"One does not die from a trifling cold!"

This expression, a quote from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (one of my favourite books) ,quite sums up how the British regard falling ill. This is in stark contrast with the way the French treat being ill!

So I'm ill, I have a cold at present. Why do I have a cold? I don't know, probably because it is the season for it. My French friends' theories on why I might have a cold are because yesterday because of the strikes I walked to and from work. Going to work was not too bad because it was a lovely sunny autumn morning. Going back from work was slightly different especially as I had drinks with some friends and ended up walking home around 10pm. French conclusion as to why I am ill? Because I have "trappé froid" (caught cold).

In the UK we talk about "catching cold" too. As my grandma would say when looking at one of the skimpy outfits I used to put on when off out somewhere (note the expression "used to") "ooh you'll catch your death in that!". "Catching cold" to me always meant that there was a cold going round (in school for example) and that eventually you would catch it. I never understood it to mean "you will catch cold because it is cold" but here in France that seems to be the general interpretation. If I go out, (god forbid!) without a scarf and then later complain of a sore throat, my French friends will say "ah tu as trappé froid sur ta gorge" (you caught cold on your throat). The French seem to live in fear of "catching cold" and therefore make sure they are properly wrapped up (that's why you will see them with scarfs even in summer!). The Brits seem to accept that at some point you will fall ill with a cold and will just have to get over it, but this will in no way stop you from wearing your favourite party dress on a night out in the middle of winter!

Many companies in France offer free flu-jabs to their workers, the company where I work is no exception. When speaking to a new-ish British colleague about whether she had booked her appointment for her flu jab she said that she didn't intend to have it done. Why? "Well isn't it for old people and children?" Well generally yes but companies don't want their staff getting ill and taking time off so they would rather we get our jab. My British colleague's attitude was "if I get ill I'll deal with it!". So British but in a sense I completely understand her.

According to my mother I've become French because at the slightest sign of pain or illness I go to the pharmacy for vitamins and painkillers (she exaggerates!). That said, this is coming from the woman who, when I was a child, refused to take me to the hospital because she was fairly sure my sore foot wasn't actually broken. The next day she did take me to the hospital and was proven wrong (emotionally scarred me??!). However unlike my French friends, I generally prefer to battle out a cold with lots of honey and lemon and staying in bed where possible, preferring natural remedies rather than pumping myself full of drugs at the slightest sign of illness.

The first time I fell ill in France I went to my local pharmacy and said "I'm ill" or "je suis balade (sic)" ("malade", you know you can't get your 'm's out properly when you're ill). The kindly pharmacist asked me what my symptoms were. "well I'm bunged up" (isn't it obvious??). "Ah, vous avez le nez bouché? Mal à la tête? Le nez qui coule un peu? Mal à la gorge?"
"uh huh" (this kid was bright!)
So he comes back with about 5 boxes, I only went in for the French equivalent of Lemsip! (if only I had thought in advance and brought some from the UK). He hands me this huge bottle and explains that it is a spray to unblock my nose. Then he gives me some paracetamol with added vitamin C, another spray to unblock the nose. WHAT ON EARTH??? In the UK, I usually need a bit of eucalyptus oil, lemsip, a box of nice soft tissues and straight to bed. Now I had a bottle the size of a spray can to use once a day and a smaller spray for more frequent applications. So I took all of it, not entirely convinced it was all necessary and handed over my money. I did not quite understand why I should spray sea water up my nose just so it could come running out again but I gave it a go. It did of course work, but I obviously didn't need a whole big canister of the stuff!

I think now I'm somewhere between the French attitude and the British attitude. This cold won't kill me but I have somewhat grown out of "I'm tough and I can get over this" British-ness and when it comes to a choice between being brave or getting a proper nights sleep and not having a fuzzy head and blocked nose at work, I would rather help things along with a bit of paracetamol. Now where did I put my scarf??

I love France!

A few years ago, my mother bought me a lovely suede backed diary so that I could record my experiences in France as I had (more or less) done during my Erasmus year. On the first page I wrote "Dear Diary (I don't know why I said Dear Diary but I felt I had to address it to someone)
I plan to write about my experiences in France in my diary. I don't promise to write everyday but I hope I shall be able to write often".

When I returned to France, to begin with I had a lot of time on my hands and was able to write my daily experiences in my diary. As time went on however and I became more involved in teaching and studying for my course. When I got home in the evening I had less and less time to write anything in my diary and only really reverted to it when I was upset about something.

Having created this blog during the boring months of summer I have found that like my diary I have had less time to write. Also, having examined other blogs, I think I had a "bloggers crisis". Why exactly was I writing this? Who for? What for? Yes I live in Paris and yes Paris is amazing but there are so many blogs which write about living in France. If you want to find out about how workers in Paris trot down to the metro in the morning, picking up a warm croissant or pain au chocolat on the way and then arrive at work to air kiss gorgeous looking French colleagues then you only have to google Paris blogs (I exaggerate only a little) and I'm sure you'll find loads. Just to clear things up, in the same way as the French think we English have bacon, sausages and eggs in the morning, anyone who makes you think that the French pick up hot croissants and pain au chocolats every morning, drink espressos, smoke gaulloises AND remain wonderfully thin, is having you on!

Also many blogs are written by expats who are outside observers of French culture. Whilst I am undoubtedly outside, in the sense that I am not French, I feel that I have integrated the French society and have many lovely and faithful French friends. I loved the line in the recent film I went to see "Two days in Paris" where Julie Delpy says "ça fait deux ans qu'on est ensemble, donc on est un couple qui dure" (we have been together for two years so we are a couple which lasts). I have been living in France for 5 years and France was my new love. Like any great love at the beginning you think that everything is fantastic, soon enough you begin to see the faults and failings in your lover and if you can get past that and learn to accept the faults of the other, your love has a chance of lasting. Sure, France is not always fabulous and god knows the system is a nightmare sometimes, but which system isn’t? Like every expat I think I can say that sometimes I love this country and sometimes I feel isolated and a real stranger but generally after all these years I do still love it and do still want to live here. It is of course difficult for any person anywhere who leaves their home country (even if it is by choice) and goes to another country and tries to integrate into a new society. From the outside the French can seem cold and unwelcoming and the French system frustrating and bureaucratic but once you break the system and get to know the people you find that France is like any other country and the French are just as warm, friendly and fun as any people you could wish to meet. So whilst I can empathize with every expat who is trying to understand this country and its people, I say be patient and you will find exactly how great this country can be. I conclude with "Vive La France!" (of course don't be expecting me to be shouting that too loudly come Saturday! ;-) )