How Americans React to Me Living in France! I French Culture, French Stereotypes, French Cliches
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- Опубліковано 26 лис 2022
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Salut tout le monde! I'm back with another american in France, french culture video! I'll be heading back to the USA soon to celebrate the holidays with my family and i'll be introduced to people I don't know. As soon as I say i'm an American living in France, i always get the same reactions! A lot of these reactions are similar because they are centered around French stereotypes or french cliches, but i'm not sure that you could guess that ones that seem to be the most prominent in people's mind!
Enjoy the video and let me know in the comments below the reactions you get when you tell people where you live!
Bisous! Kate ✌
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❤ Hop on board to the hot mess express that is Kate! I’m a pizza loving, wine guzzling American thriving in Paris. Eh… scratch the thriving part and put surviving. I’ve got an endless love/hate relationship with France, that drives me to do unexplainable things. If you like pizza recommendations and some expat excitement, you’re in the right place.✌Subscribe for new videos every week!
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I lived in Nice for 12 years, and 4 friends out of 40 visited me, my own sister never visited. The jealousy is palpant, they assume I'm living the fantastic life they always dreamed of daring to do. But like you say, when you try to talk about regular life they don't listen. One friend came and acted as if I was free to show her around, but I had a job and I had to think of my budget. Oh, and I am from Sweden so, it takes 2h to get here on a plane, and the cost is just 150 euros, tour et retour.
Thanks Kate. When I tell Americans casually that I am living in Tbilisi Georgia, I can guarantee that the next words out of their mouths will be something like 'Is that near Macon, or Atlanta?'
Up around Atlanta, near Marietta.
@@RBDawg Actually nearer to Athens, the old one.
Geogia isn't this African country between Indonesia and Canada ? I love their national meal called "burrito"
😄
thats just idiotic ignorance
😂😂😂😂😂
I've read that the stereotype about hygiene problems comes from WWII : tons of American soldiers in a country where many things, including soap, were rationed due to the war.
That's true, even if we had soap, for many families it was homemade soap they had to learn to make themselves and they were efficient but they didn't smell as good as perfumed soap you can buy.
hello pour le deodorant il y a des composants qui favorisent le cancer du sein et qui sont du coup interdits en france.
My wife and I visit Europe often; it's a luxury for so many in our family who've never had any opportunity to go, so we usually have to explain how down-to-earth our visits are. We don't stay in luxury hotels gorging on expensive meals every night. We buy our own groceries, hang out with folks, and enjoy the "ordinary" life!
My husband and I currently live in France. People ask where we're from and when we say "Las Vegas", it's as if a backdrop of bright lights and a line of showgirls suddenly appear behind us 🤣 But, seriously, telling people that living in France is very mundane (especially if the chances are very high that they will never go there, not even on vacation) is a little like telling a kid there's no Santa. I lean into the "simple and quality" part of the mythos, which can change a person's perceived quality of life.
When I travelled to China, coming from Paris, I always had the same one reaction: "Oh, it's sooo romantic!" And I hated to have to say that my life was stressful, not romantic at all, and I didn't have a big unaffordable flat next to the Eiffel tower!
Y a aucune dignité en Chine.
Hilarious how you describe the reaction regarding the look/fashion! 🤣
I am french, and used to live in Paris region, now I live in Frankfurt, Germany. So when I come back to Paris, this is the complete opposite reaction. "Oh we have not been visiting you, sorry, but you know Germany ... It is not the American dream! If you have been expat in London or New York, we might have come pay you a visit!" I find that actually dumb. But I don't care. I feel actually so happy to live where I live in comparison to the stressful Parisian life. I let people think what they want and don't try to convince them that stereotypes are not true.
Living in Nashvile, TN, people think we all wear cowboy boots, twirly skirts and that everyone listens to country music. I do none of those things, and most people who live here do not dress like that. People wearing those things are pegged as tourist. Love your videos!
I grew up in Nashville and that is so true!
I live in Ireland and everytime I meet Americans and others, I get ask the first same question. Do I see Leprechaun 🍀 around. Sure I do, every morning when am stuck in traffic on my way to work 😂😂😂
Funny
French reaction to "I live in Paris" : "Ah, je croyais que vous viviez *vraiment* en France, pas dans sa capitale." 😂
I'm from Italy and American reactions are similar. People tend to romanticize Italy and when you talk about real-life everyday problems, they tend to be dismissive. I tell them that it's different when you live in a country and, unlike tourists, don't get to just see and do the nice and fun bits. It seems that, in people's mind, Italy goes hand in hand with escapism and folks don't want you bursting their bubble by mentioning reality which, btw, bites everywhere even in one of the most beautiful and romantic countries on earth.
