Cultural differences...

I thought it'd be interesting to share some things I've been learning here from all the other exchange students. I knew before I came that there where going to be some differences in opinion between people of different nationalities, but even more so between people in general. But here are some things I've been picking up from my friends lately:

• According to my friends, there is a huge stereotype that Americans have about Europeans, and that is that they're all one group of people who are so similar that it's ok to group them together as being European all the time. Actually, all of my friends identify themselves by their country before being European. For example, my friend Josefin, who's from Sweden, says that her culture is more similar to the American culture than any European culture, so it sounds ridiculous to her when people group her together with Europeans!
• My Brazilian friends love cracking jokes about everything and they say their culture is the same. They'll joke about everything from politics to terminal illnesses- but that's just how they handle things. They said that if something bad happens and you can't change it, why not laugh about it instead of feeling upset?
• Like I said before, my Belgian friends are very particular about their beer, ha ha. But they're also particular about where in Belgium they come from. My friends actually speak Dutch and they're from Flanders, so when people just assume they speak French, it looks a bit ignorant to them. But they're pretty cool guys, so they don't mind too much!
• I speak English more than French here! It makes sense because Paris is such an international city and most everyone speaks English and French. Actually, most of my friends prefer speaking English because it's either easier or they want to improve their English language skills. But don't worry, I speak French at least once or twice a day here, and my skills are improving! :)
  

But the biggest lesson I'm learning is the importance of NOT stereotyping people. I haven't made any huge errors yet (knock on wood), but I've seen some people cross the line without realizing it. Every one of my friends is very understanding about our cultural differences, mostly because we're all exchange students here, so it makes things a lot easier, but it's good to make the effort in being respectful. I've been listening more than talking here, and it's been working out great so far! (now I just need to meet more French people, ha ha)

Last night, I went to a birthday party and a housewarming party, so I got to see about all my friends at once (and that's why I have so much info today!). So here is a picture of me and Isabel, who just turned 23 (she's Swedish and really really cool!):














And here's a picture of me looking extra French last night too (it's all about the tights here, ha ha):