FRENCH THINGS I Still Haven't Adapted To 

Further clarification on a couple points: 1. Yes, the “quart d’heure de politesse” IS a thing, but it seems it is much more prevalent in certain parts of the country than others. No, it is not just Parisian. I’ve experienced the “quart d’heure tourangeaux” much more in the Loire Valley countryside - but just look here in the comments to see many other French people agreeing that it exists in their regions as well! 2. In North America, homes that were recently (~25-30 years) built usually have ventilation systems installed throughout the house. Every room has a vent in the floor. This allows the air to circulate and stay fresh whether you open the windows frequently or not. It’s simply a different way of accomplishing the exact same thing. 3. THANK YOU to everyone who has watched, liked, shared, or commented on this video!! I love hearing all your different perspectives and experiences. Keep them coming! ☺️

I'm french and honestly I don't know the "quart d'heure de politesse". I really like to be on time. but I have to admit that a lot of people I know don't arrive on time. so... ^^

Je ne dirais pas que c'est impoli d'arriver pile à l'heure mais comme d'autre commentaires l'ont précisé, on invite souvent les gens à une certaines heure et on est rarement prêt à cette heure la. La raison principale étant qu'on sous-estime le temps de préparation d'une soirée et qu'on est souvent bien incapable d'être prêt à l'heure qu'on a annoncé. Du coup ce n'est pas mal pris de venir à l'heure mais on s'expose souvent à un temps de préparation de la part de la personne qui invite :) En tout cas une bonne vidéo vraiment marrante du point de vue français :)

As a French, I feel like it feels more intimate to hug someone as a greeting. Like you can feel each other's body. Whereas kisses on the cheeks that we do do not have the same effect. But of course those are cultural differences. And it's always really funny to learn about them.

Opening windows every day is mainly a health issue : it helps get rid of all the fumes emanating (for years!) from paints, glues and other products used in building, and also all the "bad" products used to manufacture cheap furniture.. When you buy (for example) from Ikea, you're supposed to assemble the thing and leave it in a vented space for at least 24 hours before you keep it inside, so it doesn't poison the air you breathe, but nobody ever does it :/

I hate how in the US, you often can not open windows in hotels. It feels suffocating.

About the "quart d'heure de politesse", it's very convenient when you invite people and you're are not ready on time ^^ I cannot count who many times I end up hoping that my guests show up late so I can finish what I was preparing. It's perfect for non-organized people like me !

In Mexican culture when the invitation says 4pm it means everyone will be there starting at 6pm 😂 for my cousins wedding the priest started mass even-though the bride and groom were not there yet 😱 we always kiss in one cheek and are very passionate people so it's not awkward. Greetings from California

Here are my two cents about those things: I guess the "quart d'heure de politesse" really depends on who you're with. I've never seen people being offended by guests showing up on time, but it's true that it's a rare thing, and it can lead to awkward situations where you're the first and only one there, with the host... I think that, as someone mentioned in the comments (in French), it's rather that we normally just arrive a little bit late, or are not sticklers for the exact time. When we say an event starts at 7 (well, 19:00), what we mean is: we'll be ready for you at 7, but you can show up later. I'm among the always late people, but I feel bad for it. A friend of mine, on the other hand, tends to be always on time or even early, which means that she sometimes has to wait a lot when we meet up. For cheek kissing and big groups, you can be a little "rude" and just wave at everyone when you arrive. Usually we're understanding... Except if you're arriving at the same time as someone who decides to kiss everyone. Then you have to, or you'll look very rude. Or put yourself in a bit of an awkward position. Despite being French, I don't like strong cheese either. One way to avoid them is to put two knives on the plate: one for strong cheeses (blue, roquefort, etc.), one for milder ones. And then you hope for people to "respect" it.

As a french national myself I really disagree with your interpretation of the "quart d'heure de politesse". It is not that you are supposed to be a quarter hour late, you are supposed to be on time and you can be up to a quarter hour late without being expected to apologize for being late. It's impolite to be in advance (your hosts may not yet be ready) and it's impolite to be more than a quarter hour late, hence the only polite time to arrive at is within the "quart d'heure de politesse".

'Open the window' it is a very good thing! People do not know that it if often more polluted inside that outside. But American like their comfort ( big house big car etc) , and like to control the environment artificially.

To me, the "quart d'heure de politesse" doesn't mean you have to show up fifteen minutes after the hour previously stated but that you have up to fifteen minutes to arrive before being considered late. However, arriving ahead of time IS viewed as rude by many of my fellow country-(wo)men.

