France Unfiltered: Hidden Gems and Unexpected Culture Shocks | Janice in France

Hi Janice, I am loving this video! But I want to comment on something else and I hope that’s okay because I get so much out of your videos. I love your new haircut, especially your bangs. I have a problem looking at people with bangs in their eyes. So I was delighted when I saw you today. Sometimes I turn my device around so I can listen to you if your bangs keep getting in your eyes!

Janice I love the green shirt, can you share tge link?

Hi Janice - never miss an episode - love your videos- please tell me where or the make of the cotton linen shirts you purchased on Amazon - they look lovely - love to buy some also … many thanks Jan

Thank you for sharing! Your shorter haircut looks really cute! 😂

I actually was prepared (did research) for the "bonjour " custom and love it. I like the slower pace and the manners.
I'm surprised that PDA's are surprising. I guess it's because I live in NY where it is common as well as men peeing in the street. Men even pull off to the side of highways and hide behind their car doors to pee.
This was an interesting video.

Hi again Janice - is that the manufacturer or the site for the shirts - they look lovely and I love the cotton linen blend …! 👍

The link for the girlfriends getaway does not work.

Delightful looking new haunt!

I love that hardware store. We have a similar one in Bergerac.

Culture shock: People don't pick up dog poo from the sidewalk. And dogs in restaurants.

Many years ago, on my first trip to France in June, I was shocked to find out my hotel did not have air conditioning. I knew most apartments didn't but it never occurred to me that a hotel would not have A/C. The front desk gave me a small table fan and I got used to keeping the window open. The other culture shock is the lack of clothes dryers, and the tiny "combo" washers.

When I was in France, I learned to enter an establishment and greet the clerk with "Hello, good (morning, afternoon, evening), how are you?" Then walk away for a moment, come back and ask my question prefaced by "s'il vous plait". That little bit of time between the greeting and the question was always seen as a sign of respect. To this day, I follow this advice in the US on the bus, in the store, at the doctor's office, etc...saying "please" and "thank you" go a long way.

Arabs and Africans come from third world non-Western cultures which revere heirarchy, are usually corrupt, violent and repress women (and murder them at a drop of a hat). Their countries are hell-holes so they flock to west europe, bringing their "culture" along with them. They will never integarte into western values. Never. What will happen sooner is bringing Europe under Shariya law. Thats their plan and they might succeed. Even the French police dont dare enter their nieghborhoods in north Paris.

Please stop deleting my replies. Nothing I say in not legitimate.

nice video , no AC but had to buy portable units , There is respect for older ppl, they think 56 is super old in France

No Covid and other shots for me‼️👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼😵

Nice brunch place❣️🥰💕💕💕

I say hello to store clerks here in the USA❣️🥰💕

I'm of a similar age (70) as this lady, live in one of the rudest states (Massachusetts), but I use the pleasantries in everyday speech that this lady says US people don't say. By the way, these pleasantries are used all over Europe (I lived/worked in Germany, 1987-1999). I'm hoping she speaks more and better French than in this video.

We found similar experiences in Baja Mexico - no a/c, garbage disposals, or dishwashers (done in “American” communities), animals running loose(no owner around, PDAs especially on the beach, no window screens. People are helpful, polite, and life moves at a slower pace.

tried findinding those shirts on amazon and tried haole but got nothing. Can you copy the url link? I love thade of green.

Hi Janice. Thank you for your great videos. Just wanted to ask you if you have done your tax papers?

I am shocked that he didn’t see men peeing everywhere. I’ve been her solo travel in France for the last month and a half, I have sent so many men nonchalantly, just pee anywhere. I am shocked and horrified by it. No wonder everywhere you go especially Paris smells urine and it’s disgusting.

I am 100% French retired disable and I do have a house keeper/maid for free two hours a day, once a week! I am also getting my bathroom remodel for a walk-in shower for free! I do not know if you can get, but the one thing I learn is you always ask for what you think your not allow to have only to find you are allowed to have but no one thinks to tell you because it is your job to ask! How do you ask for things you know about? That comes with experience we call it System D? You learn to do things by figuring it out with no help from anyone! You have hear of the TV show called MacGyver where he break out of jail with bubble gum and a shoe string well it like that, but ten times harder to do in real life! There are no rules and no one tells that you sink or you swim! It is 3D chess like no other you always ask!

