Since this forum looks about as dead as the feeling of humanity in Dick Cheney’s brain, I’ll open a new topic about a major cultural difference between France and the US that I happen to care about : attitude towards ALCOHOL !!
I remember when I was a kid, when we’d go and visit my grandparents, my grandpa would usually open a bottle of white wine — my grandpa’s family is originally from Savoie, so they’ve always had a thing for white wine. Well, after I turned about 12 or 13, I remember my grandpa starting to offer me the glass of wine, too. And when I would refuse (I started enjoying wine quite late, and never really had the thing for white wine anyway), my grandpa would have this disappointed look in his eyes. As for my parents, they wouldn’t really bother. In fact, during late high school years, when I was about 17 and started to attend to *cool* parties, my dad would eventually provide me with an occasional liquor bottle to bring in.
A few years later I started my first trips to the US by myself. What a surprise to find out that I couldn’t go to any cool place (such as live music clubs) if I was not twenty-one. I was not, so I had to go through all the stupid tricks teenagers in the US do, such as lying, pretending, and faking IDs. A friend of mine got pulled over in MA with a trunk full of beer. The cops had them empty every cans on the side of the road. I also remember these two young Brits in some youth hostel I was staying in, who had to beg other residents every day to go and shop for them for their daily beer.
So, I’m asking : why all this madness ? Any teenager in France can go to a bar and order a double scotch. Even if there are rules indeed, no one respects nor enforces them. Nobody cares. Does this mean teenagers and young adults in France are hopeless drunks with a life expectancy of 45 ? Of course not. On the other hand, are families in the US looking to protect their 19 or 20 yr old children from the evil of alcohol ?
I want to know !
CRC