Petit Dejeuner. Literally.

Man, oh, man is the food in France delicious, especially in Aix-en-Provence. I eat cheese and bread daily; it’s amazing. I go to the bakery all the time and get one of their amazing pastries. I love the donuts. Also, the coffee is amazing, obviously.  In Aix, there’s a daily farmers market with many different vegetables and fruit I’ve never even heard of before. They also have meat, oils, and many more delicious things. When you eat in Aix, you’re eating fresh food that just came off the farm.  In America, our food has a lot of chemicals and is not always fresh.

Strawberries from the famers market and pain au chocolate from the bakery

Even though the food is delicious in France, I can’t help but miss American food and meals. I’m aching for an American breakfast. In France, their eating habits are different then in America. For example, in the morning they have bread and jam or fruit or something very small, sometimes even just coffee. Now in America that is not how we do things. We like our big breakfast with eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast. However, since I’m living in a homestay, I have to adapt more to their culture than if I was in student living. So even though breakfast is my most favorite meal, I must change my American lifestyle to a French lifestyle.  So if that means bread and jam for breakfast… it’s not the end of the world. One goes abroad to learn about another culture and be immersed in it.  My advice to you is to not get upset about how a culture does something differently, but just accept it and try it for yourself. If you don’t like it, you won’t be there your whole life.

My French ma's cute little kitchen

Another reason why I miss American food is because I miss my mama’s homemade wonderful meals.  I miss lasagna, banana bread, her wonderful baking skills (she took cake classes), my favorite pasta, and just everything my mama would cook.  Except for her broccoli salad that she was in a fad about this summer, YUCK! Even though I miss my mama and her wonderful food, it’s okay.

It’s okay because I’m learning more about my own culture. Back home, people ask you to talk about your culture and I just sit there blank minded cause I have no idea what to say. My culture is ingrained in who I am, so I don’t know how to explain it. But being in France and being in the French culture means I learn more and more of my own culture everyday. For example, part of my culture is the food I eat…duh.  But now it’s easier for to me tell people about that part of my culture because I can see how the French culture differs from my own.

I love learning about French culture and also sharing my culture with them, including what I miss and don’t miss in America, as well as what I love and don’t love in France.  So missing something isn’t bad; it just shows what you love most.

Brooke Begich is the Fall 2015 CEA MOJO Blogger in Aix En Provence, France. She is currently a Junior at Iowa State University.

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