Guess what : even French people don't get used to their old castles :). I grew up in the tiniest Breton village with our own middle age old castle, and it still amazes me every time I see it. History made us, it's great you don't get bored by it :)

Oh, your mention of the lack of screens is likely to bring me nightmares. Back in the 70's I spent a month at the University of Dijon, where the small dorm rooms had sliding windows onto a balcony. 100 mosquitoes a night! When I complained to the concierge he threw up his hands and said, "All these dorms were built on a swamp!" In other words, don't be a spoiled American tourist. Then when I moved to Paris, I had the typical shutters that open out to let the light in during the day. Not so many problems with mosquitoes but one day a PIGEON flew in and went a little crazy, as did I. I think the French operate on the principle that what flies in will eventually fly out and meanwhile you should just enjoy the visitors until they leave. French politesse to bugs and birds!

The lack of airflow. Period. Can't do it. ❤️

ah, Andrea, just be yourself and take it easy! I've lived in France all my life, doing nothing of these you mentioned, yet nobody killed me so far... True, mosquitos try hard to, but I can't imagine summer without them little monsters! :D

I'm French and I never heard about "le quart d'heure de politesse", if we're late, people are upset. And we learned to open the window at least 5 minutes per days for health issues.

Ok I'm a mosquito and I was looking for your vlog. Hey fellows! Come in! she's here!

AC is the worth! Something being French I really can't adapt to when I'm in the US. When it's so hot out but when you get into a place (any place!) you feel like you've been put into a fridge??? Gosh, use air con with moderation guys :p

As a french, I just realized my windows are open for literally 8 months a year. I just close them when I go out for long periods of time (like vacations), during winter when it's really cold (even then I sometime open them for like half an hour each to renew the air flow inside), or during the day in summer when it's really hot and I need to keep the whole house cool (but then I open everything as soon as the sun goes down).

in France if you don't have screens you can just add it on your windows like most of french.. ^^

I'm french and I must admit I never got used to cheek kissing : I don't like physical contact with total strangers, I just do it not to seem rude.. About the "quart d'heure de politesse", I guess the main thing is that it's considered rude to arrive too early => so being a little late is preferable to showing up before hand when your host is still preparing everything (except if you are early on purpose to offer some help, obviously).

Even though I'm French, I too feel impressed by the history we live around. Did you know that it's not uncommon for construction works to be delayed because during the digging to install the foundations, they find artefacts from the Roman Empire? So they have to stop everything, have archeologists come and reference everything, maybe take some stuff away for museums if it's valuable....

I live in Argentina and the culture is a mixture between italian, french and spanish mostly. We kiss everytime we say hello but only on one cheek, and to be honest... I hate it. Luckily for people my age it's not a big deal, they are completely ok with just a general hello, but with older people you really are expected to go around and kiss the 50 of them and it's really annoying and pointless for me. Whoops.

Pour un diner ou une soirée, on invite souvent "à partir de" x heure ou "vers" x heure donc les gens arrivent rarement pile a l'heure. L'apéritif peu servir aussi a attendre les retardataires avant de passer a table. A Lyon on parle du quart d'heure lyonnais...! A Paris j'ai l'impression que ca ne se pratique pas, mais les transports y sont tellement aléatoires qu'on arrive rarement à l'heure 😂

Ah the famous "quart d'heure de politesse" Yes it's true, when arriving to a meet, you shall never arrive strictk on time, never ever arrive before! We say "quart d'heure de politesse" because you then arrive a couple min after the due hour, 5min is perfect! though, 15 min is limit to be late, tolerated but a little too long! Cheek kisses... that's why it's better to arrive after 5 min on a meet, so you're not the last one to have to make the full circle!!! Though, if you get in a group you don't know, it's ok to shake hands too! you'll turn to cheek kiss when knowing folks! And yes, meals.... that's normal we rebuild the whole world during meals! so it needs time! I don't know about other countries, a familly/friend meal in France turns quickly into a debate about politics and sports!

French things I still haven't adapted to? Being French. #England #TheOldEnemy #AngloFrancoBanter

oh my G ! now you are a real French cause you complain a lot lol

As far as windows are concerned, you should be putting up a 'mosquito net ' (a synthetic 'gauze-like' drape) on your windows. That helps immensely. ALso, just letting the drape flow across an open window dramatically cuts down on 'things' getting inside. FOr your bedroom, cool down your room by opening your window (with the light drape or gauze over it) with the lights OFF. That will diminish the amount of moths and mosquitos entering your bedroom at night. ALso, do not turn the light on with the window open at night---even with the drape or gauze over it, or the little critters will be attracted to the light and enter your bedroom!

