France forum: Living with a French family
Posted in the France forum
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Maren Holsten
25 Jul 2009, 01:09Living with a French familyBonjour tout le monde!
My name is Maren, and I am traveling to Bayeux, Normandie to go to a French Lycée this fall. I am born and raised in Norway, and I don´t know anything at all about the French culture and the people living in France. I am going to spend my weekends the first year living with a French family.
Is there anything I should be I aware of when seeing my hosts for the first time? Should I call them by Madame and Monsieur? I want to show them that I am a polite girl, and I do not want to get in conflict with the French traditions and habits. I am looking forward to go in such degree, and I want to meet the Frenchmen with respect.
And I also want to thank them for their hospitality by bringing a gift for each family member (there are 6). Norway is somehow a "rich" country (the valuta is high these days), and it is quite normal to spend a large amount of money on presents, but I have been informed that it will might be rude to give away expensive things in France, because it might be interpreted as showing of wealthiness. Is that right? And how much money is normal to spend on presents in France?
I will appreciate any comment or answer!
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quero concoer gente española en lyon por que quero apriender francies y con mes paisano españoles
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Tamaria Adventri
29 Jul 2009, 08:12Hi Maren,
In my opinion, as a foreigner who lives in french family, most french would appreciate some politeness, it will be safe to call Madame and Monsieur at the first time and use Vous instead of Tu. But, if your host asks you to use Tu and call them by their name, so let it be. And i guess it will be nice to say 'Bonjour' each morning (or the first time you meet them each day). What i notice is french loves foods, they adore foods, so if they offer you food, even though you hesitate, do try a small pinch of it, instead saying 'NO, thank's' straight forward. and of course, basic politeness such as : Bonjour, S'il vous plaît (s'il te plaît), Merci, Au revoir, Bonne journée, would be your habits in France.
About money, i d'ont really know but i think it will be enough to give them something unique which reflected Norway. as far as i know many french i've met, they intend to be relatively economique. they don't want to waste money for something that they didn't need. but, it depends =)
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Maren Holsten
05 Aug 2009, 18:41
Thank you so much for your answer, Tamaria! It really made a whole lot of things clearer to me!
About the money and stuff, I have bought them a book about Norway and out nature there, in French. Do you think that will do the trick?
Hugs!
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Tamaria Adventri
26 Aug 2009, 17:18
Hi there Maren,
Sorry for the late reply. I see french people as a culture lover and most of french whom i met has plenty of book collections of other countries so i guess your host family would love your gift. and maybe you could give them something that they can 'show off' in their living room, maybe traditional handcraft or something like that.
Hope you have a blast experience in France =)
Bisous,
Tamaria
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Hi Maren,
can you tell me where you get the info on for living with a french family. I am wanting to live with a family to improve my french as i worked in the ski resorts in the winter, and am wanting to do this again sometime.
Any links to other websites would be good.
Much appreciated
Regards scott -
Search AuPair Family
23 Sep 2009, 15:17One way of improving your language skills is living with a host family. Becoming an au pair is an excellent cultural exchange experience and will certainly help develop your language skills, as well as earning some pocket money during your stay.
See http://www.search-aupair-family.info for families currently looking for au pairs or nannies. You can create your own free online profile and families will contact you directly.
Good luck -
DEAR MAREN
sO? WHAT ARE your first impression in France ?
yasin alilouch
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