Kerri vs living in France: 5 Best and Worst things

So to get more of an idea about my living in France experience. I teach English in Primary schools 12 hours a  week, and live with a French family kind of as an Au Pair. I don't do everything in the house but I help out lots, and they give me a room and feed me!

In true "bad news first" style....

The 5 worst things about living in France

1. You get fat - I'm not saying this because the food is amazing (which I find it the most overrated cuisine in the world). I'm saying it because they eat two hot meals a day and bread with everything. I normally eat a sandwich for lunch and my meal for dinner. Except their lunch is their main meal... and then they go eat just as much at tea time. Eh fatty boom boom want another baguetteeeee!!!? 
2. So. Much. Administration - Seriously. You will fill in a million and two pieces of paper, getting told nothing is done until you do that stuff..... then they still do nothing!! But wait weeks to tell you they're gonna do nothing! Now in Britain there's not that much paper work but shit gets done. In Italy there's no paper work and nothing gets done - no effort to get messed around. But paper work to get nothing done?!? It's like they're just distracting you... I'M NOT THAT STUPID! 
3. People trying to speak English - People speaking English isn't a bad thing at all. Though most people here learn English from the age of FIVE, their English still tends to be not that great. And yet when they hear you're not French, they look like the cat's go the cream, rearrange their collar, twiddle their mustache then they say ....... I SPEEKAH ZEEEE ENGLEESH. Oh really? Fabulous... 
4. THEY DON'T DRINK - Coming from a nation of binge drinkers, you've all heard about the British. It's true, we like to get royally fucked up. We also like a couple of beers with the football. Or a glass of wine at Sunday dinner. Everyone loves a drink..... don't they? NOT THE FRENCH. Jeeeezzzz. I've been offered a glass of "vin" with dinner once in the two months I've been here. Gonna be such a lightweight disgrace when I get back to Glasgow. 
5. You will have no ego when you leave - They're all thin. Despite eating twice as much as you at meal time. I'm a normal size girl in the rest of the world, here (and Italy...) I am fat. WTF?! They also do this slyly but they will imply lots and make fuck loads of comments about how they think France is better than your country. Some people are genuinely really nice, but lots of them are closed minded, and listen to stereotypes and don't stop to think that when they find something weird it's a culture thing not me being a weirdo .... 

Other things: teachers can hit the kids at school, everything shuts for the 2 hour lunch and on Sunday... do they ever work?! 

Now lets be positive. 

The 5 best things about living in France

1. It's so dry here - I feel like it never rains. Maybe I grew up in the wrong country, but if it get's to the end of the week and there's hasn't been a single shower it's a MIRACLE. Like seriously bring out the bibles. Here it rains twice in a week and that's torrential weather. Really?! 
2. They let you eat cake - For BREAKFAST. Omnomnom. Not quite up to Sicily where they have ice cream for breakie. BUT it's not unusual for the French at all to have a cake at the breakfast table, or produce a couple of croissant. YUM. 
3. You get 2 hours for lunch - I'm not shitting you. TWO HOURS. You can do so much in that time. Not going to lie sometimes I get bored, and I think there's also positives to having a short lunch. But you actually feel relaxed after a two hour lunch. Also, you need it after eating your main meal... 
4. There's no primary school on Wednesday - how much do I love having hump day off? Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssss much!! I got informed by an American friend this summer that hump day is getting over the hump, you know when you get to the middle of the week and you're like errgghhi'm only half way there? I don't get that cause i'm OFFFFFF!! (feel free to hate me!) 
5. I love space - I've been a city kid for the last 3 years. I've still found the green spaces, and managed to run. But I love that here the pavements just seem bigger, and longer and well i'm in the least densely populated region in Europe there loads of nice parks and something called a "countryside" that I can go get fit in! It makes missing the gym bearable haha! 

Other things: I'm speaking french so might pass my degree, some people are genuinely some of the nicest people I've met, and it's so healthy here (it's a really healthy fat...)

Do you live in France? What do you like/dislike? If not, is there anything you'd like to know about it?