Usa Vs France
Usa Vs France
The USA and France have many differences. This includes the driving, food, schools, and the culture in general. This became quite apparent to me during my three month stay in France. At first the differences were overwhelming but, over time, I was able to overcome them and have a good time. During my stay in France, I had a lot of time to think about the differences between the countries. This included the pros and cons for each.
The driving in the US is one of the most significant differences I noticed. In the US it is very easy for everyone to get their license. This starts at age 16 for us in New York and, some states, 15. On top of that, it costs us under a hundred dollars to get our license. In France, however, you have to be 18 years of age and it costs more than a thousand euros. Youd think that because of this France would be a safer place for drivers and there would be fewer accidents. In fact, this couldnt be farther from the truth. This is in part due to the terrible road construction. There are traffic circles everywhere, even when not needed. It seems as though the people who constructed the roadway system liked to make things complicated, insufficient, and costly. This causes many accidents. I have witnessed three during my stay abroad.
Another difference was the food. One common assumption is that French food is the best in the world, perfect even. France is known for having the best food in the world. The US is known for having the fastest food in the world and one of the worst because of this. In the US, most of the food is simple yet good. Its always quick, cheap, affordable, and tastes good. How good it is for your health is another matter. In France, everything is very fancy, very extravagant and over the top. It also takes a much longer time. The families in France can take several hours to eat lunch or supper. This could be good or bad depending on your opinion, it is neutral for me. It is sometimes good and sometimes bad. I generally enjoyed the food in America better because I like to eat simple foods.
A third difference is the school systems. In my opinion, this is where the greatest difference occurs. In the US we finish around 2:30 every single day and never have school on Saturdays. Also, we chose most of the classes we take. There are, of course, requirements such as 4 years of English, 3 years of science and math, and so on and so forth. This course selection includes how difficult the classes you take will be. They can range anywhere from easy to college level. Whatever you chose as a student, you get the pros and cons of it. If you take most difficult classes available and do well you could gain college credit. At the most you could even almost finish a year of college before ever even sending in an application.
In France, you can finish anytime between 11 oclock and 5:30 p.m. You can also have school on Saturday mornings and no school on Wednesdays. The schedule is very flexible but the student cant change it at all. Because of the differences in times between the American and French schools, free time is spent much differently. In America, you can do whatever you want. You can stay in the school an extra hour to get help from a teacher, play a game or