Greenheart Travel

Author: Diana Freedman

  • My Favorite Snack Foods to Try in France

    My Favorite Snack Foods to Try in France

    featured image by Ray

    While studying abroad in France, I have had the chance to try new dishes in one of the major food capitals of the world. Below are a list of foods and drinks to try the next time you are traveling in France.

    My Favorite Foods and Drinks While Traveling in France

    LIPTON PÊCHE ICED TEA

    When I was younger, I came to France on vacation with my family and at every restaurant and vending machine I would make my parents buy me a can of Lipton Iced Tea. While this drink exists in the States, I have yet to find the pêche flavor, or more specifically white pêche.

    For me, the taste of the tea always reminds me of France. I recommend ordering the iced tea (remember you don’t have to translate it they say “iced” too).

    GALLETES

    photo by Kevin Walsh

    Galletes are simply described as “savory crepes” or “crepes made with buckwheat,” but they have quickly become one my favorite foods. They are a speciality of the Brittany region in France, which is where I am currently living. The fillings can include an egg, cheese and some kind of meat (bacon, pork, chicken) or smoked salmon and crème fraîche.

    My preferred gallete is in the photo and i urge you all to try one because every time i hear we are having galletes for dinner my day becomes about 25% better.

    FLAN

    If you’ve ever been to a French grocery store, you know they eat A LOT of yogurt (although some of it is really pudding). However, my favorite food found in this grocery aisle has been neither yogurt nor pudding, but flan.

    This dessert comes in a yoghurt cup and easily slides onto your plate. It’s incredibly hard to describe the taste of flan, but this vanilla or caramel flavored flan is by far my favorite.

    TARAMA

    Image by Amy Ross

    When hosting family and friends, the French will prepare a lot of little appetizers as part of a big meal. This was explained to me when I introduced my friends and host family to Goldfish crackers, my 24/7 snack.

    I have a theory that all the best food is eaten as this assortment of appetizers so we are able to eat every single one. My favorite discovery has been tarama, a dipping sauce that you add to your bread or shrimp. The first time I tried it, I was a little hesitant, because it was bright pink and smelled like a mix of fish and eggs, but really is wonderful dip.

    L’OURSON

    This is a great, although unhealthy, snack. L’ourson is basically a little sponge cake in the shape of a bear with chocolate inside. This is very helpful for “non-meal time” hunger, probably not the healthiest, but that’s what makes them great. If we had these in the U.S. they would be my snack every day.

    Do you have any favorite foods or snacks you recommend trying in France? Share them in the comments below!

  • Cultural Differences I’ve Experienced So Far in My Host Community in France

    Cultural Differences I’ve Experienced So Far in My Host Community in France

    Bonjour! My name is Aviva Futornick, and I’m a 16-year-old from San Francisco spending a semester studying abroad in beautiful Brittany, France.

    I thought I’d start my first post with some cultural differences and experiences I’ve picked up since I’ve arrived. 

    1. Lunch is a Big Deal in France

    If I’m home, lunch is always eaten together as a family, and it’s a lot of food. If I’m at school, it’s also a lot of food. Normally, I settle for a sandwich and maybe an apple, along with snacks in class, so I’ve had to adjust and find a balance of not dying of starvation or of fullness. Also, if it’s a weekend we never leave to go and do stuff until after lunch.

    2. Sharing Everything

    Basically, the French are very polite and I might be a little rude. People share everything, all in the name of politeness of course, but it still throws me off. The other day my friend had two candy bars with her at school, but only got to eat one because she shared the whole other one with the people are her.

    3. Over-apologizing

    This is also just a side of being polite, and although the French are known for being very up-front and to the point, this is not the case when something goes wrong. If there is a problem or some sort of miscommunication, the people involved will apologize to each other at least 5 times before moving on.

    4. La Bise

    It’s the famous French greeting, the “French Kiss” for little kids and something I may never get used to. I am naturally awkward which adds to this incredibly, but I never know who to greet and who not, when, how many times and so on. I would say my luck is about 50/50; half the time it’s fine and the other half it’s an incredibly awkward situation.

    5. The Storage of Milk and Eggs

    In both my host home and the supermarket, milk and eggs are not refrigerated. It threw me off for a good few weeks. I have no idea about the eggs or if they really need to be refrigerated, but the milk is made with half creme and only goes in the fridge once opened. I’m used to it now, but I think I prefer my 2% back in California.

    6. I Stay with the Same Class All Day

    Unlike in the U.S., where the people I am in class with change each subject/each period, in France each grade level is put in a division and has almost every class together. I was lucky and got put in a class with a lot of nice people, but it’s weird only really knowing the people in your group/section.

    7. Teachers Don’t Have their Own Class

    This might change based on the school, but at my school teachers change classes as much as students. They carry all of their belongings in their own bag and migrate throughout the day. For me, the majority of my classes are in the same room, but sometimes I’ll have math in one room on Monday and in a different classroom on Tuesday.

    8. Driving Stick Shifts

    Every car here has s stick shift. I knew this before coming because i’ve been here before, but you never really know a stick shift until you are in one everyday. And it’s scary. I can barely drive an automatic, i could never fathom having to drive a stick. So, props to everyone. specifically in France for driving safely with a stick.

    9. Driving is a Big Deal

    In America, I have a drivers ed course online and 6 hours in a car and I can get my license. It’s no wonder there are so many accidents. Here, my host sister is at the driver’s school at least 3 hours a week for probably 2-3 months. Then she gets her permit, which is at least another year, and it’s not uncommon to fail your test at least once or twice. In the end though, drivers are so much better. In the U.S., I almost get in an accident at least once a day, at least that’s what it feels like. Here, I genuinely feel a lot safer. (To be clear: my parents in the States are great drivers. Everyone else is bad.)

    10. Home-Centered Activities 

    Finally, something that took me a while to get used to was doing things mostly at home. When I say this I mean that normally, in the U.S., my family would go out to dinner dinner once or twice every week and we would have people over, or go over to someone’s house maybe twice a week. Here it’s incredibly rare. At my host home, we don’t go out to eat much and have only really had family over or have gone to their family’s house. Sometimes a friend or a boyfriend comes over, but it’s rarely a whole family affair. Coming from a culture of always inviting people over and going out, this was definitely one of the biggest changes (and the language of course) .

    Ready for your study adventure abroad?