Wasn't Mussolini from Italy? Weren't the Venitian flood mitigation projects delayed and mired by corruption? These are rhetorical questions.
@@moonshinershonor202 Indeed, Italy has some huge problems (past and present: Mussolini had a huge impact on the country which is still being felt today). However, it seems to me that there are people who don't want reality to spoil their fantasy. Also, Americans living in Italy are a privileged group, and most don't have to put up with the things Italians have to (or at least not to the same extent as they tend to get favorable treatment).
From New York, and living in France. My friends are jealous and think I eat French food and drink wine every day...in a lovely restaurant right across the street from the Eiffel Tower. Also, they think I celebrate the same American holidays here! I'm working hard every day just like everyone else and I DON'T eat French food...every day it's pasta and potatoes. LOL
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 currently (and probably permanently) in France too, but my first experience living abroad was in Korea, I’d constantly get asked from people back in the US of “are you scared of North Korea?” 😂😂😂😂 no…….
As for fashion, honestly I found Koreans to be better dressed overall compared to French people, lol
@@aeolia80 funny
One that bothers my French friends is that everyone drinks wine. None of his family drink alcohol at all! Im Scottish, on the rare occasion I tell an American, they are quick to tell me that their grannie's, grannie's granny was from Scotland, then they proceed with unending questions.
I have been living in France for 49 years and worked for 35 years in the same company. When I retired (a big "event" that I did not want), some people asked me "Are you going home now?" Horrifying but true -- if you came from the United States, many people cannot imagine that you don't want to return there. Of course, you have not at all lived in France long enough to understand the reaction of people who have made their lives here and can't imagine ever living in the country of their birth.
*Usually, I ask people if they plan to retire here or if they prefer to spend their "last years" in their country of birth. It's like in 2019, when I took the plane to go back to Paris, I showed my passport to a LAX agent, and he told me "you're going back to your country??? With a very sarcastic and mean look. Sometimes, we deal with bad people...*
And now you do live.... in Provence !! Do you ?
@kerouac2
49 years away from your country of birth... wow. Being French and married to a Brit, I only (!) lived some 43 odd years in the U.K. I, too, had my fair share of thoughtless/tactless questions, one of the most remarkable coming from an oh-so-nice yet oh-so-silly colleague: "How often do you go home?" (I had been living there 15 years by then). "Every day, after work" was my snappy anwer. Leaving the poor gal all "Ah, well, yes, erm, I mean, you know... "
Well, I hope that whatever your choice of a place where to retire, you are happy. Or next best to!..
I think the hardest part for me (and I only live in France half-time) is feeling jealousy from friends, or feeling their annoyance if I complain about *anything*. They aren't realizing what kind of sacrifices I've had to make (and to continue to make) to have this life. It's not just easy, and it wasn't just luck.
Re: deodorant, I found a Vichy (roll-on) and a Dove (soft solid) antiperspirant that have worked decently well, the Vichy in the parapharmacie and the Dove just in the regular supermarket aisles. I alternate every other day between the two.
Kate, I m so glad to found you because I d like to fun and absoutly learn and hear yours stories about those french and France ,
We are from California and moved to Dornach, Switzerland so I could study anthroposophy at the Goetheanum (outside of Basel). Back home we were used to fresh tortillas so grabbed a pack of tortillas (a U.S. brand we would never normally purchase) off COOP's grocery shelf. For two years we bought tortillas and packaged taco shells for our burritos, enchiladas and tacos. As our time in Switzerland was coming to an end we laughed at how those awful packaged tortillas and taco shells had begun to taste good! In Paris we always have a meal at Fajitas on Rue Dauphine.
Not sure a diet of tortillas and burritos is the best for spiritual elevation, though... I suspect it's even worse than eating potatoes... ;)
OMG ! I am so happy to hear an American speaking on this. When I used to live in San Francisco, a lot of Americans didn’t believe me when I was bringing up the issues that one will encounter in Paris. I love Americans but talking to them about problems in France is like talking to a wall.
Nonetheless, I can’t wait to move back to the USA.
I'm from Italy. Americans tend to romanticize Italy and when you tell them of real-life everyday problems it's also like talking to a wall. It's different when you live in a country and, unlike tourists, don't get just to see the nice bits.
@@anta3612 Absolutely, being a tourist and living the day to day life in a country are two different experiences.