I live in Toulouse and it is so hot here on summer that we only open the windows in the morning to let the fresh air in but close them the rest of the day not to let the hot air in. By the way, in Toulouse we often say that the parisians are dumb because they all go out when it's hot and then complain that it is too hot

I'm french and I do not care to kiss cheek many people, never have done ! do not feel you have to, just wave and smile when you get there and everyone will understand ... As for your problem with our foul smelling cheeses, many french people are like you... A nice "plateau de fromages" has to include at least one strong cheese, but you should clean the cheese knife with your bread prior to cutting such a cheese, and you must not hesitate to tell people you don't like strong cheeses, if they're educated, they will avoid leaving the plate next to you ! I think french people are quite open minded and understand their relationship with food is a bit peculiar, just be yourself and express your feelings kindly and everybody will be ok ...

Well observed, I teach these when preparing people to move to France... the kissing thing is a huge shock haha.

Everytime I go to Provence, where my husband has a lot of family, the three kiss things exhausts me!! It takes like 15 minutes like you said...

I've been living in France for a year now and I can totally relate to everything you said. Except the "quart d'heure de politesse" most of the people I know would rather be on time or even early.

Im french, and le quart d'heure de politesse is something Ive never heard of..

I hate being one of the first people at events. It just makes me feel awkward so I like being late haha. I guess that's my life long social anxiety talking haha.

When I am invited to a family gathering spend like 3 to 4 hours on meal 😂 first : apéritif, starters, entrée, trou normand (which is an apple sorbet/ice cream with calva) then salad then cheeseS 😂 dessert and finally coffee/tea

Je ne connais pas le quart heure de politesse, pour tout les gens que je connais il fait juste être à l'heure

I grew up moving between European countries and thought I knew French culture very well until the first time I went to France as an adult with 2 small children and a baby. I had random French people come up to me and check out my bébé. I'm hard of hearing and was fully deaf as a small child, so I have difficulty communicating in English, let alone other languages. If my husband was with me, he was able to translate. I was very surprised just how enthusiastic French people are with children. I've seen elderly people like this in other countries, but these weren't just elderly French, they were from a range of age groups. It was a little like being in China with blonde hair. There also seemed to be an interesting response by security at the Louvre. If you can imagine a mass of people there for the Mona Lisa. When security saw me and a baby with 2 small children couldn't see, they cleared space for us to come and take a look. I really appreciated it because small children have a short attention span, so we weren't going to be holding up that space for long. They just wanted to see what it was that everyone else was looking at.

Its funny but nearly everything you named that you can't get used to is a ringing endorsement for me to move to France TODAY! Cheek kissing sounds like fun; cheese and longer meals, HELL YEAH; and I'm never "on time" to events so that "quart d'heure de politesse" sounds like a WINNER to me! The only part I too would have trouble adjusting to was the open windows. I'm from the south and a firm believer in central AC. If I had to keep the windows open, the bugs would eat me alive too so maybe I'll not buy a ticket to France just yet, at least not in the summer months!

I think the "quart d'heure de politesse" is mostly an excuse people who are usually late use to feel better about it. There is no social rule saying that you have to arrive 15 minutes later than the announced time. Arriving early might be frowned upon, but certainly not being on time ^^

Rude to come any time short of fifteen minutes late? What the fuck. Where I am, it's the other way around. You need to show up fifteen minutes early to everything or you're kinda rude. I'd be pissed if someone told me they were actively trying to come see me fifteen minutes later than I asked. Super pissed.

Funny how similar Spain and France are. I spent close to two months and I can say I can relate! I couldn't get over the lack of AC (and this was in the summer time), or the long meals. But in my case the hardest was how late people would have dinner, seriously after ten pm!

The whole windows thing! Girl, I get it. It was that way in Brazil, too. I used to get eaten alive by mosquitoes at night. They were so aggressive it would actually wake me up and I could hear them buzzing around. My skin has become so sensitive to mosquitoes since then, I swear it tingles now every time a mosquito is near! Sleeping with a fan directed on me was what eventually saved me. I don’t know if they can’t fight the rushing air or what, but I never got bitten when the fan was on. It was the only way I could sleep.

wtf "quart d'heure de politesse" eu... j'avoue que je connais pas

I maintain that in France, no one sits down to dinner. They sit down for an extended conversation that just happens to involve food.

