The differences between Australia and France

Yo it’s Katie and welcome back to the blog 🙂

So today’s blog installment is all about the differences between France and Australia I have noticed. 

1. The French drive on the other side of the road to us,  and the driver seat is on the opposite side of the car,  I remember on my first day in France waking up in the back seat of my host family’s car and panicking cause we were on the wrong side. Also most people own a Renault or Peugeot. Also there isn’t many vans here unless it’s for business purposes. And theres no crazy car colours 
2. The French powerpoints don’t have switches to turn them on / off? This confuses me a lot because how do you turn it off without always having to remove the cord?  Also the light switched don’t have the little orange thing underneath it when you switch it the French switches look likes noses sticking out of the wall instead 
3. Most Europeans can speak at least 2-3 languages! Most French people can speak English,  Spanish or German :). This is unlike Australia where the most common second language to English spoken is Mandarin.
4. Their fast food sizes are larger than Australia!  The smalls and mediums are generally the same however the large sizes are 1.5 times larger here! 
5. Not many people hug here,  they do the kiss thingy instead. People normally hug If it’s just family or very close friends 
6. There’s no sports fields in French schools. Unlike Australia they don’t play any sports during lunch breaks. Besides from sport class there isn’t much sport offered via the school 
7. The French eat less often than us however the meals are larger,  most meals usually include the main, then cheese and then dessert for both lunch and dinner! 
8. School goes for longer in france and school is on a Saturday!.  In Australia school goes for 6 hours everyday unlike in france the time changes per day depending on your time table. Also here’s some more differences about the school while we are on the topic,  they all eat in a cafeteria were they serve food at school . Unlike Australia were you can buy snacks from a canteen but people are spread across the school eating during lunchtime. The schools is set up like the American system theres ecole (like middle school)  then Lycee (which Is American highschool). Everyone has to take two languages and can choose to take a 3rd one if they want. You don’t have a uniform at school and most schools have lockers!  
9. They keep their butter in the fridge even in winter!  In Australia we leave the butter on the counter if it’s winter.
10. NO ONE WEARS CROCS HERE 🙁
11. There’s no flies in france. Like none. 
12. Same for spiders and other insects over only encountered two spiders and they both were the size of a fingernail! 
13.  France’s air smells better. Just trust me. 
14. They have different shops for certain things. They don’t have a baker’s delight where you can get both bread and pastries and you have to go to two different stores!
15. The French have a more layered approach to clothing and wear jeans a lot more than us. Also no one wears trackies outside of their homes
16.  The money is different,  besides from it being another currency the French use 1 and 2 cent coins! 
17. The houses in France are 3 stories high!  Unlike in Australia where it’s 1-2.
18.  Bike riding,  everyone rides on the road even if you are a child!  No one is allowed to ride on footpaths, there’s also no special riding tracks either.
19. Smoking,  a lot of people smoke here. Many teenagers smoke as well. Also there’s more social smoking here between young people 
20.   The price for veggies and fruit is nearly the same as unhealthy food. In fact it’s cheaper to buy a sandwich apple and a bottle of water than it is to buy a medium meal from a Burger King.

So that’s all the main differences I can think of right now, also let me know if you enjoyed this style of writing as well besides from like the recounts on my exchange. If you have bay suggestions on blog post ideas please feel free to comment. 

Until next time 

Byeee