This is a continued post from last week about How Does it Feel to Marry a French Man? Part 1. Because I have a lot to talk about this that I found that this is culturally interesting.

Opinionating 

Because we run the same business and go to the same places always together, Samuel and I spend 24-hours together. One Korean friend called us “바퀴벌레 couple”. It literally means “the cockroach couple”. Cockroaches like to stick their butt to each other to show that they are a couple in love. Well, it is something to laugh about us. But, the fact that we have been ‘cockroaches’ is because we enjoy talking to each other and sharing the opinion. I didn’t realize that I like to talk so much before meeting Samuel. Even more, I notice it is actually a cultural gesture to share your opinion about the world. I have found that only French people know what topic to choose to talk and how to expand that topic to broaden the discussion. You will understand the last point at the bottom about ‘enjoying the moment’.

Pureness

French and purity is like water and its translucence. When they pick you to marry, it is not because of a facial appearance. Also, it is not because of the age difference, unlike in Asia where different age is crucial in mating. They pick you simply because you are an attractive character to spend the life with and because you can balance the talking to both discuss and argue. Baaam! That’s true my friend. If you have no opinion about something, you are simply out of the game showing that you are the ‘cockroach’ they have been looking for. Age, religion, social status, fat and big, skin colour, and any differential human separator you may carry with you, it is never the main point. Although some or many French parents may not prefer you because of that difference, they will not show it like in Korea Drama at least. They keep their thoughts silently until later really knowing the person and accepting the person with a pure heart, once you are married to them.

Enjoying the Moment

French know the vitality of taking things slowly. For them, everything has its time. Therefore every moment should be enjoyed to the fullest. I didn’t aware the power of how French people ‘enjoying the moment‘ until I was sitting on a chair for at least 5 hours straight. It was from about the lunchtime to almost hit the dinnertime. It was a special family meal because it was when I came to France meeting my in-laws for the first time. According to Samuel, for this kind of French family event, it is usually about 3 to 4 hours in normal chewing speed. I was the only Asian in the room who was not adequated enough with the language. And I was the only one who kept watching the clock that was right in front of my eyes because my bottom part started to feel numbs. It was the moment when I enjoyed having the longest meals. I broke the Asian record.

Image Credits: Keila Hötzel