I get the differences, but one thing killed me - can't you just install mosquito nets instead of complaining you don't have them? Where I live it's not a standard to have them, so everytime I move to a new apartmant I just install mosquito nets - it's like 5 euros and maybe 30 minutes of work, but it's worth it since you won't get eaten alive :D

In France it's ok to show up late. When guests arrive at the right time you feel bad because it makes think that they are going to work and they consider you as a uptight person

Well... 10 month is NOTHING...

The 15 minutes is to give more time to the host for preparations and such, we know we're usually running after the clock after a day of work so it's just something we do to give flexibility to everybody, and not force people to rush themselves.

Ha nearly all of this I've experienced since childhood (my dad is French and I speak French fluently even though I grew up in the US). You've probably already read the memoir Almost French by Sarah Turnbull (Australian woman who moved to France to be with a Frenchman). My mom could not stop laughing when she read the book because it summed up so many things she had experienced in her relationship with my father. I thought it was hilarious too since as a French-American woman there were so many things that were on point about weird French idiosyncrasies.

I'm so used to old buildings and chateaus and I quite honestly never think twice about it but it's a good reminder to appreciate the world around me a bit more Xx

The french susceptibility is also an aspect I had to adapt to. I mean, they expect people to interact with them, greet them and use all of the politeness formulas while meeting them. It's very cute in a way, but sometimes it gets hectic, especially for people who don't like interactions and don't mean anything bad by avoiding contact or refusing to respond to a greeting xD. #FrenchDrama

the cheek kiss, plus the weird sound you have to make along with it, and the summer with the bugs!! i totally can relate

We have lived in France over 14 years now. Though 2 hours for a leisurely lunch is nice, anymore than 4 hours for dinner is beyond my attention span. I have been to peoples homes for a dinner party and departed at midnight after just finishing the plate principal. How rude some may say but I think it's rude to expect me to be eating cheese & dessert just before sunrise, they know I start work at 6 am, so even my days off I am a early riser.

As a born and raised European I love and enjoy all the things you talked about because Europeans are generally much more relaxed than Americans - for instance, meals are (especially in the evenings) the moment when you take your time to cook, be around your family, talk and eat well. We prefer that guests arrive a little bit later than the time that was agreed upon because it gives us time to finish preparing everything in case we underestimated the time needed to do it. My favorite part is that indeed anywhere you go there are old buildings/houses/castles that give you a true sense of belonging and having a little part of history right there in front of your eyes. Cheeses are the only thing though I'll never get used to. The only kind I like are the very mild ones like "Babybell" :)

I don't know where you are in france but i'm french and i've never heard of the quart d'heure de politesse ?

I've been french for all my life (all 33 years of it). I have never liked that idea that 15 minutes late was on time. When I go somewhere, if I arrive at the scheduled time, I'm late. If I arrive AFTER the scheduled time, I'm SUPER LATE. If I arrive before, then I'm on time. I remember was when I was younger, I knew that arriving just on time was no something people did, so when I had to go to a friend's house for example and I was supposed to arrive at let's say 14h, I'd wait one or two minutes and like walk up the last flight of stairs or something to make it like I had just arrived, when in reality I had been waiting for 5 to 10 minutes before the scheduled time. If I'm expecting someone to come at 10h in the morning, I'll start to wonder where they are after 10 minutes. If they're more than 15 minutes behind schedule, then they're late and I'm starting to get pissed off on top of being worried something has happened to them. Long meal times: That's normally only for family events and big reunions, in the day to day life you shouldn't be having an apéritif and a 3 course meal + cheese + desert + coffee. That's not what we do around where I'm from. Strong cheeses: if it's not strong, it's not worth tasting.

Quart d'heure de politesse is not French, it's Parisien.

"if they tell you to come at 9 they expect you to come at 9:15" sounds like black people time, only for us it would be 10:30

yeah I also think 15 minutes is really the limit and becomes impolite. Maybe this quart d'heure de politesse is typically parisian , in my region 5 minutes is ok, not more. As for the smelly cheese, well, you"re not the first one to complain but honestly it is so much better than the smell of the fish and everybody loves fish, except me :) ... It does stink a lot too. Keep up the good work, I like your videos

when I lived in France what I could never get used to was restaurants closing from ~4pm-6pm...I knew they did, but still often found myself looking for a place to eat around that time!

