A few are quite obvious, but some are surprising.
"Everything is big in America"
Julien took pictures of passing SUVs and tractor trailers. He oogled big-wheeled hunting trucks that pulled up next to us at stoplights. Though he thought the vehicles were "awesome and beautiful" he said he wouldn't want to pollute as much as he was certain these cars do. Drinks from restaurants are big, portions too (imagine his surprise when he was served his meal at the Cheesecake Factory, notorious for its enormous portions!)
Everything is Cheaper in America!
Understatement of the year. Not only is the Euro doing great against the dollar, but things ARE just cheaper. Clothes, food, electronics, are so much cheaper (if you compare prices as if the euro and the dollar were equal, there is still a vast difference). So he went home with lots of goodies, needless to say.
And we have 24 hour stores!! Julien wanted to look at the price of Ipods, and was rushing me to leave so we could get to the store before 7:30 (closing time in France). I told him not to worry, and around 10pm we went to Walmart, where first Julien was overwhelmed by the size, and second kept asking about the employees' well beings (well what if they want to spend the night with their families? they are so nice and happy, even though they have to work the night shift!).
Obesity
One billboard really bothered him. It was on I-40 east, a sign for Sheetz advertising a burger. It had an obviously overweight man with a ginormous burger in hand, approaching an open mouth. This upset him because it was in a way perpetuating obesity and bad eating habits. In France you would have a billboard promoting 5 fruits and vegetables a day, and if it were advertising something harmful to your health, best believe that there would be a disclaimer that says avoid snacking between meals, or exercise daily. Julien noticed that there were more overweight people in NC than in DC, and said that he can understand the obesity problem because the food in the US is so good, but so bad for you.
Old people eat at fast food restaurants
With a strong desire to share American hamburgers with Julien, I took him to Wendy's, which had a ridiculously long drive-thru line, so we went inside. In front of us, there were a few elderly gentlemen, who clearly frequented this particular Wendy's, because the cashier struck up a conversation with them, and knew their orders. Once outside, Julien said that he was really surprised by the clientele in Wendy's. He said that old people in France hate fastfood places, and would never get caught in one. I think this probably stems from the pride in French cuisine and the belief that McDonalds = globalization/loss of culture.
American public bathrooms
Julien emerged from the bathroom at a museum and said, "crucial flaw with the American toilets: you can see people's feet and there is at least 2 inches of space between the door and the wall, so that people can see you!" It then dawned on me that all the toilets in France have real doors and the only way to know if a stall is occupied is to knock or try the handle, whereas in the US all one must do is squat a little to see if you see legs to know if it's occupied. What a funny observation!
Office Life
I took Julien to my mom's office, toured him around, introduced him to everyone, and a little chat with mom's boss about the history of Winston Salem. Upon leaving, Julien said he was in a state of shock. Never would one enter their parent's workplace with such ease and comfort as that in France! The workplace is for work, not for socializing, and if you did take a break like that, perhaps your pay could be docked. It's not an informal environment at all. I thought this was funny, and believe that it is surely due to the fact that the French don't work that much in the first place, so I guess they better work hard during they hours they are at work! :)
Clothing
Sweatpants and tennis shoes. Though an outfit I wouldn't normally wear in public, I don't find it particularly distasteful or bizare, but Julien was quite shocked. He kept pointing out older gentlemen donning such outfits ("young people attire" he called it), such as baggy pants, white tennis shoes, and baseball hats. He said that you would not find older men in France wearing such outfits, ever. Guess it's something I never noticed before.
Racism
Of course France has it's own problems with racism, but it doesn't have a history that is so entrenched in it as ours. I gave Julien a brief history of the civil rights movement, to explain to him why the wounds are still fresh (he was appalled to know that this only happened forty years ago, and that there are still plenty of die-hard racists in the US!) In the Museum of American History, he was disturbed by pictures of slaves being beaten and flogged. He kept muttering "how could people do this to others?..." I think he understands now, why it was such a big deal to have elected a Black president.
Religion
The first full day Julien had, a Sunday, we toured Winston-Salem. He commented that there were not many people on the streets, and then immediately noticed a trend: every church parking lot that we passed was chock full of cars. Ah behold, the most religious Western nation! One must remember that despite (or because of) France's long tumultous history with religion, there are very few church-going adherents. If someone is self-named religious, then they are more than likely to be Catholic. I of course had to explain to Julien why we had so many churches; first because there are more church-going folks, and because most people in the south are protestant and protestant is just a big ol' branch of christianity with tons of smaller branches (read Methodist, Bapitist, Episcopal, Lutheran, etc). I also explained to him the role religion plays in politics (i.e. the religious right, abortion and homosexuality seen through the eyes of religion) which of course surprised him as France is actually strictly separation of church and state (though we too say we are) and you would never hear a politician saying "God bless France."
On the highway in Virginia, we passed a billboard that said "ex-gays, they are proof that you can do it too!" or something along those lines, advertising a preacher's ability to convert gays to heterosexuals. Julien said that although there are certainly people in France that are homophobic, one would never find something like this on the side of the road. It was appalling to me too, though I suppose it's freedom of speech at its best.
Both this example and the ones on racism bring up an important question: sure the US has its bigots and hate, but perhaps it's better that we are open about it (i.e. billboards) instead of hiding it like the French? I am not sure which is worse.
And so, touring a Frenchie around taught me a bit about the interesting aspects of my culture that I overlooked or forgot about in comparison to his.
