6 Things I miss about France

I know I am living in Germany, and the name of this blog is directly related to Germany.. But I have to go back to the topic of France, just for a bit.  I just got off of the phone with a French friend. We met in SF and dated briefly, and then his time studying in SF was over and he returned to Strasbourg. Now he's the cofounder of a startup that's been recognized multiple times and has won awards (Synovo, but everything will be in French if you google it and find the correct Synovo). It's really cool, and I am so proud of what he's doing!

Most of our conversations have always been in French and this one was no different.. It's so nice to be able to dive back into my second language and really speak fluidly and have a real conversation, not just say some nice sentences for my friends. It normally goes like this:
Friend: "You speak French? Say something!"
Me: (struggling to find something to say on the spot) "Bonjour, je m'appelle Casey.. Je parle français..Je porte un manteau?"
Friend: "Awesome! What did you say??"
Me: "My name is Casey. I speak French. I'm wearing a coat."
Friend: (obviously disappointed) "Oh."

So, in honor of our reconnecting (it's actually the first time we've spoken in a LONG time)..Here's a list of things I love and miss about France. Also, while I'm thinking about it.. Here is my now-defunct blog from this summer.. I actually wrote a post mentioning how much I love Berlin. So ironic that I am now living here a few months later.. Definitely did not see that one coming.

France, you are so close and yet you might as well be part of China...Je t'ai quitté pour l'Allemagne, mais je t'aime encore, ma belle!

1. la langue, la langue, la langue. Speaking French will always be, as the Frenchman in The Matrix says, "Like wiping your ass with silk."  I'll never have a perfect accent but it's getting better all the time (so I've heard..I will forever be skeptical of comments like that).. And anyway, despite stereotypes, the French have always loved my American accent.  Especially when I curse. "C'est mignon," ("It's cute") is the common response to my "Putain!" I also get a lot of requests to say "Va te faire enculer!" ("Go fuck yourself") just for the accent cuteness. The response "Awww! So cute!" is not necessarily what you want to hear when you are angry enough to use a gros mot, but I guess that's a small price to pay for the freedom and ability to speak in a different language.

2. le fromage.  There are over 300 types of cheese in France, and one of my greatest pleasures was the bi-weekly cheese adventure -- going to the supermarket, wandering up and down the 2 huge aisles of cheeses, and picking a couple of random ones to take home.  I never knew what I was going to get -- Reblochon? Saint-Félicien? Comté, Camembert, Coulommiers....Be it hard or soft,  aged or fresh, each one was a little adventure into Tasty Town.

3. the pastries - German bakers try their best at recreating the French croissant, the pain au chocolat... They look very appealing, sitting there in the bakery case in all their flaky pastry glory.  You remember the sweet buttery taste of your breakfasts in France and order one...and then are utterly disappointed when you bite into something dry and tasteless. A+ for appearance, but I don't want to eat something that tastes like a week-old, dried out piece of imitation croissant from the mass-production bakeries of the discount chain Dia.

4. My ability to speak the native language. Since moving to Germany I have found this as being highly underrated during my time in France. When I was in France, I thought I hardly spoke French. Sure I could have a conversation with people but my grasp of higher grammatical concepts was lacking. Plus-que-what??  Put me in a loud room with music and young people using slang with an accent and I would be lost.  That is literally making me smile as I type it, because... Fast forward to Berlin, where I have to deal with words like Kartoffelpuffer (hash browns), Friedrichstrasse (the name of a major street here..seems innocuous enough but the "ich" plus "str" sounds together get me every time), Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung (the word for speed limit??? wtf??), and Knoblauch (unfortunately, this is my favorite doener sauce, which means I have to use it fairly often) are literally alien to me. Like, you might as well just say "adingadurdongdang" to me. At least in France I can freaking understand when you ask me if I have a pen.

5. l'apéro. This is the pre-dinner snack/drinking course when you have friends over. This is amazing on a summer evening when it's still sweltering hot but cool enough to sit on the balcony with friends. Le pate en croute, des cornichons (baby pickles), le saucisson sec, des olives, et meme les chips (in American..chips)-- and don't forget le pastis (a licorice-flavored shot you mix with water and ice), le kir (white wine + a flavored liqueur)...It's the perfect amount of finger foods plus drinking plus talking, until the sun finally sets and you can head out to a boite.

6. the fashion. The French are well-known for both their fashion sense and their slender bodies which only accentuate their style.  Yes, they do wear black a lot.. But it is universally flattering and looks great when paired with a form-fitting dress shirt and a tie (on guys..or girls, if that's your thing) or a cocktail dress. Hair is perfectly coiffed. Guys tousle it just the right amount, and girls always have a cut that suits them perfectly. Heels or shiny dress shoes are a requirement, regardless of what you're doing -- going to the market, pushing your baby in a stroller, apero hour, going to a classy event... Wear. Your. Heels.

Compare this to Berlin, where you are forbidden from going into most clubs unless you are sufficiently DRESSED DOWN. Bed head, tshirts, hoodies, dirty Chucks/sneakers...This is the dress code for Berlin. Totally different world. But I refuse to give in. I am waiting to go back to the US.. I'm taking an empty suitcase just for my shoes.

French clubbing attire, guys. T-shirts? I don't think so.

Annnd this is Berlin.

At the end of the day, however, no matter how much I complain -- I'm happy to be here in Berlin.