How can I be more "French"?

[hangingoutattheendofmywick]

So this morning I did an Ocado shop and stumbled across the world foods department. There is a French section and I was immediately transported to my holidays when I was young at Keycamp in France. I basically ordered a shed load of French delights and as I'm currently really down in the dumps and life is a bit shite I've decided to BE more French.

Other than learning the language again (I've lost it since GCSE) and eating / drinking all my French delights I'm wondering what I can do to make my life a bit more French. Any ideas?

I'm looking for :
Music
Literature
Recipes
Drinks
General ways of living.

Ta!

This thread has made me laugh so much. Greythorne your description of French people outlining their holiday plans made me MDR. Most things are covered, but I'd like to add: complain there is a courant d'air every time someone opens a window or there is the slightest refreshing breeze. Wear a scarf in all months apart from August (men) - and wear in bed if you think you are getting a cold (a friend's husband does this!), drop rubbish in the street because you know someone will be along to hose everything down in the morning, always eat at regulation hours - even if this means standing a queue for an hour at the school fete when if you waited until 2 there would be noone in the queue at all (until 4pm obviously when the gouter queue would form!)

Ooh I forgot that when you go to the beach you must always wear a matelot. It was very funny when we were at a seaside town near La Rochelle (which is a fab town to holiday in btw). The stripey sweaters had just come back into fashion and I thought, how come they're nearly ALL in them and then I realised that's because only the daft anglaise would wear one away from the beach.

To those who say all frenchwomen are thin, come down here ,they ain't here In our whole village there are maybe 3 thin ones and 1 of those women comes from Paris to her maison secondaire next door to us, she is amazing, she doesn't smoke though she has 7 kids maybe that's why ! The other 2 are ill.

Read Les Fleurs Du Mal
Never eat between meals and learn to tolerate hunger
Deliberately drive without seat belts
Smoke
Be slightly out of date with the current music scene
Know how to wear a scarf
Obsessive grooming in private/ insouciance in public
Drink vin ordinaire which is as rough as old arseholes

Strangely Lilian I have often noticed how clean and rubbish free the local towns are ,you see everyone putting rubbish in the bins. On the motorways it's get more dirty the nearer to Paris you get!

Though the graffiti has to be seen to be believed in Montpellier.

What a great thread. I love the draft obsession and the work-to-rule attitude.

They are cutting down on smoking though a friend of mine ( who helps me with my conversational french) smokes and said she wouldn't use the 'vaps' because they have too many chemicals

Re the smoking. We were in Paris many years ago when the ban came into force about smoking in public places. It changed at midnight, 31 dec. everyone still smoking, 1 jan. none. Very compliant.

What we love about the french society is it's actually about the people NOT big business. Hence the proper lunch breaks.

They just banned spraying the nicotinoids. Didn't wait for more research etc. because the bees are more important than the companies who manufacture the sprays

On the rubbish thing - my husband's cousins went on holiday to Brighton and found it filthy - degueulasse in fact - and told me about it in an accusatory way as if I was responsible. And I did feel as if I was, a bit. But it's true that French towns are much cleaner looking.

And I was amazed at my first Christmas Day in France when the camion poubelle arrived, as normal, and the bins were emptied.

ppeatfruit the nicotinoid manufacturers are most likely not French :grin:

Myosotisbleu
I'm French and I would agree with you re the civil servants.
It IS a regular point of discussion between french people and whether the 'fonctionnaires' actually work that much or not.
A bit like here teachers are slatted by some people because they have so much hols etc...
The reality is that probably half of the fonctionnaires work like hell, never stop until 6.00~6.30pm and the other half does much less.
I found it's the same in big companies. Leaving on time if you are at any level above a technician is a NO-NO and unlike the UK, you aren't paid for any 'heures sup'.
But if you have any RTT to take, then everyone will do it at a time that suits them (unless very strict company policy) and bugger the important meeting planned on a wednesday (Actually I know a lot of companies where all importamnt meetings are on a tuesday or thursday to be sure most people will be there)

Eat more crossiants for me, and drink more French wine. Having a blank moment here, other than crusty bread, crossiants and cheese, what other foods are the French famous for?

Tartiflette!

Get on Frenchclick and order some Petit Marseillais!

Though if you want to stay slim Ifonly4 You'd cutout right down on the patisserie,have seen the amount of butter that goes into croissants and brioche ?.

Dh and I don't eat wheat which as you can imagine is a bit difficult in France !!!

Great thread!
Also eat beaucoup de raw grated carrot, it seems to be obligatory.

Mamanofthree

I totally agree with you about Civil Servants having different kind of behaviour. I was really pissed off by some of my colleagues who didn't seem to realise that they're in the Service of the Public as the name "Service public" implies. However, I think Civil Servants on the whole suffer from a lack of recognition (poor wages) and as they don't neither feel challenged/appreciated by their hierarchy, they easily head down the wrong path... And true also for the lack of concertation when taking holidays : it's actually one of the conflict you happen to resolve quite often as a manager.

MyfriendscallmeOh,

There's a huge difference between working in a office and being in charge of the public. I would never on my life dream of becoming a teacher, a nurse, a social worker, etc... Besides, everybody knows that EDF "sont des planqués" -just pulling your leg ;-)

LadyGlen,

I just love Brighton and don't find it a dirty place : maybe your husband's cousin had been there during the Pride Festival or the Fringe?

loving this
I'm French btw
chuckling at work at some of the posts.... checking the clock, I have raw grated carrots and cold ratatouille in the work fridge for lunch.

keep the posts coming, this made my day

As above, plus be overly affectionate with any men you know, no matter how slight the acquaintance. Ignore the reactions of their women, the frumpy dollops.

I laughed at the "courant d'air" comment :) it made me think of my parents : Bernard ferme donc la porte, ça fait des courants d'air !!!!

Gauloise, breton tops navy/black ankle grazers, pumps, red lipstick.

Bonsoir does that mean I have to wear a bra then?

Blimey FredaMayor I'm normal looking (not fat) with natural blonde hair (and getting on a bit) but since living here i've been letched over (openly in front of dh) by a fair number of younger frenchmen. The worst is 'our' butcher who asked me " coud you geeev mee sum lessons in eengleesh plees"

I can't go to his shop on my own now it's too embarrassing .

what's wrong with suppositories?
they are far more efficient and quick acting than anything else...
but I stopped administering them to my first DS after realising it shocked my english partner so much....

Oh and along with tartiflette another coronary maker is aligote.!