What is dislike the most is easier to figure than like maybe :D
I dislike the red tape here! i had to deal with it in the States but here it is worse! Administration and papers are nuts here.
I am lost when looking for wine because i used to be great at the wines we find overseas but here, different ball game. So i am discovering French wines grown here and it is fun!
Champagne at reasonable prices, I love Champagne. Mademoiselle is Excellent :)
Speaking French is great but i miss speaking english!
The cheese maybe? Definitly the pastries and the breads!
And you?:D
posted by:
vero
offline vero
France
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  • Margot
    Margot
    offline 178

    Re: What is the thing that you liked the most being in France and the thing that you dislike the most?

    Mon, October 2, 2006 - 8:11 AM
    I can focus it just on food and say I love:
    -pains aux raisins, croissants, champagne (here here Vero) and tickets restaurants

    and I hate:
    -lack of veg food and lack of spiciness

    On bureaucracy:
    -love being reimbursed for designer glasses by my mutuelle

    -hate having to fill out and send hundreds of sheets of paper to different centres and then wait months for the SECU to do their thing to get reimbursed.

    On people (this is probably Paris-specific):
    -love that people aren't afraid to speak their minds and don't have to be 'politically correct' about everything and that people say 'thank you' and use polite forms.

    -hate the physical agression of people in the street (violently bumping shoulders) and the fact the treatment of the elderly (not giving up seats on the metro to 100 year old ladies).

    As for the racism thing, I have had French people tell me they think the US is racist (of course these are people who have never been to the US or, for that matter, to college) but I have never seen overt racism like here or heard the way people speak poorly about Arabs so openly. I'm sure it is just that, as you said, it's hidden in the US, where people are overly-politically correct.

    It's an issue of how 'difference' is treated...in France the idea is to ignore difference in favour of building a stronger state (ie a political idea) whereas in anglo cultures the idea is to be aware of diversity in order to deal with it. It can be traced back to the differences in colonial leadership between the French and the English. Each has problems.
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    • vero
      vero
      offline 104

      Re: What is the thing that you liked the most being in France and the thing that you dislike the most?

      Tue, October 3, 2006 - 12:15 AM
      Except that in colonial issues, when you see that the French for example in America did get married with the natives and the British didn't. But on the other hand, ignoring issues on the wide scale in America is also a problem! I have been working for non profit social services in the States for many years now and i can tell you that there is a Huge Problem for people who are disabled, poor and racism also. The west coast is different because a lot of the Liberals live there but it isn't America!
      I just spent 20y there living from the East coast ended on the West Coast!All countries have their problems!
      I wish we could fix everything with Pastries, Champagne and Brioches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe someday!
      ONe thing that i truly like is the major effort the country is trying to do with Cars as the environemental level! yes it isn't enough but most countries have a long way to go unfortunatly including France.
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      • Margot
        Margot
        offline 178

        Re: What is the thing that you liked the most being in France and the thing that you dislike the most?

        Tue, October 3, 2006 - 2:39 AM
        Recycling efforts here have gotten better (it's true I have this little neo-liberal bubble view of the US because I was raised in Oregon). I like the biodegradable plastic bags here, too.
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        • vero
          vero
          offline 104

          Re: What is the thing that you liked the most being in France and the thing that you dislike the most?

          Tue, October 3, 2006 - 3:33 AM
          AHHHHHHHHH Oregon!! Gosh i miss that place! It is definitly a giant bubble there but it is a nice one! :)
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          • tuk tuk
            tuk tuk
            offline 86

            So what's US racism really doing?

            Wed, October 4, 2006 - 10:00 PM
            IMO, there is no comparison between the two systems so far as racism is concerned.

            In the US, where I have lived for 20 years, I have seen all sorts of people follow their ambitions, move freely (sans contrôle-passager 'routine'), and most importantly, get accorded responsibility & respect.

            I live & work in a nice, affluent setting, as opposed to being a dog catcher for the municipality. And this is perfectly normal here in the US.

            OK, so there's a lot of hidden racism! So what does it really do to us non-whites?

            I can't imagine this in France (where I lived for 4 yrs & have been visiting eversince). You aren't white and you're driving a nice car- les flics t'attrapent n'importe où tu vas.

            The French are nice to party with, but many of them get disturbed at seeing a non-white person who is not a dog catcher.

            Lastly, I should say that nearly all of Western Europe is in a pretty sorry state.

            The only non-white Euro MPs are from the UK. The rest of the EU's members don't particularly like to send in their non-whites.
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            • vero
              vero
              offline 104

              Re: So what's US racism really doing?

