3 Weeks Later

I've learned a lot throughout my few weeks here in South France. More specifically, I've learned a lot about the culture here- all from somewhat uncomfortable first-hand experiences. The following list is just a few things you might want to know before emerging your American self in France.

1. When you are done eating at a restaurant, the waiter will NOT bring your check to you unless you ask for it. Otherwise, you will be sitting at that table all night. Yes, that happened to me the first night.
2. There is no such thing as "splitting a check." You will get one check with everyones food on it combined, and you will sit there for 20 minutes trying to find exact change.
3. The tip is already included in the price of the food. If you leave a tip, you will just be losing money.
4. The fruit goes badly faster than in the US. If you don't eat your strawberries when you buy them, they WILL be completely covered in green, fluffy mold the next morning.
5. French people don't idolize peanut butter like we do in the US. You will be lucky to find more than one option of peanut butter at the grocery.
6. You are expected to bring your own bags to the grocery store. If you forget your bags, you WILL struggle to carry armfuls of food/bottles of wine all the way home. This one took me a few tries to get used to.
7. You will struggle to learn French. But some words will stick with you. For me: poulet (chicken), oeuf (egg), fromage (cheese), emmental (some other kind of cheese), ail (garlic), salade (lettuce), tomate (tomato), merci (thank you).
8. The streets do not make sense. There are barely any street lights and it's impossible to know which way the streets are going. I would advise to not drive in France.
9. Cars will not stop for you when you are waiting at a crosswalk. If you aren't aggressive, you will never cross the street.
10. The ambulances have a different sound than the ones in the US, and it's a lot more calm.
11. People don't pregame. 
12. All of the clothing at boutique stores are either very colorful, sparkly, or have pom poms hanging off of them.
13. There are a lot of pigeons. Their heads can turn all the way around and they are not afraid of you.
14. Old ladies don't wear bathingsuit tops on the beach. And neither do young girls.
15. Everyone smokes cigarettes. Anywhere you go, you will encounter smoke in your face.
16. People don't actually say "meet me at sixteen o'clock," that's just how it's shown on a digital clock. 
17. If you ever need sunglasses, a selfie stick, or a bathingsuit cover up, there will always be a man selling them on the beach.
18. There is another man on the beach who rings a bell and then throws a nut at you. Some people eat the nut. This one still confuses me.