10 things to know about France

1. Stuff is expensive.
The US dollar isn't doing so hot. I mentally multiply all prices in euros by 1.35 (by 2 in England) to get the dollar equivalent. Everything here (even wine!) is more expensive than in the US, save chocolate and specialty cheese.

2. People kiss a lot
You kiss everybody. On my first day at work, I broke my all-time kissing record in a single day. Ok, so it's only cheek kissing, and you do it twice, one on each cheek so the other doesn't get jealous. In Switzerland they do it three times so it sucks for the other cheek.

3. Smoking is still cool
A lot more people (scientific: higher proportion of people) smoke here than in the US. People don't look down on you and tell you it's bad for your health. There's actually a GIANT label that says "SMOKING KILLS YOU" instead of the discreet label on American packs. It just proves that smokers know the risks and do it anyways.

4. Lunch break is ridiculously long
The primary investigators at my lab usually have lunch by themselves, but the rest of us (4-5) go to the cafeteria together. It's only 2.75 euros. There is never any alcohol and the food is always better than the DUC at Emory (although it's also sponsored by Sodexho, hilarious). After lunch, we ALWAYS have coffee and everybody meets up to chat in the lobby.

5. Everyone is addicted to coffee
They got me hooked too. There's a coffee machine that dispenses 20 different varieties for 40 cents. Tastes better than Starbucks and is 5 times cheaper.

6. FOOTBALL (SOCCER)
There's always a bunch of people playing outside. The good players are amazing to watch and hard to catch up to. However, they're usually small and quick and I can usually get away with using my awkward made-for-rowing body to knock them around. When a big game is on TV, EVERYBODY watches, usually at bars and restaurants.

7. Kebabs are the French version of cheeseburgers
Döner kebab shops are more popular here than Waffle House in the American South. A kebab is basically a sandwich using meat carved from a giant block of meat rotating on an oven. Lettuce and tomatoes are standard, just like a cheeseburger, except that kebabs are much tastier and less bad for your body.

8. People love American music
It's funny how much every Western country's youth are influenced by American culture. Marilyn Manson, Maroon 5, Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, and rappers I don't know are hugely popular here.

9. Foreign students are cool
Bordeaux has 60,000 students and a LOT of them are ethnically foreign. I hear from friends that racism is sometimes found in the classroom, but not rampant. France has been divided on the issue of immigration for a long time.

10. France is 10 times better when you're paid to be there
I would like to thank again the Emory IRES program and all who made it possible. The first month has been productive and fun.