ on customs and etiquette of the
country. Useful words and phrases, a comprehensive resource
guide and list of books for further research are also included
for easy reference.
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CONTENTS
Foreword vi Being a Good Guest 80
Acknowledgements vii The Psychology of
Cultural Adjustment 84
Map of France viii
Going Home...
It Is harder Than You Think. 93
Chapter 1
First Impressions
1
Chapter 5
Learning to Understand Settling In 95
(and Love) the French 2
Being Someone 3 Bureaucracy 96
Giving and Getting Directions Visas and Work Permits 97
—The First Dance 5
Renting 98
Making Your Home
Chapter 2 Among the French 102
From the Celts
Managing at Home
to Rollerblades 12 in France 103
Children and
The Circles of French Life 13 their Adjustments 105
The Early French 15 Education in France 106
Some Recent History 19 As a University Student
in France 108
Chapter 3 Student Housing 109
Stereotypes French Student Protests 109
and Beyond— Private Telephone &
The Public French Data Services 110
25
Public Phones 113
Skin Deep 26 The Colour of Money 113
Stereotypes about the French 26 Opening a Bank Account 115
Beyond the Gauls & Franks 27 Health Care and
How the French See... 31 Social Services 117
Beyond Stereotypes— Getting Around Town 119
French Values and Traditions Taxis 119
You’ll Need to Learn Early 35
Private Transportation 120
Cycling 124
Chapter 4
Fitting into the Public Transportation 126
French Way of Life
45
Chapter 6
Shopping— Restaurants and Wine—
The Perpetual Temptation 46 French Essentials 128
Food Shopping 49
Clothes Shopping 54 Le Café—
Everyday Fare in Paris 129
Dressing the Chanel Way 55
Why Businesses
Non-verbal Communication 60 Close for Lunch 133
The Family Cycle of Life 68 Refi ned Dining and
Being a Guest the Food Mystique 134
in a French House 78
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Wine and its Part Chapter 9
in French Life 139 Working in France
192
Telling Wines Apart 145
Offi ce and
Chapter 7 Business Relationships 193
The Greatest Arts The Business Lunch 202
of France 149 Establishing a Business
in France 204
Cuisine & Character by Pays 150 Reverse Culture Shock—
The Other Arts 163 Back at the Home Offi ce 206
The Year’s Holidays
and Seasons 171 Chapter 10
Fast Facts
about France
Chapter 8 208
Parlez-vous Français?
175
The Art of Conversation 176 Culture Quiz 221
Silence Preserves 177 Do’s and Don’ts 228
Conversational Confrontations Glossary 231
With Strangers—Three Rules 181 Resource Guide 237
In France Try to Speak French 184 Further Reading 254
Thinking Like the French 185 About the Author 261
Faux Amis 186 Index 262
Apprendre! 187
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FOREWORD
vi
Nearly 40 years ago, when I set my fi rst naïve Anglo-Saxon
American foot on a Paris sidewalk, I was so intimidated by
the French hauteur that I determined to have nothing more
to do with that country or those people. By the time I started
researching the fi rst edition of this book, 20 years later, I was
a devoted fan of France and the French. And I remain very
grateful for any time I can spend in this country or among
her people.
“Between hate and love,” the French say, “is just one step.”
For me, it was several steps. It began with an appreciation of
the French language when I was hitch hiking through North
Africa. The Tunisians, Algerians and Moroccans understood
my attempts at high school French when the Parisiens had
not. And I sort of understood them.
A decade later, when I returned to France to bicycle
through her vineyards, I discovered a magnifi cent countryside
and a world of kind and generous people. They welcomed a
solitary lady cyclist whose interest in wines and winemaking
far exceeded her French vocabulary and grammar. The
wines and the food of the countryside, of course, completed
the seduction.
Settling in Paris to write the fi rst-ever guide to the wine
country of France by bicycle, I began to appreciate the
superfi ciality of that French hauteur… how easy it was to get
past it, often with a simple cheery “Bonjour, Madame!” and
a guileless display of American enthusiasm. And I learned
many good reasons the French are the way they are.
I have put all that I have learned, and much that I have
learned from others into this book. I hope it will help your
understanding and appreciation of these wonderful people
and this remarkable country.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
vii
In trying to shorten the steps for the readers, I have tempered
my own views with the observations and wisdom of a
great many others. Of the many who have made personal
and intellectual contributions to this project, I would like
to particularly thank Sam Abt, my first French teacher
Mme Albaugh (wherever she is), Elizabeth Antebi, Adeline &
Renaud de Barry, Barbara Bell, Fiona Beeston, Paul Bertier,
Isabelle Bolgert, Rebecca Boone, Michele Brothers, Chuck
Canapa, Raymonde Carroll, Mouloud Chekini, John & Nona
Denis, Patricia Dunn, Lena Emmery, Nathalie Fieldel-Schact,
Therese de Gasquet, Mary de Vachon, Franck Gauthey, Ruth &
Lew Goldhammer, Kim Guptill, Gus Hawkins, Neil Hollander,
Francis Kelsall, Christy Love, Lucien Legrand, Régine Michel,
Robert Moran, Ivy & Chandran Nair, Radha Nair, Polly Platt,
Rod Shippey, Janine & Charles Stockton, my mother Ann
Adamson Taylor (a pioneer in intercultural relationships),
Susan Troccolo, Shuji Yoshida, Rob & Neil van der Plas, Susan
Wagner, Esther Wanning, Mathieu Girondin, Nico Rimbal, and
the women at WICE, AAWE and Bloom.
Paris, August 2007
Thanks especially to fellow Francophiles: Christopher Pitts,
author of the App, “Free Paris”; to my godson, NIcholas
Perry, who added material on the French medical services
and student life; and to Susan Troccolo who labored tirelessly
to unravel the complex telephone services, while befriending
all she met.
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MAP OF FRANCE
viii
NETHERLANDS
ENGLAND
BELGIUM
ENGLISH CHANNEL GERMANY
LUXEMBOURG
PARIS
ATLANTIC
SWITZERLAND
OCEAN
FRANCE
BAY OF
ITALY
BISCAY
CORSICA
ANDORRA
SPAIN
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS
CHAPTER 1
‘... we are caught between the desire to deny
differences (we are all human) and the desire
to emphasise them (the right to be different).’
—Raymonde Carroll, Cultural Misunderstandings
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