“Draguer” – the French flirting culture

In French, “draguer” means something like “to hit on”. I’ve been in Paris for a few months now and I quickly realized that the French approach me in a much more direct way than I’ve ever experienced in Switzerland. Whether it’s a stranger in the restaurant opposite, in the park, or simply on the street – you can be approached anywhere and at any time. This was very unfamiliar to me at first and I always reacted in a very friendly and polite manner at first. This has since changed.

Ché pas

This is the response that you’re going to hear basically every time you’re going to ask a question to a French person. This also represents the attitude French people have in their everyday life. “What is this exam gonna be about?” I ask my friend in class “Ché pas” I go “Has he said on what date it’s gonna be?” “Ché pas.” For French people planning is a mammoth task that distracts from everyday pleasantries.

When the People Strike

Paris is burning. Lately, social media and the news have been full of pictures of burning garbage containers, rioting crowds, anti-macron banners, and a lot of police, all on the streets of Paris. Since the due date of this blogpost aligns perfectly with the current social movement in Paris and the rest of France, I will attempt to elaborate on this political, social, and cultural issue that has been dividing, uniting and mobilising millions of citizens in the past few weeks and even months. What issue is so pending and relevant that even famous intellectuals like Annie Ernaux form a group with other celebrities and intellectuals that protests this “inegalitarian” reform?

Lost in Frenchlation

To begin with, I think it’s important to be aware that what I’m seeing and experiencing right now is but a very small part of the whole of French culture. Paris being a bustling European metropole, it doesn’t represent the more rural parts of France neither can it even be compared to other big cities in the country. There are a lot of French students coming from other parts of France like Lyon, Marseille, and Toulouse. Even for them, Paris is something else and I learned that the capital has a special status among French people.

Community is everything, especially while living abroad

At the time I am writing this blog, I have already accomplished an Erasmus abroad in Paris for six months and am currently doing my second in Italy. During these months, I have learned a lot about what it means to live in a community or family. Therefore, I want to write a blog about myself today, and also present to you methods on how to connect with people in a new city.

New approach to solve problems

In my semester abroad I had to work out a lot of group activities. So, on the one hand it was a new experience for me to do works in another language than my mother tongue and on the other hand the way of solving exercises was completely different from the method I knew. Today, I want to talk about the second topic.

“T’inquiète pas”

In this blog task I will reflect about how I am coping with the foreign language in my host country. Since I am in Paris the language which is spoken at the university and in everyday situations is French.

“La France sans Paris, c’est comme un gigot sans moutarde”

In this blog post, which is dedicated to a cultural aspect, I explain why Paris enjoys a very high status throughout France and how, as time went by, I was able to understand the reasons for its status.

Striking France

The first official right to strike in France has existed since 1864. It was announced during the second Empire of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, called Napoleon III, who was the Emperor of France from 1852 to 1870. The right to strike was renewed after World War II in 1946, at the beginning of the fourth Republic of France.

Familiarizing the unfamiliar: Upbringing in France

In my first blog contribution I would like to share an aspect that has attracted my attention now for several times and in different situations and the fact that I had started to get used to it and even to act in a similar way.