I witness tons of little things here that just aren't big enough to make a post out of, so I figured today I would compile some of them.
          Smoking: Smoking is way more common here and much more socially acceptable. It seems nearly everyone aged 18-30 smokes and then about half the people beyond 30 continue smoking. In fact, every single person in my friend circle under the age of 30 smokes. Cigarettes are very expensive here, Marlboro is about $11 a pack, so it is very common to see people roll their own cigarettes. You can buy your own paper, filters, and tobacco separately or buy a tin from a big-name brand that comes with all of that. Smoking is no longer allowed in public buildings, but people will crowd around the front door or strike one up right in your face while having a conversation outdoors. It is also allowed at outdoor seating in restaurants and cafes.
          Bathing: It seems like an odd topic, but there are some differences that made me blink. For instance, I drove myself crazy trying to find a cloth shower curtain when I first got here only to find out that they don't use them. You know how in the US we have the plastic shower liner on the inside and a decorative cloth or plastic curtain on the outside? They only have the liner. Also as I discovered while in the hospital, many people use thumb-less mitts (think a washcloth folded in half with the sides sewn shut) to wash with instead of a washcloth or those loofah balls. It is also true that some people tend to practically bathe in cologne or perfume. Typically men and women past 50.
          Fashion: Even though Paris is the fashion capital of the world, it's not too crazy here. A look of elegance and sophistication is typically the normal fashion here. Cleavage is tactically hidden to show only a hint of it, except for one fashion in summer where one wears a see through (either sheer or loosely knitted/crocheted) shirt and uses the bra as an accessory. Bras do not have the same negative stigma of "must be conforming but hidden" as they do in the US and seeing a bra strap at the shoulder or the form of the bra through a thinner shirt is no big deal. Makeup typically goes one of two ways; absolutely nothing or tons of makeup but still with the air of looking natural, you typically do not see color much outside that person's normal skin tone. Nail polish is hardly worn and jewelry is sparse. Hair is kept in simple styles and unnatural dye colors are not common. The scarf is a must have accessory and the particularly fashionable or stubborn will be seen sweating it out in 90° weather because they won't discard their dress scarf.
          The Check: This one is a little more well-known. At a restaurant the server will not bring you the check. It is considered rude as it could be taken that they want you to leave. When you are ready, you go up to the counter and pay. You do not tip. If you feel the service was incredibly exceptional, the best you've ever had in your entire life, you can leave one or two euros. (Note, I have never seen anyone tip except once when a man didn't want his 20 cents in change back.) Another thing of note is that during the course of the evening if you want something you must summon the server to you with eye contact and a subtle hand raise or you get up and go to the server for your request. Do not snap your fingers or shout out. It is very normal for a table to stay at a restaurant for 2 hours and they are not going to check on you every couple sips and bites to see if you're okay, especially since a small restaurant will only have one server and larger ones will have 3, maybe more if they are also a pub and drinks are ordered frequently. In general they will be there for the beginning drink and menu orders and to clear plates before the next course arrives. One last helpful hint, do not call your server by shouting "Garçon!", it's highly insulting as it literally means "boy" and was once used to define someone of a lower social rank. The popularity of calling a server a garçon came from a French movie in the 80's of the same name about a sixty year old man who is the head server at a pub. Much to the demise of French servers, the movie was universally well received and thus the whole world began calling servers boys while visiting France.

          One thing I still haven't quite gotten the hang of yet is the different types of meat here. The French cut their beef, pork, and lamb differently than the US does. This means your tried and true recipes might just not taste the same when you move here. Due to the different types of cuts, the feed, and the better quality of life for the cattle, French beef is less tender but more healthy than US beef. This is why you will never see a well-done steak in France and why the term extra-well-done doesn't even exist. When ordering your steak, called bifteck, there are generally four levels of doneness. Bleu is comparable to blue rare, you know, that seared still-cold doneness that most American restaurants won't even touch for fear of legal issues. Then saignant is rare and à point is medium rare. We skip medium to go to bien cuit which is supposed to be well done but will normally net you a medium well. There are technically words for medium and medium well but they are not used for steak as much as they are used for other cuts of meat like beef roast, veal, or pork in which you would say rosé. 