              Wed, October 4, 2006 - 10:43 PM
              There is Profiling in America! A non white drives and will be arrested! Happened to me and my ex who was from MIddle east a lot, happens a lot to Blacks and Latinos. Even is Nice sweet Oregon where i lived close to 15y! I was denied several promotions because i was foreigner and even though it was never made explicitly because it was illegal, it was made understood. When i studied counseling, One of teacher was Originally from LA and happens to be Black, taught all of us about Police profiling and i was at the time shocked because being in a somewhat medium size in Oregon i would never tought that it happened that often but it did! I did have people refusing to buy stuff from me when i was a travel agent because they thought i was mexican and the manager at the time stood up and took care of it! but this is over and over again! A friend of mine got fired because he was too "native"! HIs workplace where found out that he was doing Sundance ceremonies during his stay on the Rez (that was on his own time, out of the state where he was working at and during his vacation!) and he got fired! I can go on and on and on! Same with the bigotry against French when the War with Irak happened!
              IN the Bay area it is easy to forget what happens in SMALLVILLE USA! I felt that i revived when i moved to SF! It is true that if i had move to Portland i might have a different view of things and i had it great i think compare to some people! My French Friend in Santa Fe was targeted for being a French Lesbian and the cops said that it was very common there to have your house randsacked if you were french or lez She looked also very mediterranean too! Hate crimes happen also every day!
              So France has shitty policies because they don';t have any but for people who don't life in SF, life isn't that easy every day either!
              In SF every one is protected even illegals! i worked as a counselor with many illegals and there was so protection that helped them get into shelters and so forth! Here there is none of that!
              SO we can't generalize about America being better and France being worse!
              I think it depends how we deal with it when we are being the recipient of racism-and also where we live!
              Just my observations of living in the usa 20years and i have lived in few states and travelled a lot there! There are places where i wouldn't move to because i wouldn't feel safe!
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              • tuk tuk
                tuk tuk
                offline 86

                Re: So what's US racism really doing?

                Thu, October 5, 2006 - 8:02 PM
                Oh, I klnow small-town USA quite well. Lived for a while in the Big Thicket area between Texas & Louisiana.

                And guess what the racial nastiness reminded me of? - France!

                There are terrible things about the US. But let's compare the US with France.

                So in the US you have, for example:

                Affirmative action, which means, say, that if you are denied a housing loan because of your race, you can go somewhere & complain about it and someone will take some action on your behalf. In France things are still very primitive.

                Most importantly, the US collects race-based statistics. So the government is keeping track of how many black or white or other motorists get stopped by cops. Or how many housing loans get approved by race. Or how many kids make it to college by race.

                And there have been many instances where the justice system has penalized racial biases.

                There is no such concept in France. I have personally discussed this with relatively senior officials in France and they just don't want to hear anything about gathering race-based statistics.

                Again, in this regard, Europe is in a sad state. Only the UK has some decent policies going.

                Anyway, vero, I do think that France has the potential to improve. While politics do complicate the picture, France does think of itself as a country that upholds human rights. Also, France is reponsible to the European Court of Human Rights.

                So perhaps just as the US Supreme Court brought in Civil Rights, something similar could happen in France as well. But a lot of hard work and conviction is needed to get there.



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                • vero
                  vero
                  offline 104

                  Re: So what's US racism really doing?

                  Mon, October 9, 2006 - 3:20 AM
                  I agree Usman that a lot of work has to be done in Europe. Sweden is supposed to be the Champ on social rights but i have never been there so i have no idea if this is true or not!
                  I am debating about Moving to Texas or not and so far i am more leaning toward NOT unless i really can't find a job here and so far, not too good.
                  There used to be the Prudhomme in France where you could put a complaint against your boss/company etc...not sure if this is still in existance. I think that anywhere were there is a lot of unemployement, it seems that people think that it gives them license to do anything they choose! Like being openly discriminative and so forth.
                  Have a great day,
                  Vero
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                  • This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
                    tuk tuk
                    tuk tuk
                    offline 86

                    Re: So what's US racism really doing?

                    Mon, October 9, 2006 - 8:43 AM
                    Austin n'est pas mal. Aussi, Houston a des quartiers intéressants, mais dans l'ensemble c'est plus moche.

                    Vu d'ici, à Texas les loyers sont bas. Et les hivers sont supportables. Alors la vie est moins difficile.

                    En plus, on voit l'esprit rebel un peu partout, chez les 'marginaux' aussi.
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