I'm French and I've been living in America for ages. If there is a french "life philosophy" it's "joie de vivre". That means that we don't rush through life, we like to take our time enjoying food, having conversations with people, and just taking it easy. As for the A.C and opening windows: yes, there are bugs outside that might get in, that's natural. Yes, it's really hot and we're sweating, that's also natural. There are a lot of tiny inconveniences, and the stereotypical French attitude would be to shrug your shoulders and accept it by saying "C'est la vie" (it's life). From my French perspective, it feels like the stereotypical American doesn't know how to live: there's always a drive for what's most convenient, what is fastest, what is cheapest (or conversely what's most expensive) instead of just experiencing life. So that's my view on it.

I lived in Antwerp, Belgium and in the summer months we had custom screens to pop in the windows to keep out most of the buggies. Of course, you had to put a screen on the kitchen vents over the stove as well otherwise the kamakazee mosquitoes in that area would sneak in, bite you painfully and bleed you dry plus keeping you awake all night.

One way to get rid of bugs is to leave the spiders alone if you have webs in ceiling corners and don't disturb them, they really help :)

Le quart d'heure de politesse is 15 minutes before, when you go to work, to interviews, and other formal events. For parties, on the contrary, people always showed up after. The "rude" thing in it I think, is arriving while your host is still preparing the food and basically the party.

I'm French and I've watched several videos you've made and I think your pronounciation in French is really cute. You're doing it right ! French is very difficult, even for natives. I love your videos because I love the way you talk in English : not too fast and your accent is so understandable for me ! Your videos are helping me to "practice" my english, to get use to listen to natives, and I love the topics that you choose ! I love to see how foreign people see french one, french culture and language :) Keep doing it you're so interesting !

As a French person, I've heard about this "thirteen minute politeness" rule, but I've never ever seen anyone seriously refer to it and apply it. We're just late because we're not organized. Concerning meals, usual familial meals (parents + children) such as dinner and lunch usually last between 20 to 40min. However, it's true that meals with more family often last much longer, around 2hrs to 3hrs.

Quart d'heure de politesse was more an urban upper-class thing than French. It was for the "dîner en ville" in Paris, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lyon and a few others bourgeoises cities and spread in society because it is considered more polite to let some time to the maîtresse de maison to fix things, only very closed relatives and family can come earlier to help her but guests are not supposed to see her preparing things.

You could probably order a temporary screen that doesn't have to be installed. It just unfolds and you wedge it in open space.

If you have an appointement to the dentist for exemple there is no "quart d'heure de politesse". You must be on time.

Hey I'm a French girl and I really appreciate your videos. it is so interesting to know what foreigners think about France when they actually live here. Totally love it!

Get some mosquito nets (moustiquaire) to put on your windows, you can pin them on, and remove them when you need to... That way you won't get as many bugs in your appartment! And another thing is, in the hotter months, ventilate during the night (between 10pm and 7am), to cool down your house, and then close the shutters and curtains and keep your house cool during the day... That's what we do in my big house, in Switzerland :)

Hi Andrea, I have been living in France for almost 5 years now. I mostly agree what you said, except for the cheese. It depends on what region you stay. Most of the cheese with strong flavour come from north region (ex: Normandie, Rhône Alpes, Bretagne) which is kindly logic because it surrounded by the mountain. But when you go down to the south region (La Rochelle, Nice, Toulouse) the cheese flavour is lighter. Because it influenced by mediterranean cuisine (ex: Italie, Spain). They tends to use more olive oil for the cuisine. Hope that it can help you.

Such a great feeling to feel fresh air coming into your room when you open your window. Ive been in the US a lot of times and i definitely hate so much AC, it just feels like fake air hahah

I'm from Michigan. In Michigan, there are many homes with no air conditioning (mostly in houses that are a little more aged). Opening the window was something that people frequently do there, but like you said, we have screens. So I'm familiar with having to fan out the house in those hot summer months, but thankful that bugs were not openly invited! I also would love the 15 minutes late thing!

If screens are hard to find you can make one that's easy to put up and down from either a bought or made frame filled with tulle or lace. A colored frame with lace and/or tulle inside is quite pretty and blocks most bigger bugs and flies.

