Cultural differences don’t normally worry me because they show the basic human connections that exist between us. But because these differences are constantly present, they challenge me in a new way. It’s like playing a soccer game with new shoes. You know the rules of the game and you play well, but your feet aren’t comfortable. For the most part, everything is okay, but you feel slightly ill at ease. For instance, when I have dinner with my host family, you must place your bread, the basic element of a French meal, on the table, not on your plate. It’s a nuance of French culture, but at the beginning of my stay, I put my bread on my plate at each meal, and each time I realized what I was doing and had to correct my mistake.
A piece of bread is not a serious crime. In fact, my hosts probably didn’t even notice my error, but it’s still a problem. Not a problem in the sense that I can’t function properly in France, but in the sense of immersion. I can speak French fairly well and I can live in France without significant difficulties, but I want to integrate as well as possible. Leaving bread on the table, keeping the bathroom door closed, it’s « vous zêtes » not « vouz êtes » : these are all examples of cultural nuances. If integration remains my objective, I have to break in my running shoes. I will never become French. I’m American and I won’t hide my own culture. But in the spirit of understanding a culture and finding a rhythm during the match, you have to learn the nuances, big or small.