          As you can see, there are way more cuts of beef in France versus America. Additionally, French cuts are cut vertically while American cuts are cut horizontally. In France, cows are grass fed while in the US cows are grain fed an unnatural diet of primarily soy and corn. Grass fed beef is less tender but also less fattening and while saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and omega-3 levels are comparable, grass fed beef is much higher in omega-6, CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), Vitamin A, Vitamin E, and micronutrients (potassium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, and sodium). This is applicable to US grass-fed beef too, it's just that grass-fed is not the standard in the US. There is also no concrete definition of or law pertaining to "grass fed" in the US, just like the term "free" or "open range".
          Drugs, hormones, antibiotics, and any other additives given while the cow is alive is not allowed in France. In the US, cattle is taken away from their original location at approximately 6 to 10 months (weighing about 800 lbs) and fattened up with grain feed and hormones, gaining 2.5 to 4 lbs per day until an approximate weight of 1400 lbs has been reached, which takes another 5-8 months or so. This means the whole process takes about 11-18 months. In France, the cattle live on the pasture until naturally gaining that weight at about 2 years of age. However, many breeds in France are bred for both their milk and meat and these lucky gals get to live to about the age of 5. Additionally after slaughter any treatments to the beef to keep it bacteria free and looking fresh for long transport such as spraying it down with ammonia and carbon monoxide, a common practice in the US, is not allowed in France. Once again this all leads to better quality beef in France but better tasting beef in the US due to the deliciousness of force feeding and hormones.
          The last reason for a difference in taste is the amount of space provided to cattle. A cow and her calf in a dry lot (a paddock without vegetation) in the US will have 500-800 sq. ft. for the both of them (for those bad at imagining size comparison, think of a generic one bedroom apartment). However, this is just a "suggestion" and you can find dry lots that are 250 sq.ft. per cow-calf (think of a 16' x 16' room, like a nice master bedroom). Minimum suggestions for an under-roof scenario (the modern day "barn" with no access to the outdoors) is 80 sq.ft. or an 8' x 10' area rug. A pasture raised cow will get about an acre of space. The calf will stay here until puberty at 6 to 10 months of age. With cattle, puberty is more determined by weight rather than age which is why there is such a large range. Then, the cattle is sent to a finishing lot where it will have space of a suggested 125-250 sq.ft. (think kid's bedroom or an office) according to educational journals, though I've seen non-educational articles state figures as low as 65 sq. ft. (chop 2 feet off the 8x10 area rug).             In France, pasture size is varied as it depends on how much grass can feed one adult cow for one year but the rule of thumb is one hectare per mothering cow which is 2.4 acres. While farmers can go under that, it's not generally practiced due to subsidies. France supports their farmers over industrial feeding lots and therefore offers many subsidies to farmers, but the subsidy limit is generally 1 cow per hectare so to have more than one cow per hectare is not monetarily beneficial. So once again, our French cows get to run and frolic and also not get so many illnesses due to overcrowding and unsanitary conditions which is lovely but doesn't taste as good as a cow who has an area-rug sized living area with 3" of poop as the carpet pile (since detrimental effects aren't noted until there is 4-6").
          I suppose after spending hours researching all this, it can all be summed down to "French beef doesn't taste as good as US beef but is healthier for you and gives the animal quality of life". A girl I know who is French but lived in the US for a few years actually said "Oh, I miss American meat so much! All those delicious hormones!" and went on to bemoan how France should be more like the US. She is, however, the minority as most French people are of the mindset that hormones and additives are very bad for the health. While hormones and additives are not allowed in meat, produce is fresh, and frozen foods typically contain no additives or preservatives, many French people go a step further and buy bio which is organic; the produce for instance is non-gmo and grown with organic manure, and the livestock are given even more space than their allotted 2.4 acres. I always laugh to myself because their normal meat and produce is so much healthier than the US organic and free-range meat and produce, let alone the US normal meat and produce. And US frozen foods? Forget about it! That ingredient list is two paragraphs long with 5 syllable words! Meanwhile the ingredient list for the spinach and goat cheese lasagna in my freezer is literally just flour, egg, spinach, and goat cheese.
           It definitely comes at a cost, though. While I was a vegetarian in the US because of animal rights, I am now a vegetarian in France because I can't afford the dang meat unless it's on sale or in bulk. It's hardly ever on sale and my freezer is too small for bulk meats so a vegetarian I remain.
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