@@sabadaga1 exactly
@@anta3612 this problem exist every where. Some people love Japan and décide to live there.
And they face the work problems.
Hahaha absolutely agree with the deodorant thing. The one I bought in the US was incredibly strong, it took a while to readjust to the European ones. I am happy to see it's not just me!
Love all of your videos! ❤️🇫🇷
Bonjour, That's funny, I also had issues with deodorants!! I am french and when I moved to America I really didn't like the deodorants here, especially the smell. It took me over 10 years before I stopped importing them from France. I guess you grow up with certain habits and it takes time to get used to new things, lol.
7:25 While this stereotype is unfair, one understands that it's possible to get such an impression by riding the Paris subway at rush hour in the summer. It ain't 18th-century Versailles but it gets pretty smelly too. I guess it must be especially shocking to visitors from East Asia, who for genetic reasons barely have any body odor.
Heading home for the first time after almost 2 years in france… I am dreading all of this!😅
future video? what are the big makeup pharmacy style ( budget) , skincare that French women use now?
*1.When I came back from Brittany to Paris, 4 years ago, there was an empty seat next to me... a tourist asked me if he could seat there, I said "yes, there's nobody". He visited "Mont Saint-Michel", the guy smelt so bad... and he was AMERICAN.*
*2.When I was in NYC in 2018, I rented an apartment. In the elevator, a couple of men took the elevator with me and one of them was soooo smelly, he was AMERICAN. In both cases, it was not sweat, it was GRIME!!! Even WORSE!!!*
*Some American (and anglo-saxon) people just love to make fun of French or demean them. Just to be sure, they will not be better than them...*
Re exotic, yeah, life isn’t always a vacation in Paris-but then for five weeks/year it is. Cheers, thanks, always enjoy your videos
For deodorant i have struggled with french deodorant but now i use la roche possay bar deodorant and that one worked for me after months of trying with french deodorants from the supermarket
I have found 1 French deodorant that works for me. But, it’s still rough after the gym. But it works for every day use
Maybe americans have different genetics/sweating issues because french deodorants seem to work just fine for french people lol
Tu as raison sur la nourriture : imagine quand nous francais, on va aux US. C est la misère.
Kate (1:30):"Fashion isn't necessarily my passion".
Kate, you are always so well dressed and elegant in your videos, you gotta be interested in fashion, at least a little.
Now💡 for your Christmas 🎁 - fancy calendars with French holidays appearing in color on it. Priceless reactions 😲🤯😳 for sure.
Nivea Pure Invisible . I visited France mid 2000. I had it with my American deodorant that was destroying my fine English Cotton blouses and summer cotton dresses. until i discovered Nivea Pure Invisible in France. Thanks to Amazon, that is now what i use. I am 59 so i probably no longer smell like most people smell when they are teens. i also have a shower and a W/D so it is really easy to keep up with hygiene. Not to be taken for granted in 2023 in America. i am thinking of getting a bidet attachment. My daughter and i loved the bidets in Italy last summer. i did notice that CERA Ve , my favourite moisturizing cream, works fantastic on summer feet, was getting big in Italy last summer
les Touristes du monde entier qui visitent paris et la France disent souvent que le parisien et les français ne sont pas aimables ? Paris est la capitale la plus visiter au monde soi-disant la ville lumière etc. les gens venus du monde entier oublient que les parisiens travaillent , que les parisiens ont comme tout le monde leurs propres préoccupations , que 99% des habitants n'habitent pas les beaux quartiers de Paris "aux pieds de la tour Eiffel , place des Vosges , le quartier des invalides le XVIèmes arrondissements " mais en banlieues le dictons parisiens "métro , boulots , dodo" ou "métro , travail , métro , dormir" il n'y a aucune différences que vous soyez à : Paris , New-York, Tôkyô, Londres , Hanoï , Djakarta . les New-yorkais , londoniens etc . sont-ils aimables en semaine ? NON ! quand à cette croyance américaines , que les français sont sales , ne se lavent pas ? Kate la bien préciser au concernant la Cours de France , mais c'était pareil dans tous les Pays Européens . mais cette croyance à été remis au goût du jours aux soldats américains avant le débarquement qui avaient reçus des fascicules sur les précautions usent et coutumes des français : les français sont sales ils ont des poux ,des lentes , les femmes françaises ont des maladies vénériennes , faire attentions aux français ils sont fourbes , peureux et lâches !!! Bon a aucuns moment , je remets en causes malgré leurs peurs le courage de tous les soldats de toutes les nations . ceux qui ont créés ces fascicules étaient comme d'habitudes des imbéciles qui restaient a l'abris ? Bon , petite vengeance !!! nous français considérons que les américains sont , ignorants , incultes, grossiers , intolérants , violents ! est-ce vrai 🤔 pas tous😉
I am originally from Hong Kong. Now I understand why most of my American colleagues react bizarrely when I tell them year after year that I live in Paris.