Culture shock was very interesting janice , the UK is more like the USA maybe cause we both speak English , The difference is what makes it so interesting , loved the the video take care ❤❤

That hardware store was so clean and organized. I loved the tour and seeing the streets of Fontainebleau.

Those men urinating are Arabs .

Hi, Janice, I like your videos and I like you. Please don’t be bothered by any negative feedback! You are a wonderful, brave, and generous soul.

Thank you.

I liked how they treat the elderly with much respect. I was at a store and waiting in line to checkout in Paris.
They let the elderly skip the long line and cut in to the front of the line. The women showed me some card they give to the elderly ??

I had a friend who visited Paris often back in the late 1970's on business he told me it's very very dirty and the men peeing outdoors is just plain disgusting and who wants to smell piss? No thanks. What do the women do, take a squat somewhere? No public bathrooms? I 'll pass. I also have a cousin and her husband that visited the south of France, she told me she could live there, she just loved it. So apparently different parts are very different.

I think in the US, we might say hi before asking for help, or we'll start with excuse me, but that is just too informal in France.

Hardware store would be my second stop there, after the coffee shop! Thank you for another good video, Janice!

Hi, Janice, you are getting younger and younger, and more beautiful everyday with your mischievous personality 😂❤

Bonjour I love your new café 🎉

Bonjour! Very nice!

As a Canadian, we always greet the person before asking for help. We wouldn't expect anything less. It's polite. ❤

Dog poop on sidewalks is very common in France and has been for years and years, so much so that many of my French friends still joke about it. So even though you've never come across any in Fontainebleau, as a word of caution, watch your step :-). On another note, how is it that you're having visa issues if you've been in France for three years? Did you not renew your residency status (carte de séjour) the last two years? Anyway, thanks for the video. It was entertaining.

The lack of screens in Europe is so mind-boggling. Just why not? My family and are always amazed. There are usually shutters in the old houses we stay in, so we shut them at night and leave the windows open if it's warm, or we just go natural and let the bugs in. LOL! My parents/grandparents taught me - and I have taught my kids and grandkids - to always use please, thank you, and excuse me in stores when asking for help here in the United States and in other countries, too. Manners matter all the time. Just wanted to add my voice to those Americans who commented here who do the same, as you said Americans don't. Many of us DO. Oh, and yeah, dog poo in Paris and other parts of France IS a THING. You've just been lucky, Janice. It's often like Hop-Scotch. I love the hardware store. I hope you buy a balcony flower container and fill it will beauties or herbs. Wait, you don't use herbs. Did you say that once? Anyway, love you Janice in France!

I love your vlogs, Janice, and your segment on culture shocks was so telling about how "small" Americans are compared to Europeans. Why would we be offended by a couple kissing in a park? We might raise an eyebrow if they go any further, though. I have lived, traveled, and worked in the US. It always amazed me that the citizens of the land of the John Wayne cowboys could be shocked so easily...and then now...at the same time that Americans are clutching their pearls over a kiss in the park, they elect a criminal who has treated most parts of American society as dirt... That all seems so illogical to us...

It's so true about the outdoor markets. I was amazed that a giant market is there one minute and later there is no trace of it.
Thanks Janice for sharing. ❤

I don’t think I’ll ever move to France but Janice I wish you were my neighbour. You have a beautiful spirit.

In NY, I always say, "Excuse me [or "Excuse me, please"], [can you tell me] where the...." Then "thank you."

I would love to live in Fontainebleau 💕 I like the architecture, the trees, the park, the charming shops, restaurants, and cafes! "It's my kind of town...."🎶😊

Please, when scanning the room with your phone camera, please go slower. Cannot see what you are looking at and it's like riding a rollercoaster. Thank you.

Some of these recent changes in American culture are repugnant to me. (the last 25 years new) Maybe its where I was raised outside of Milwaukee, but neighbors and friends always helped with your pets, or anything else. Now in California everyone is rude and have self contained families who never talk to anyone else. I still use checks for enough things that they are still relevant. And I do say "hello" to most people before I go up to them and start talking. One more thing is that I DO NOT support Amazon, if I can help it. Go out and look in person, or buy from smaller businesses.

Loved the video Janice. So interesting to see how people in France live.

Janice, that’s really interesting… I always say hello to anybody I talk to out in the world and even say ‘how are you today?’… Before I ask a question in a store or anything… I’m 61 as well!

Merci Madame! I loved your video. Such etiquette is to be expected,how refreshing to be able to slow down. ❤❤❤

Very informative. Thank you so much