How does France compare?

[Benj]

I'm in the process of learning French as a second language. I hear the French are very snobbish towards us Americans (along with the rest of the world, if I am to believe the hype). I've never been outside of the US. And of course, none of the best language learning programs ever consider the eastern European languages or Thai for their programs.

According to Nomarriage.com, it seems that France is a crappy place to go casual sex.

Anyway, I want to leave the US. France seems like an interesting place to live. But I hear it's difficult to get citizenship.

Also, is it more difficult for Americans to gain citizenship to other countries than it is for anyone else?

[Think Different]

These are my experiences with the French:

1. The south of France tended to be not snobbish towards me, and were absolutely hospitable. I was in the Provence and around Marseille, mainly, and maybe due to the sheer numbers of immigrants in that region, they tend to be more tolerant. The north of France, and in particular Paris, tend to be much snottier.

2. If you make an attempt to speak French and be willing to "look foolish" first, they will generally be very accepting of you and be willing to speak English in return.

3. The French women are one of a kind, in my opinion. They are stylish, feminine, sometimes tomboy-ish, and always ready to jump in the sack, but they want to be treated like ladies. I felt that they treat love as an adventure and affairs and liaisons are the spice they prefer in life. I also felt that monogamous life was something that bored them and that marital flings were basically expected. The Italian women are pretty much the same, except in the far south.

4. If you want French citizenship, join the Foreign Legion. You're guaranteed citizenship after you get out (if you survive). You can just walk into their office at the train station in Marseille and sign up. Believe it or not, quite a few Americans have been Foreign Legion soldiers.

[BellaRuth]

For goodness sake don't speak English in France, that's all I can say. They are VERY proud of their language. You must attempt French. They will prefer even Spanish over English. In my experience you must take learning French seriously as well, really try hard with the accent and don't think you will get away with pronouncing it in your American accent, they will pretend to not have a clue what you're saying even if they can. This doesn't mean you have to be fluent, just show you are making real effort with it, and you should be ok.

You may find them rude and abrupt. But it is a cultural rudeness, not based upon personality. Get to know any French people and you'll be fine, they are great, as far as I've found. Relaxed and happy.

Along with the rest of the world there may well be snobbery towards the Americans but if you act interested in their country, culture and language, willing to learn and not arrogant, you'll be forgiven for your place of birth When there is snobbishness towards Americans it is because of the stereotype that Americans are self-absorbed, egotistical and see all other countries as below theirs and not worth learning about, so if you show you're not like that you really don't need to worry.

As for learning an Eastern European language, why not try LiveMocha? I really enjoy using it and you can find people to talk on Skype to to help your progress further. It's free.

[Benj]

These are my experiences with the French:

1. The south of France tended to be not snobbish towards me, and were absolutely hospitable. I was in the Provence and around Marseille, mainly, and maybe due to the sheer numbers of immigrants in that region, they tend to be more tolerant. The north of France, and in particular Paris, tend to be much snottier.

2. If you make an attempt to speak French and be willing to "look foolish" first, they will generally be very accepting of you and be willing to speak English in return.

3. The French women are one of a kind, in my opinion. They are stylish, feminine, sometimes tomboy-ish, and always ready to jump in the sack, but they want to be treated like ladies. I felt that they treat love as an adventure and affairs and liaisons are the spice they prefer in life. I also felt that monogamous life was something that bored them and that marital flings were basically expected. The Italian women are pretty much the same, except in the far south.

4. If you want French citizenship, join the Foreign Legion. You're guaranteed citizenship after you get out (if you survive). You can just walk into their office at the train station in Marseille and sign up. Believe it or not, quite a few Americans have been Foreign Legion soldiers.

Thank you. I don't have much of a problem looking foolish.

I'm not the militaristic type. I'd rather move to a new country in one piece and alive.

[Benj]

For goodness sake don't speak English in France, that's all I can say. They are VERY proud of their language. You must attempt French. They will prefer even Spanish over English. In my experience you must take learning French seriously as well, really try hard with the accent and don't think you will get away with pronouncing it in your American accent, they will pretend to not have a clue what you're saying even if they can. This doesn't mean you have to be fluent, just show you are making real effort with it, and you should be ok.

You may find them rude and abrupt. But it is a cultural rudeness, not based upon personality. Get to know any French people and you'll be fine, they are great, as far as I've found. Relaxed and happy.

Along with the rest of the world there may well be snobbery towards the Americans but if you act interested in their country, culture and language, willing to learn and not arrogant, you'll be forgiven for your place of birth When there is snobbishness towards Americans it is because of the stereotype that Americans are self-absorbed, egotistical and see all other countries as below theirs and not worth learning about, so if you show you're not like that you really don't need to worry.

As for learning an Eastern European language, why not try LiveMocha? I really enjoy using it and you can find people to talk on Skype to to help your progress further. It's free.

Thank you for telling me about LiveMocha. I will look into that.

I've heard that the French are really nice if you can get past the snobbishness.

[Benj]

Another question I have: Is it true that the French don't bathe much?

[Think Different]

That was never my experience. The French girls I knew were always very particular about cleanliness and made sure to use a nice perfume and lavender powders and such. The only time I smelled stinky people in Europe was much older Germans (think WWII generation), who didn't believe in using deodorant.

[Adama]

3. The French women are one of a kind, in my opinion. They are stylish, feminine, sometimes tomboy-ish, and always ready to jump in the sack, but they want to be treated like ladies. I felt that they treat love as an adventure and affairs and liaisons are the spice they prefer in life. I also felt that monogamous life was something that bored them and that marital flings were basically expected. The Italian women are pretty much the same, except in the far south.

I thought you said elsewhere that this is the very reason many Italian women are sick of Italian men???