Sep 282009
 

(asked by Glass, from Chicago, US) Ok, we’re going to do things a little differently today, as Glass was kind enough to not hate me after my not so kind answer and to rewrite his questions to make them more understandable. As such, he has the privilege to get his new questions (which really are the old ones, but understandable this time) answered on the day he asked them. And for the re-write. I am a gay 22-year-old male from [Read the rest]

Sep 222009
 

(asked by Glass from Chicago, US) What is the French viewpoint on homosexuality? Is gay marriage legal? Are homosexuals in France encouraged to fall in love with a singular other? Whilst speaking to French natives I sense that they are weirded out by the topic of homosexuality and don’t seem to think it’s of a great topic to talk, yet, other heterosexual topics don’t seem overly taboo to them. Is homosexuality confined to small neighborhoods in big cities, or is [Read the rest]

Sep 192009
 

If you’re a regular reader, you know that once in a while, I’ll post a bonus post. Usually triggered by ludicrous questions I find in the “search words” that brought people on the site (they’re not questions directly asked to me, just stuff they googled and that brought them here) Here is a new batch (with my short answers) and those past few hours, people have surpassed themselves: -Is there a difference between the French people in France and the [Read the rest]

Sep 192009
 

(asked by Thomas from the US) What is the high school experience like in France? Socially, it’s a big big deal in the US. Is that also true in France? And what does the educational picture look like for immigrants and minorities? You have two interesting questions here. One is going to be easy to answer, the second one much less, and sadly I won’t be able to answer in details to the second part. Let’s start with the high [Read the rest]

Sep 132009
 

For the past two days, the number of visitors to this site has skyrocketed, apparently, I was mentioned in a site (I had never heard of before… sorry…) and it brought a lot of people. So welcome to you all, enjoy the blog as much as you want, but I have a few words of “warning” for those of you that will stick around. First, look at the right hand column, they’ll tell you about the “rules” of the site.As [Read the rest]

Sep 112009
 

(asked by Kevin B.C. from somewhere) Do you have any tips on asking out and dating a French woman? How do you ask a French woman out?Mmmm… Pretty much like you ask any woman out… You could invite her for a coffee, a movie, a dinner, an exhibit, a cool spot nearby, etc. There are countless possibilities depending on what’s around you and what she and you both like. Concerning tips about dating, the answer about dating a French man [Read the rest]

Sep 092009
 

(asked by Samantha from New York) Without trying to be too vague, I want to know if you think strikes are still effective in France, or more so, do they still have the ability to actually affect those not concerned. Or are they so frequent that there’s actually some truth in Sarkozy’s whole when-France-goes-on-strike-nobody-notices quote? When one breaks out, how do you tend to react (if you react)? Having seen a handful besides the major university protests while I was [Read the rest]

Sep 072009
 

(asked by Marissa from somewhere) I have met a wonderful French man whom I will spend the month of August with… Is it common that French men invite female friends to spend summer vacation with their parents? What’s the etiquette that I should be aware of when I stay with them? What kind of gifts or gesture is expected as a guest? I am kind of nervous spending 10 days with his parents at their holiday home. Any advice from [Read the rest]

Sep 052009
 

(asked by Abigail from somewhere) What’s the deal with French males (even babies) and those gold religious medals worn around the neck? What are those things? I worked as an au pair for a French family many years ago and their 10 month old baby wore one always — when he slept, bathed, played — they never took it off him. In retrospect this seems kind of dangerous, to put a metal chain and a small pendant (perfect size for [Read the rest]

Sep 022009
 

(asked by Jeanine G. from Oklahoma) Most Americans love other accents (including me) so I was wondering what French people think of American accents. I know there are many type of American accents, although they actually sound very much alike to me. I am from Oklahoma but I am told I have a Valley Girl accent. So more specifically, what do the French think of Southern and Valley Girl accents? If I understand right, you want to know if people [Read the rest]