I live in Chicago. People Always ask, “ Aren’t you afraid of all the crime?” No, I’m not there’s strife everywhere even in the vanilla suburbs! YesYesYES, I get irritated with that question. 😆
I haven’t been back to the US since July 2019…my family has been coming to see me instead. The question I get most often is about the healthcare here. That could be because I was a nurse in the states and also, my mother lives in a HUGE (160,000) retirement community. The cost of healthcare is always on their minds.
You eat in your jammies on the couch in front of the tv and you’re married to a French person 😂😂😂😂😂😂 my Frenchman was like “no way José” for YEARS about that, lol, eventually he gave up with breakfast and lunch (unless we were eating the same meal for lunch), but brunch and dinner have to be at the table, 😂😂, though I do change my clothes when I get home, but that’s more something I picked up while living in Korea, you always change your clothes when you get home, never wear your nice outside clothes in the house, there’s more of a chance of them getting dirty, lol
I found “regular” US style deodorant in France, no problem. The brand Rexona is the same brand as Degree in the US I think. Though I can’t stand spray deodorant I think that is bad for your lungs. That ingredient you didn’t mention but hinted at, it’s not illegal here in France, just very few companies use it. Rexona sells a 48h antiperspirant here in France that works REALLY well and it’s the only thing I use in summer. No, the problem I find is with the “natural” deodorants, I find most of the US brands to work better compared to the French ones, I’ll use the natural ones in winter when I’m not sweating as much, and anytime I go back to the US I stock up on the US brands. But there’s also the question of genetics. This is a very ethno-French-centric thing, but part of me wonders if ethno-French people have this one gene that many people of East Asian descent have of not smelling that bad naturally but in return have super waxy earwax, because I swear my French husband has this gene, he rarely smells no matter how much he sweats, can use just a deodorant salt block, but has the waxiest ear wax I’ve ever seen, like he had to have a huge ball of it removed from an ENT doctor once, lol. While me on the other hand who’s of mixed European heritage and from the US is super super smelly even within 30 minutes of showering and yet I have extremely liquid ear wax. I really wonder if there is a larger proportion of the population in France that has this gene that’s similar to east Asia
@@aeolia80 pp😅
I would ask where in France, I had family from Nancy France. and if from Paris, I would say, have you been to the Paris Flee Market, that's fun.
I always bring back deodorant from the US too. I’ve tried multiple deodorants here and they just don’t seem to work!
And when I lived in the US I brought my deodorant from France :)
I used to wear Rexona for me (the eau de cologne scented one) at the time but I've since switched to Vichy which is the most effective I've ever used (the one with the red cap)
Hello d'ici ...😮😊🇫🇷🙋cette dame blonde est craquante // ne loupez pas le Festival interceltic a la TV
Hi Kate. I differ about deodorant: I am a Canadian married to a French woman. We have a place in Nice and I bring back my deodorant from France because it works so much better on me. Must be genetics ;-)
They ALWAYS ask me how I met my boyfriend and if he is in the military. When I say no he’s French they ask how did you meet then. Can’t understand how and why that could happen to be in a relationship like that. I’m sorry but I smell the absolute worst body odor on the train and metro. The deodorant with good antiperspirant is so hard to find there. On the other hand I smell the best perfumes.
Not exactly on topic, but just returned from Paris and was bummed very few people spoke back to me in French. I think my French is pretty solid, but everyone responded in English. Do people in Paris assume you are French? Just curious
They might look down and up to see how small you are and how well-coiffed your hair is. We could not believe how slim people were in Italy this summer.
As a man, I don't think my first impression would be your clothes. I probably would immediately state that I'm jealous. An talk about my only trip to Paris.
Agree for the deodorant
Um, please go ahead and make Americans jealous of the food and do a video all about the amazing food you eat in Paris that can't be found in the US.
Congratulations! You’re in a Bradley Cooper movie-well done! A friendly word of advice, however: Get that contract upgrade and track your UA-cam stats so you can demand your residuals before his incarceration for stalking Cat Ladies.
it's not Deja vu because it actually happened
Hm. As a Swede I have to say I have never heard about the smelly stereotype regarding the french. Snobby and a bit rude, yes. But that is about it.
