Years ago we were second in line at a car rental agency here in Carcassonne directly behind another customer with whom the transaction was conducted in French. As we approached the counter, the agent immediately said to us, in English, “Hello, may I help you?” We had not yet said a word out loud, not even an accented Bonjour, yet we were clearly identifiable as English speakers and maybe even as Americans. But how did he know? An article from the Huffpost might provide some clues. It’s entitled, “23 Telltale Signs Someone Is American, According To Europeans”.

My guess is that many of us have been in the following situation, especially around the holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day—or maybe all three! You’re at the dinner table with members of your family, many of whom you haven’t seen in a while. Everyone is looking forward to a meal that has been in preparation for hours, plus hearing all the news from your siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. When there’s a lull in the conversation, someone tries to be helpful and asks for opinions about the latest election, the role of the Church, or why a certain relative chose not to join you that evening. There’s a spontaneous intake of breath, sideways glances, a cough, and a sudden interest in those glasses of wine on the table. It seems that this isn’t unique to the US. According to a survey that was highlighted in our local newspaper, awkward discussions can happen during the fêtes in France as well.

Bill and I don’t have any children but our friends and neighbors do so we still get some exposure to the behavior of young people here. Our friend, Larry, sent us a link to a story that was in the Huff Post with the title of “5 Key Differences Between Parenting In The U.S. And France”. Author Marie Holmes refers to an Instagram story by American moms Annabel and Dale who noted some differences about how children are brought up here from what they were used to in the US. Their observations matched ours and we had even written about one of the standouts—4 course school lunches—in a blog post years ago. Let’s see what else they found to be different.