Biloute

[quote user="cooperlola"]Biloute, bear in mind also that the French are incredibly family orientated - much more than is so in the UK. [/quote] [spot on!](why don't they have an icon for that..?) That makes so much sense!! and for some reason I never made the link between these two attributes, but it explains so much now that I'm thinking about it, esp. when it's something I miss so much, this sort of openness. Which again reminds me the number one rule for the new immigrant- for friends look for other non-local people. And indeed, my only french friend over here is someone who's family is living in the south. As for the others, many thanks for sharing your ideas and thoughts. I suppose, as Judith said, that time would be the best answer for all these questions. And J.R.- thanks for the idea- i had a quick look into the AVF website and would go back to get some more info.

Thanks Cooperlola for the kind words- it's always reassuring to hear of other more positive experiences [:)] At the same time, I should add that what I was talking of never came to hostility of any kind. I don't know, maybe I'm just trying too much to read into what people say. All in all people here are very nice and warm, but it's just the idea of 'accueil'- it's as if they'll never do all they can to let you feel truly welcome. It could be for instance during a conversation- no one would ever slow down or attempt to encourage me to participate, and sometimes it doesn't take that much to make you feel welcome. And maybe it's just the city, Lille to be precise, although most of the people here are coming from the outskirts, from the 'campagne' of the north. Also, I suppose Leeds would not be considered as rural (well, depends on where you're from I suppose [;-)]), yet after living there for a couple of years I can definitely say it's one of the most welcoming places I've ever lived in, and you can't really say I had much of a northern accent. Even the people living in the villages surrounding Leeds (skipton, wetherby, otley, ilkley) are just as warm and open as those living in Leeds, though at the same time I guess these were just personal impressions.

I've got something on my mind, a question that I keep on asking myself, that I've been coming back to for quite some time now and wished to share it with you guys. So let me start from the beginning: It's been three years I've lived in France now. Three lovely years which I've enjoyed thoroughly- and I suppose there's no need to say why; most of us know what's so great about France [;-)] Still, there was always something I wasn't really able to put my finger on, something that made me feel not as 'chez moi' as I want to. Here's the thing, sometimes I feel as if far too many frenchmen are not that welcoming as I've imagined before arriving here. And I'm still wondering whether french people suffer from a certain amount of xenophobia. I don't believe people here are unfriendly or anything- quite the contrary- it's just this feeling that in France I'll always be a foreigner, never a local. And here's the thing- I've never been French, nor English for that matter. I've spent three years in Englend, where I felt more at home than anywhere else, where whenever I walked into a local shop for the first time I was asked whether I've just moved to the neighbourhood, never where do I come from. True, my English was better than my French, still...you're as clueless as any other immigrant when arriving in a new country, it's easy to spot you're not local, in England I found people were paying less attention to your language skills, more trying to make friends- and I suppose this list goes on. And at the same time, I love living here. I'm here out of a choice, I've managed to make some friends, I am doing my best to learn the local culture (and not only the french, but also the regional one), I get the local jokes and their mentality, but I'll always be a stranger. What do you guys think? Is it just a matter of cultural differences, something that'll rub off with time, or do you also feel it?

[quote user="Tresco"]I think he's going to win. I really do. Did you see what he said in the 'debate'? It was words to the effect of '.. if M.Le Pen says something is blue, I'm not then obliged to say that thing is red...'. That was incredibly 'clever' of him, and seeing Le Pens support now slipping, I have no doubt where it's going. [/quote] The guy simply knows how to use rhetorics- if you listen closely to what he says, usually he doesn't really say anything meaningful, he never gives his opinion, but simply lets the listener to put the meaning he/she wants to hear into his words. When they looked into this 'debate' on Canal +, they claimed he was asked eventually only 40-something questions; at the same time, he posed over 60 questions to the audience, questions that obviously had no answers, rhetorical questions... RumziGal- what was this incident you were referring to?

[quote user="Tresco"]He (Sarko, not Jon) 'performed' very well I thought, but then he nearly always does - somehow offering everyone what they want - even if it was the oppostite of what they wanted in the first place. He is very persuasive. [:'(] [/quote] I've watched most of it and must say your description is spot on- after watching him I was telling myself 'I don't get it, I know I shouldn't agree with what he says, but somehow he managed to make me think I do'. It was really in +claire (saturday noon on canal+) that I've seen someone uncovering his rhetorics. But I think part of the problem is that sometimes I do have the feeling that the people facing him either look up to him like a god or watching him closely, just waiting for him to say something that may be interpreted as racist or facist. It feels like those opposing him hate him with such a passion and therefore lack the required subtlety to challenge him.

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]There is a variation, to imply somone is completely 3 sheets to the wind you use both fists, one in front of the other, and contra-rotate [/quote] never seen that one! or maybe I have and just can't remember... :p As the name suggests I'm living in 59- lille area. It's a nice region, reminds me a lot of northern England, shame though the similarities don't stop when it comes to the weather...

Hello all, new here am living in the north and still trying to understand the French culture... I saw this post about French gestures and I was wondering whether any of you noticed this odd gesture that implies that someone is drunk, turning your fist around the nose with one finger holding out..? Or is it just a northern thing?