Les Français par rapport aux Italiens!

So being in Italy makes me think, naturally, of France. Constantly.  I don’t mean I’m sitting here daydreaming about being in France with all of my Frenchie pals (although I do that sometimes, admittedly) but rather that I’m constantly drawing comparisons between the two populations.

At first, it was obviously the language. Italian sounds like a giant jumble of elongated vowels to me…of course that’s because I don’t know it. I’m sure that’s how French sounds to just about everyone who doesn’t know it as well. Plus a disgusting frog-in-your-throat sound thrown in every now and then.

Next, it was the difference between the French way of getting things done and the Italian one. When I first got to France, I thought they were a very pushy people. No personal space, no caring about whether or not you’re standing ON someone in the metro, and the way to get people to move in the cafeteria is to jab them in the back with your tray. It’s all very passive-aggressive…

But in Italy, it’s worse. It’s more assertive aggressive, bordering aggressive-aggressive, especially when you tick someone off for not knowing how the pay system in a store works. But whatever, that happens…you brush yourself off and decide not to care because hey, you’re in Italy.

As it turns out, that difference in attitude translates into other areas as well. Namely, eye contact. When I was in France I made a game of staring at people until they made eye contact with me. Really, if you’re walking down the street someone will not look at you or say hi to you like they will in America (if you’re in a neighborhood, that is) and if you smile at someone, that means something. And actually, I had a really difficult (if not impossible) time of forcing the eye contact. So my game eventually became me just being able to stare at people without them knowing or caring. And I got used to people not looking at me. I actually prefer it as I’m sure you could guess.

You might not notice it in America but people more often than not will stare at you, give you an up-down look and in that very instant make a judgment. Usually it’s girls between the ages of 15 and we’ll say 22? Because they’re so busy thinking about how others think of them that they take every chance they can get to look at another girl and judge her. People say I’m paranoid for thinking that but I’m 99% sure I’m completely right. I know it stems out of a place of self-consciousness or whatever, but I think those people just need to get over themselves. So needless to say, French people keeping to themselves was a welcome improvement. I think I’ve even fallen out of the habit of the good ol’ up-down and just gone straight to staring. Bad habit. But I can’t help it if I really like someone’s style and want to internalize and eventually copy it!!!!

Anyway, I did have a point when I started that tangent. It was that here in Italy, people do the up-down. And it reaaallly bothers me. And men will stare at you right in the eyes until you look at them…I’d rather them say “ciao bella!” than do that because dear lord is it creepy.

French people like to think that their men are dragueurs, or flirts. Sure, when they get you one on one they’ll try have a conversation with you. And yes, they can definitely be persistent when you’re on the metro and they want you to talk to them…but those are usually just the drunk ones. The typical French boy seems too timid and reserved, just as the French seem to be (at least in Rennes) to do what some of the Italian men do. For example, a boy in the metro won’t stare at you. He’ll quickly make eye contact with you and look away and then pull back into his own little world like nothing ever happened. I definitely prefer this form of flirting as well. I don’t like when men make me feel objectified and uncomfortable…(I can see Kelsey rolling her eyes at me as she reads this). Since I know it’s just their culture, I’ll let the Italians get away with it.

And then there are the general styles.

As for Italian men…well, you know what they look like. They’re beautiful, and if not then they’re at least well dressed.

French men can be stylish, but there is one particular group which I can barely stand the look of. I don’t know what exactly they’re called, but I think they’re the French form of a jock. Unfortunately I can’t find a picture on my own because I don’t know the name of the haircut, but I’m hoping one of my French contacts can help me out. If I’m lucky, they’ll understand what I’m describing! But anyway, I think it’s one of the ugliest haircuts I have ever seen. I just don’t understand why they have to do it when they have the perfect excuse to have beautiful, crazy hairstyles. THEY’RE EUROPEAN! The Italians understand that and take full advantage of it.

And as for Italian women, there are the obvious things that are sort of similar to French style: nice clothes and heels.

However, some Italian women definitely have bigger (although not crazier) hair than the French. When I say bigger, I mean that it’s curly and voluminous…it could have to do with the humidity here because my hair is sort of doing the same thing (granted I am 25% Italian…). And when I say “although not crazier” I mean that I saw some of the frizziest, poofiest, beyond-comprehension hairstyles in France. But the French can totally pull off that eccentric look. I kind of like it and I’m sure I looked that way sometimes after I rolled out of bed :P

And last but not least (because you’re not the only one who gets tired when these blogs are really long) there is the food. As you know, French food is different from Italian. That’s just common sense. French cuisine is a lot of butter, a lot of cream, and a lot of finer herbs like rosemary, thyme, and tarragon. At least that’s what I experienced.

In Italy, I don’t know what they use but I know that it’s spicy. A lot of French people think spice is really nasty and they don’t like it…but I have to say, it’s definitely a welcome change. I’ve had some spice on just about every sandwich I had here and it made me soooo happy.

Oh, and then there’s the weather which leads me to say that I have at least 2 bugbites right now. I did not miss those. One is on the edge of my pinky…that’s freaking annoying. I think I might be hyper-allergic to mosquitoes or something because ever since last summer every time I get a bug bite, it’s literally the size of a golfball and sometimes it turns purple. So mayyybe I should get that checked out…(but I’m not French, so I probably won’t).

And fiiiiiinally, what I did today:

Went to the market for another sandwich:

Went back to the rose garden and read a French book that I sort of “borrowed” from Monique’s house (they have like 10,000 books, don’t worry):

Went back to the hostel and started my job search/did who knows what.

Went out to get gelato at a place called Grom. And it was hands down the best I’ve had in Florence.

Went to the grocery store and bought pre-cooked spinach and had it with pre-cooked tortellini:

(It’s the most embarrassing and terrible thing I’ve ever “cooked” and I’m kind of ashamed to say it even happened. It looks way more better than it actually was.)

And then I wrote this blog. Later I’m going to drink some tisane (I haven’t done it yet, even though I know I said I would --- by the way, tisane is what the French call herbal tea --- they love to drink it before bed…like, religiously.)

And as a final summary: I loved France more than I even realized, for reasons I did not notice until coming to a country that seems to be its total opposite. Not to mention my indifferent face (meaning I don’t have to smile or look happy in public, copyright Sarah Kuethe) is perfectly acceptable and even preferable in France. Remember when I wrote in one of my entries that France will never seem like my home? I’ll never feel like I fit there more than I did in America?

Now I’m beginning to question my statement…but I guess we’ll see once I get back to good ol’ ‘murica.

Oh, and I’ve also heard more ridiculous southern American accents in this city than I have in my entire life. Someone please explain that to me.

Also, I'm really bored. If you couldn't tell. Traveling alone in one city for far too long is BORING. Poor planning on my part.

ONE LAST THING! I swear. So I've been sending a lot of emails/facebook messages in French today and I find myself using expressions and then having to look up what they mean. They somehow worked their way into my vocabulary without me even realizing it! Luckily I've used all of them correctly :D Yay for language learning!