As I live near the border between Belgium and France, I sometimes get in touch with French people. Some experiences are good, some are less.

Language

For example, I went to the butchery in my village this weekend (in October), which is run by a fairly “old” couple. The man is Belgian and the woman French. Although their run this butchery for more than 20 years at least, she hardly wants to speak Dutch although I know she is able to do so. When I order something in Dutch, she repeats in French also the price I have to pay. This is rather impolite to my opinion. Sometimes this can get me angry, because when we go to France, we have to speak French, but this lady runs a business in Belgium, so she actually has to speak Flemish but it is like she refuses to speak Flemish. For me, this is rather a sign of lack of respect. Also in a shop in Poperinge, a shop-assistant spoke to me in French, and I was thinking like ‘Come on, we’re in Belgium, speak Flemish’.

When we go to France, we speak French, because we find it normal to adapt ourselves to the country we visit. Vice versa, when the French come to Flanders, they expect us to speak French, and so we have to adapt ourselves to them in our own country. They (most of them, but not all) will hardly try to speak Flemish.

Attitude

Subsequently you can read in our course that “French people are individualists and have a sense of pride that is sometimes interpreted as supremacy”. This is true, they are inhabitants of a large and powerful nation and they act often like that. On the contrary we, Belgians, are just inhabitants a small country. Of course not all the French behave themselves like this but many do so, for example the butcher's wife who doesn't want to speak Flemish.

Friendship

Friendship is difficult to make with the French, but once you are his/ her friend, they take this comradeship very seriously and appreciate it very much. For example my father has a very good French ‘friend’, and he knew that my father was looking for a sprinkler irrigation system for on the fields. This friend speaks normally French, but also the West-Flemish dialect we use our regions. He knew a French farmer who sold his system because the farmer retired. This comrade immediately informed my father and told him about this and he also made some spare time to accompany my father to this farmer and to be the interpreter.

Greeting

When a French man visited my parents, he also greeted my brothers and me; he gave us a quick handshake and 4 kisses on the cheek (also to my brothers). My brothers were surprised by this way of greeting, because here in Belgium, we find it weird that 2 men give each other kisses on the cheek, a handshake between men is enough. We noticed that apparently this is something normal to the French. In general the French are very friendly in greeting and like to have first a bit of chitchat (asking how you are doing…). Also when this person left, he gave everyone a handshake again, but that is something we also do.