Conventional wisdom says that the more you listen to a language the more you will pick up. After all, from the moment we’re born, we’re immersed in the speech of those around us, and we instinctively begin to copy the sounds to eventually express ourselves verbally. Following that logic, Bill and I get our daily dose of French TV, radio, music, news, weather, and neighborhood conversations. In addition, there are countless online videos, some for grammar, history, or culture but others just for entertainment. It’s especially fun when a French person talks about vacationing in or moving to America since we get to compare their reaction to ours of being the foreigner in a foreign land. Such was the case when I saw a video on the YouTube channel JeanUSA.

Jean-Noel Le Bras grew up in Normandy and now lives in Ithaca, New York. His videos explore the contrast between his experiences in the two countries, covering topics such as daily life, cost of living, the American Dream, and culture shocks when returning to France for vacation. One title, “10 choses à ne JAMAIS faire aux USA” (10 things NEVER to do in the USA) caught my attention. Here’s his advice and our observations (marked with 🥐) that might explain why he makes these points.

• Do not pass a yellow school bus when it is stopped and has its red lights or stop sign activated.🥐 In our area, at least, students ride the regular city or regional buses that we also take so they aren’t necessarily marked as school transport.
• Do not greet Americans with la bise (the air kiss on the cheek)—Americans prefer hugs. 🥐It’s true that we now seldom give hugs but certainly la bise.
• Never criticize the American flag, the national anthem, or the military—show respect, especially by standing up for the anthem. 🥐It’s rare to see a French flag anywhere other than on a government building although people do stand for the national anthem.
• Do not forget to leave a tip at a restaurant—it’s a moral obligation, typically 15% to 25%. 🥐French restaurant servers are paid a secure base salary so while appreciated, a tip is not expected.
• Do not take the rules lightly or joke with authority/customs agents—Americans follow many rules, and sanctions can be severe.🥐 People here seem free to express themselves, within reason, although “hate speech” is not tolerated.
• Do not urinate in public—you can be arrested and accused of indecent exposure.🥐 Perhaps a universal problem when there aren’t enough public toilets. Here that’s known as “pipi sauvage” or wild peeing.
• Never joke about religion, politics, or race—these are extremely sensitive subjects to Americans. 🥐We have yet to be at a dinner party where all 3 of these weren’t discussed. Perhaps not joked about, but definitely debated.
• Do not attempt to buy alcohol if you are under 21, and do not consume alcohol outdoors. 🥐The legal buying age here is 18 and a picnic without a bottle of wine, for us anyway, would be unheard of.
• Do not go walking in dangerous (“hot”) neighborhoods out of curiosity—the violence is a real threat, unlike in movies.🥐 Movie goers adore the films from Hollywood, be they dubbed or still in English.
• Do not invade Americans’ personal space—keep a distance of about 1 meter (3 feet) when speaking. 🥐Here, it might be an arm’s length away. After all, if you’ve just given someone an air kiss of greeting, you’re not going to stand across the room from them to talk.

In addition, he suggests being careful with credit cards, avoiding smoking, using Urgent Care instead of the hospital for non-emergencies, and never being late. Jean-Noel is still getting used to all of these in addition to Cheez Whiz, beef jerky, and Spam. Bon appétit!

Photo notes: The featured photo across the top is the Paris skyline with the Ballon Generali floating above it. In the first paragraph is the Paris headquarters for France TV viewed from the Seine river.