Fun France and Italy facts!

In France, Cool Ranch Doritos are called Cool American instead.

At crosswalks, the button you push to let you walk across the street says "Appel."

Everyone knows we are Americans because we wear flip-flops everywhere ... no European wears them.

Elevators are TINY here. Or non-existent.

The first floor in any building is consider 0 floor; the second is the first, and so on. We walk up 3 flights of stairs to school every single day, to class, after class, and for breaks.

Basically every French person owns a dog. And lets them poop in the street. And takes them everywhere.

The Italian accent isn't really exaggerated. They really do talk like everything's a party, and say Mama Mia!, and add an "ah" sound to the end of everything.

Store hours are completely random. Sometimes they open at 9 and close at 5, and other times they close early or open late, and sometimes they don't open at all. Everything really IS closed on Sundays.

Right now as I'm typing this at the school, the security guard is just standing behind us, watching us chat and surf the web. Our rapid-fire English draws attention everywhere we go especially since Americans talk louder than any other nationality. I think he's just a creepy guard though. Glad there are a few of us here...

Bus drivers in France get breaks every 2 hours ... so no matter where we are, he has to stop and we all have to get out while he smokes or whatever for a half an hour.

No one eats dinner until really late. Restaurants don't even open until 7. It really bothered us at first, but then last night a group of us were out at a restaurant and I said, Wow we're eating dinner early, and it was 10 o'clock! Also, it's difficult to get the check. You have to specifically ask for it, and dinner is always a 2 hour affair, minimum.

The French don't have hand towels in hotels at all. No matter how nice they are.

In many places, there is only one public toilet for women and men to use together. Sometimes I'd run into American men in the toilets, they'd look up in shock and then say, I just can't get used to sharing bathrooms with women! It is weird, but not as weird as you think.

In Italy, they don't really have toilet seats. Their toilets look like ours, but without the seat part. I chose the hovering option, while some of my traveling companions covered it in toilet paper a few times and then sat down.

Last night I was chatting with a French student from the school here, and he was completely disbelieving that if he went to America people would LOVE his accent. He hates it, but I reassured him that he'd have many girls to choose from if he went to the United States...