The Beeb link was referred to by a Youtube French language teacher I am watch regularly to help my French language skills and understanding of the country. He talks about polls in which people believed the French to be very rude to visitors and also criticised French tourists abroad.
I actually delayed visiting France until later in life because I was concerned about some of the stereotypes. I soon realised I had made a big mistake in staying away.
Doesnât that mean âthrilledâ or âdelightedâ rather than âexcitedâ? Almost but not quite the same thing?
I think âexcitedâ has an element of anticipation to it (e.g. âI am excited to be going on holidayâ) where thrilled is more about something that has already happened?
The article is really comparing the French with Americans. I think any European finds Americans over-effusive. I must say though that since I left the UK 47 years ago the British have become a lot more overtly emotional. Long gone are the days of the stiff upper lip and British reticence.
I found this more interesting - from the BBC article
When I was 19 years old, after five years of back-and-forth trips that grew longer each time, I finally relocated officially from the United States to France. Already armed with a fairly good grasp of the language, I was convinced that I would soon assimilate into French culture.
Of course, I was wrong. Thereâs nothing like cultural nuance to remind you who you are at your core: my Americanness became all the more perceptible the longer I remained in France, and perhaps no more so than the day a French teacher told me his theory on the key distinction between those from my native and adopted lands.
âYou Americans,â he said, âlive in the faire [to do]. The avoir [to have]. In France, we live in the ĂȘtre [to be].â