Even though I grew up in France, I just moved back last year and I still struggle with being "too" on time. Even when I try not to be... Also, I'm always surprised at how desert at a restaurant can sometimes last 45mn and it's not even because the food took awhile to come.

about the strong cheese issue. Wipe the knife into a small piece of bread before cutting. no one gets feel hurt. feel free to "forget" the tainted bread chunk. your mild cheese part is now safe.

These 15 minutes of "politeness" it's basically just to allow the host to finish up the prep. There is always an issue that can arise last minute, so it's to let them deal with this and not stress out.

as a French person I open the windows just bc I like to feel the fresh air from the outside and make the room fresher

I'm French and never heard about the "quart d'heure de politesse". Everybody I know arrives on time (in Réunion Island and Metz/Nancy).

In more ancient times, "le quart d'heure de politesse" was meant to leave enough time to the poeple recieving guests to finish preparations of a meal, or decoration, even correct a mistake in the cooking. An other of these funny things (not anymore) is that you were supposed to send flowers to the recieving lady the next day, not before, and not bring it to her, as it would have been rude to her if she did not expose the flowers (dislike of smell or colour) or if she had to look for a vase while she is supposed to entertain her guests.

The very long meal thing is mostly for Christmas / easter / vacation periods when you meet your entire family, a typical meal is more like an hour long at most, unless it's sunday and you're a little more relaxed. When I was a kid we used to spend hours eating with my grandparents when we visited them and meet our cousins, but that's definitely not a regular thing anymore. Or maybe it's just that my family is weird. Also I hate strong cheese in France and only eat Yogurt. I started enjoying cheese when I moved to Italy actually :-)

Loved your last point! Even as a French person I'm still amazed at all the historical buildings you can find in almost every single town ! Not sure if that's France or just the whole old continent :)

In fact, it's a church that you will find in each town. You will find some castle too, but always a church at least.

Hello! About the "quart d'heure de politesse", it's more about etiquette: it's not that they say 7.00 and expect you at 7.15, it's just that the etiquette says that if you're invited to a party for example, you show up a little late so if they're not ready, they still have some time. And usually, they give an hour but it's more like the moment when you can start arrive and not a precise time like for a business meeting.

Showing up late at shows is quite the thing to do: depending on the town you live in, it might be called "le quart d'heure orléanais" or "le quart d'heure blésois". It doesn't matter, since performers usually show up much later than that. I've never heard of "le quart d'heure de plitesse", though.

Yep, I like to be on time too and it irritates me when people are late especially if they don’t even bother to notify you.

Living in Germany, I completely agree with you about opening the windows all the time. It definitely is weird to me during the middle of winter, when the heating is on.

when a match is scheduled at a certain time, it is whistle time, so you miss the anthems

I have lived in Belgium and in France (but from Canada) and the not having screens on windows always drove me nuts. I am not super prone to bug bites but hearing flies constantly buzzing around gets on my nerves. I also was never able to really be un-amazed by living around castles and super old and beautiful buildings.

Hahaha, the cheek kissing and meal time gets everyone every time when people come to France. Like you said, if you are meeting people for first time prepare yourself for the cheek kisses. After a couple of years, you get use to it.

I loved your video because I’m French and I had the exact opposite experience in the US. Thank you for making me remember these sweet memories because in the end it gets very funny.

I am European living in California and I just cannot get used to so many things here even though I have been here for many years. I miss walking around and not needing a car for every single thing, I miss coffee shops on every corner, I miss how laid back and more relaxing life in EU is, I miss taking my time when I eat out, miss better quality food...

Hello! I am also an American from Pittsburgh who moved to France almost 14 months ago. Thanks for sharing this was comforting to watch, I agree 100% about the bise... still not natural for me either ! And the windows! I died of heat this summer and got eaten alive by mosquitos too meanwhile my boyfriend had NOTHING! You said you've been in the Loire region, I live in Angers! And I never get tired of the beautiful buildings. Thanks for assuring me I'm not the only one ;)

I'm french, living in France for 24 years now (in the center-east, mostly), and I have NEVER heard about the 15 minutes late. Like never.

loved the video!! and haha some of those made me laugh. specially the "getting the ants" when you sit for too long during meals.....in spain we sometimes sit for 3 hours on a special meal...

For me, the "quart d'heure de politesse" is soooo important, cheek kissing is normal, opening windows and 7 hours long meals too, strong cheeses are my favorite, and old buildings are normal... guess it's understandable, I'm French 🙄

Lived in France (Paris) for 5 years and I swear EVERYTHING you said was the complete opposite for me... Literally everything.