Cultural Shock: Eating like the French

I love France. I love the language (even though I haven't mastered it yet!), I love the history, the architecture and of course the fashion! I love Paris, even though I've only been a few times before. 

And I love my Frenchy of course!

But, being in a foreign country for a while, makes you see beyond the obvious and immerse yourself into the culture.

And there are some major cultural shocks I've had to overcome!

Firstly, the biggest shock for me is the food. I'm not much of a foodie. I eat to live, not live to eat. And since being in France, I've never eaten so much food in my life.

A typical French dinner party consists of 5 courses. Appetisers, entree, main, cheese and finally dessert. This does happen in Australia, but very rarely. In Australia, it's more typical to have 3 meals. Entree, main and dessert.

In Australia, I'm accustomed to fresh produce. In my household especially, I am used to eating salads, vegetables, fresh fish and lean meats. And it's also a rarity for us to eat bread.

In France, all I eat is bread! It's served in baskets in every restaurants. And you can buy baguettes longer than my torso for less then 1 euro ($2) so why wouldn't you eat it?

When you think of typical French cuisine... What do you see? I see red wine, baguettes and a side of cheese. Does anyone else see that? 

Personally, I'm not a fan of cheese. I only enjoy cheese when it's melted on my pizza, otherwise, I can't stomach it or handle to smell. Since being in France, I have met some wonderful people, all of who, tell me I won't be a true Frenchy until I can eat cheese! 

That's never going to happen!

While I have tasted some wonderfully home cooked meals here in France, it's time for me to pay more attention to what I am putting into my body. I need to start eating proper meals, monitoring my meal sizes and enjoying those delicious french pastries all in moderation.