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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fuindordm" data-source="post: 2575755" data-attributes="member: 5435">The differences are manifold and too numerous to list off.  I'm American and have been living in the Paris area for a year now.  A couple of things that have struck me follow:Mockery and performance are part of everyone's repertoire.  Giving an entertaining sob story is the best way to get help, but another way is to participate in the cycle of mockery.  Among friends especially, everyday socializing includes a level of light-hearted insulting and repartee that would shatter an anglo-saxon friendship.  In public, people might not be insulting (unless they're in a very bad mood), but you can't necessarily take their first response at face value.  A "no, it's impossible" might really mean "no, I'm bored and your problem doesn't interest me yet".  People will bend over backwards for someone they're interested in, aiding them to a point that a good anglo-saxon friendship is unlikely ever to reach, but if you don't make it into their circle of interest then it can be very frustrating.The point being that communication, in France, has many more layers than it does in America. The French, in my experience, don't like to be literal or to take each other literally; it makes socializing much more fun, and adds an element of play to even the most mundane interactions.That doesn't make it easy to understand or participate for the rest of us, but I'm slowly learning how to play the game myself.There are a lot of good culture books out there explaining French culture to anglo-saxons, full of good anecdotes.  Two that I have myself are:French or Foe?  (don't remember the author)Culture Shock (Sally Taylor)Cheers,Ben</blockquote>

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