Reading between the lines

     Culture is something that everyone has in his or her life with or without effort. One could define culture as the behavior, customs, and ideas of a particular group of people or society. This is something that generally affects one’s particular lifestyle. The culture of one country may be completely the opposite of another, or they could somewhat resemble each other in some elements. Different regions of the same country could have very different cultures, like California and Alabama in the United States or Brittany and Nice in France. And there could even be cultural differences between certain friend groups.

     The first couple of weeks that I spent in France were the hardest for communication. This is because I was clearly not as fluent in French as I am now. At the time, if I wanted to say an expression that I wasn’t sure how to correctly say in French, I would translate it directly from English. This is when I learned that expressions could usually NOT be directly translated because they either mean something else entirely or they do not make sense at all. For example, I remember making this mistake during one of the first meals that I had with my host family. Since French meals typically have five courses, I ate too much and said “je suis pleine,” which translates word by word to “I am full.” However, it does not carry the same meaning. By saying this expression in French, it is usually said to describe an animal that is pregnant. This made me very aware of the cultural difference in terms of expressions, and I never made that mistake again.

The "bise" greeting (two kisses on the cheeks)

     After living in Angers for a few months, it is now my understanding that the culture in France differs from the United States a lot more than I originally thought. As I have have previously mentioned, the greeting gestures in France differ greatly from greetings in the United States. Laray M. Barna explains that “good intentions, the use of what one considers a friendly approach, and even the possibility of mutual benefits don’t seem to be efficient” for situations like these (337). The most common way to greet a good friend or family member is to give “bises,” which is kisses on each cheek. This is most often used between people that know each other well, but it is also sometimes used with acquaintances. It depends on the people and the relationship between them. To me, this seemed a little more personal than giving someone a hug. However, one time I forgot about the expectation to give the “bises” and instead tried to give one of my friends a hug when I saw them. I was slightly shoved back and my friend had a very surprised look on his face. I could understand that he felt uncomfortable considering the “look” that he gave me. According to Laray M. Barna, “no cross-cultural studies have proven the existence of a common nonverbal language except those in support of Darwin’s theory that facial expressions are universal” (337). This is something that I agree with based on the studies behind it as well as my personal experiences. In France, hugging a person is considered extremely intimate and is only done with a significant other. However, a person can chose to implement different cultures in his or her life. I know many French students that study languages and cultures and who have studied abroad just like I currently do. Since most of them took English, they studied in the United States, and therefore are pretty familiar with the cultural difference. With them, I can use the “bises” or hugs because we have all accepted elements of the other culture as our own.




Zemach-Bersin, Talya. "American Students Abroad Can't Be 'Global Citizens'" The Chronicle of Higher Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.