5 things I have learnt about France since arriving 2 months ago

From the annoying to the great and everything in between I have learnt a lot since arriving in September! The French culture is undoubtedly different from Irish culture but in some ways you would never have thought!

1. "Apéritifs" - French people drink far more often than Irish people, sounds bizarre but it's true! They may not drink more in volume but it's not uncommon to see people drinking a beer outside cafes at 12 'o clock in the day. Something that was a bit of a surprise for me was when wine was passed around the teachers table at lunch in the lycée. This would be unheard of back home!

2. Bureaucracy - I don't know why it's not liberté egalité fraternité bureaucratié, they have a serious addiction to it! It's 2014 and still almost every application will be done by paper , which is madness! The lycée has a whole entire classroom dedicated to paperwork with 10 shelves filled with folders. And when I applied for my bank account I had at least 12 forms to sign in multiple places, madness!

3. Sundays - The day the french make up for getting up at 6 in the morning and working 'till half 5 in the evening. It is the true lazy day,which is great if you have it all planned out food-wise but I still forget sometimes and end up eating plain pasta for the day because nothing is open! Huge supermarkets will shut for a whole day so there is no hope for corner shops being open!

4. Laissez-faire mentality - Following on from the idea of Sundays in France is the attitude they have in regards to work, everything is very laid back and it's almost common for people to be late for meeting and rendez-vous etc. Although the teachers spent a lot more time preparing classes they still only have 18 hours of contact time with kids. Also the bank is shut Sundays, Mondays, Saturday afternoon and the person who is in charge house insurance does not work Wednesdays!

5. Food - Of course when making an incredibly general post about France I couldn't leave out the wine and food! The french love their food and wine, I was teased about my bland tasting emmental sandwiches in the staff room last week and for not using "real" cheese. There's a reason why this stereotype exists about France - because it's very true and the food is good! You do get what you pay for, but the good bread, cheese and wine can be had for very low prices!

Adeus, Éanna.

How to pronounce my name in French

Living in another country with a funky Irish name can be pretty funny at times!

People in Ireland still have trouble pronouncing my name so I didn't expect much from the French but I have been pleaseantly surprised with what they can come up with!

Usually when people ask me comment-tu t'appelle I get the usual I have no idea what you're saying face.

I then have to repeat myself at least once, tell them it's an Irish name and to not worry about it. They all usually get it in the end!

Here's a list of the funnier ones

• Emma  -nope
• Éamma [ay-ma] we're getting there
• Anna   -not quite
• [Eeeeeena] - almost there!
• Ailbhe - where did you find that L love?
• Úna - definitely not
• [Euhnah] -kind of

And then finally we get some of the best French/Irish accent mix of Éanna whcih goes a bit like this [Ay-a-neuh]

To be fair I think it's the fada ( accent aigu in Irish) which changes E to [ay] that throws them off but most of them makes the effort and that's what counts!