French mania II

With the sentence "To be continued..." in the previous post, I have made a big promise though it was nothing but a beautiful excuse for hitting the sack. Fortunately, Muse treated me quite nicely. Today I come back with some more interesting mania about the race called French.

5. DIY mania: I do not have any official statistics to demonstrate how French people love tinkering with their houses and gardens, but I read about this passion in the textbooks for French classes a long time ago. In a country where labor costs high prices, this is rather understandable. Apart from that, the DIY spirit is rather incomparable when it comes to cooking. Since dining out is not a very economical choice, home cooking prospers the market of kitchenware and all the cutting-edge inventions that one can imagine. I'd always thought making French fries at home equals throwing potatoes into a pan of oil. My naïveté scared D. It was not until Annick took out the machine shown in the photo above that I realized there was indeed something to making French fries. The Tupperware culture is quite prevalent here too. Tupperware is a brand of containers designed for ovens and micro-wave ovens, but this word can even be used when people refer to someone as a housewife. There are even cookbooks and recipes specifically written for the usage of Tupperware products. It did shock me to see that 15 minutes in micro-wave oven can turn a potful of nothing into tempting paella. The preference for DIY cuisine does have its downsides. For example, going to restaurants does not excite me as much as before. On tasting salads with lardons (pieces of bacons), I exclaimed with contempt in addressing D, "Oh, this is no big deal. If you'd like to eat this, it is really easy to prepare." He rolled his eyes helplessly meaning, "Woman, can't you just calm down and enjoy the dinner?"

6. Carnivore mania: I do not object to consuming meat. Having a pair of parents who feel sad without meat for a meal, it is impossible to live like a vegetarian. So what's special about being carnivorous? When the variety of meat stretches beyond our experiences or habits, it can be very surprising. This summer I tried horse meat and other unknown little birds. French eat rabbits too. Before people announced the kind of meat to me, I always had a blast exploring the foreign cuisine. And when they said, "What we eat today is..." The fork and knife hung in mid-air, my eyes wide-open. It took me several seconds to react and I uttered, "Wow..." After my brain resumed its function, my hands started to move again freely and I would add, "It's new to me, but really good..." like a sophisticated gourmet. There is no need to make a molehill out of a plate of meat. Because of this mania, I am quite curious about the profession of butchers. They sell not only meat but also sausages of all sorts. They also offer the choices of stuffed and marinated animals. It has become the top one dream job I'd love to take up in France apart from working as a baker.

7. "Profite-en" mania: The word "profit" exists in English as well, but I'd never heard it used so often as in French. "Profite-en" is equivalent to "Go for it" in English. The French philosophy works like, if the opportunity is right in front of us, it would be a waste not to make the best use of it. Somehow it's hard for me not to associate it with the carpe-diem spirit. At first, my strict Asian side would grumble on hearing the sentence, "There are times when you can't just think of grabbing the opportunity. Sometimes it is obviously wiser to say 'No!'" Now I have totally forgotten why I stuck so tightly to this theory. It's amazing to see how I myself have been transformed even in ways of thinking.

8. Rebellion mania: It's a well-known fact that French no longer believe in the marriage system. There are far more unmarried couples out there than officially married ones. People either do not believe in it anymore or are against it. Like with other existing rules, French are born to rebel against them. However, most of the time it is due to self-interest that people do not agree to follow what is stipulated. This is a highly creative society yet individualistic as well. Oh, by the way, a very good reason for not getting married is to spare the wacky expenses. That's it.

My presumptuous classification about French people might be too subjective, too narrow, or too irrational. I do not mean to insult them. On the other hand, I find them adorable despite their craziness. And what's more pleasant than spending the end of the day all alone in the dark making fun of the folks I really like?

To be continued one day, maybe...