It happens more often when they travel to warmer countries. I lived in Dominican Republic and attended a French school. Several of my teachers would smell the first few months until they realized how bad they smelled. The heat and sweat is terrible
@@martinasandoval5326 Oh, that makes sense. As I live in a very cool area it isn't much of an issue here. I can honestly say I never understood why a lot of people online seemed to think taking a shower every day was necessary... until there was a six week heatwave of over 30 degrees (Celsius) where I live. I took at least two showers per day during that period. 😅 Now I understand why people skipping a shower for two or more days is mindboggling to people from warmer areas.
Haha, I live abroad and I bring french deodorant back with me. Frankly speaking I dislike deodorant I can find abroad since they smell so strongly.
Watching Keeping up with the Kardashians ? I mean, really ? Please tell us you're being sarcastic here...
Why do you you have a music track in the background? You are hyper enough.
I didn’t tune in to listen to an advertisement🤬
Hello I am the first comment
@@suzannes5888 that's not nice
Hello there
@@hortehighwind8651 Hello 👋
Hi! Been living in France for the past 4 years and I completely agree - French deodorant is horrible and does nothing!!!
Deodorant are not the same as "antitranspirants", anti transpirant a bad for health but works better with sweat and is what american call deodorant.
Vous pourriez nous lâcher avec tous vos préjugés à la con ? Mon entourage et moi même nous nous lavons tous les jours.
There is a reason for prejudices. Why do you then always criticize others? "Americans are fat", etc. But then you are bitter and want others to stop stating facts about your tobacco use or poor hygiene for instance (by poor hygiene I not only mean poor dental hygiene, it's also million other things, like not taking shoes off indoors, not having sinks in toilets, not having bidet showers even a French doctor Saldman said this is a super dirty habit, not flossing, etc. etc.) But you are right this is not about all individuals, and for example French ethnic Arabs have very good oral hygiene and use water in toilets. :)
Vous êtes le parfait préjugé du Français râleur et impoli..... si vous connaissiez la chaine vous sauriez qu'elle combat les stéreotypes sur les français.
@@SuperLn1991 pardon ? Ce n'est pas celle qui fait la vidéo que je critique, c'est ceux qui émettent les préjugés.
Et je n'ai pas été râleuse et impolie en plus.
Vous êtes le parfait préjugé, ce n'est pas correct comme phrase.
@@peterd4390 all the french criticize others ?!
And i repeat again , all the people i know have their shower every day.
So leave me alone.
Bye.
@@gaellegarcin401 Et vous vous adressez à qui alors ? Aux Américains ? En commentant en français ?! "Je n'ai pas été râleuse" : votre commentaire est exactement ça pourtant. "et impolie" : "A la con" c'est pas ce qu'il y a de plus poli.
There are more rats than humans in Paris. This is not a joke.
I bet Paris doesn't have "Pizza Rat" like New York does. That NY rat became famous when he was seen dragging a big piece of pizza back to his place.
But the French DO smell, officially! For example according to Pierre Fabre Oral Care study, the majority of the French people (60%) suffer from halitosis (bad breath). A Dutch correspondant wrote in a Dutch newspaper that even high-positioned Parisians often have breath. In the Netherlands everybody flosses their teeth, in France nobody does it, French dentists actually advice against it, and there is not even a verb for flossing in the French language.
The smell is caused by a diet rich in animal protein (traditional French food). The tongue should be cleaned, otherwise the stuff on it will putrefy.
You can have an excellent dentition and have bad breath. Stomach problems cause bad breath. Pulmonary disease cause bad breath. Throat infection can causes bad breath.
"according to Pierre Fabre Oral Care" Yeah.. And according to the union of meat producers, a diet rich in animal protein is excellent. 😀
That was not a scientific study. It was a dental survey conducted over the internet.
@@300books yeah but there are tons of other studies. Even according to the Assurance Maladie up to 50% of the French have bad breath because they don't brush their teeth twice per day.
@@peterd4390 sorry but your statements are false and twisted.
@@300books please educate yourself, you can read the article Ces "bonnes" excuses pour lesquelles les Français... ne se brossent pas les dents
in the Alsace journal, for instance
I really do love you you are so perfect😊😊
This makes me jealous and I heard France is judgemental and judgemental how do you afford this
Tu as raison sur la nourriture : imagine quand nous francais, on va aux US. C est la misère.