I acknowledge that some of the cultural shocks in this article will probably be influenced by my socialization with people who are mostly my age (early 20s), but I still find these shocks worth mentioning because it is quite different from the United States.
Want a drink (or two, or ten)? No problem.
Virtually no one checks your ID or cares if you order a drink or other alcoholic product. When my friends would order a glass at a bar or restaurant, the waiters or bar staff gave it to them no questions asked 100% of the time. I think that technically, France has a drinking age (18 years alone and 16 years with adult supervision), but no one really cares to double-check. Enforcement of this law is seemingly non-existent. I asked some friends from other European countries, such as Ireland, and Germany if this is normal, and they mentioned that generally, bar staff and/or waiters will still ask for ID if you "look young." My French Culture teacher Arsène mentioned that at one point in time schools would serve wine in schools to students alongside school lunch.
Smoking everywhere.
Before I arrived in France, I knew that it was a stereotype to say that the French smoke a lot, but this cliché generally holds true, especially among people my age. I have no issues with smoking in this context, it is a cultural aspect, of course, but it was a huge shock to see many of my French classmates heavily smoking actual cigarettes (a few packs a day, and not just a few whiffs of e-cigs/vape). It seems that university students from many other European countries smoke much more than university students from the US as well.
I pointed this out to my Swedish friend while we were eating lunch and she mentioned that in addition to smoking, chewing tobacco is really popular at Swedish universities and is present at almost every table during lunchtime, which was another huge cultural shock, as my home university prohibits smoking and other tobacco products outright, and a friend also from the US (Tenessee), was equally culture-shocked and said that her university will fine you if they catch you smoking.
I was surprised to learn from my French language teacher that France had laws against smoking in public because it seems that no one followed this. For example, I saw several signs that said no smoking (interdiction de fumer) in various places but no one cared and in fact, I saw some people smoking right in front of the sign.
Nightlife
Early on in my stay in Rennes, some of my neighbors invited me out for a drink at midnight (12 am), but it was honestly pretty late so I politely declined. When I saw them the next morning, I asked them how it went, and they mentioned that after going out for a drink, they left for a nightclub at 2:00 am and partied until 6:00 am. Those hours of partying were way too late (or early?) for me, so I was glad that I didn't go. I found out that many clubs will provide private shuttles to their patrons that take them to Saint-Anne (city center and close to the metro) after they close around 6 in the morning. This is just one story of people going out late.
Clubs (les boîtes) are also on a whole other level in Rennes. Not only are there a lot of clubs (perhaps due to the young character of the city), but these clubs generally tend to be pretty large, with some clubs comprising multiple levels/floors. At each level, they might play different genres of music. For example, one club might have EDM on the first floor, Reggaeton on the second floor, House music on the third floor, and Pop music on the fourth floor. Reggaeton and House seem to be particularly popular in the nightclubs of Rennes. And although there are some clubs in Honolulu, they are far less numerous than in Rennes (a smaller city), and 2, 3, or 4 in the morning would be really pushing it in terms of people that are willing to go out for a party. As a fun aside, "les boites" is one of the first words that we learned in my French language class since many of my classmates were trying to describe a night out but didn't have the vocabulary yet to do so.
The World Cup and football
Outside of the US, people REALLY care about the World Cup. It has been interesting to kind of "discover" association football (or soccer as we would call it in the States) alongside people who evidently know a lot about it and who are very passionate. Of course, I know what soccer is and I even played it when I was younger. But the immense level of passion is something that you can not truly grasp until you experience it firsthand. I think that soccer is an incredibly important and personal cultural aspect for many people, and this is sometimes reflected a tremendous degree when their team wins or loses.
There have been no issues in Rennes during my stay, but I was told that in the past, in various different cities throughout Europe, there were riots associated with "hooligans" who caused quite a bit of trouble after their team lost. It is my understanding that "hooligans" remains a rather charged and particular term in Europe associated with a specific group of football fans. You can watch a match and have a blast, but in exceptionally rare instances, you should consider bailing as soon as possible for your safety.
Spectators/fans during games will sing songs and chants that are pretty elaborate, far more than just the usual "let's go <Team Name>!" or "DEFENSE!" as you might find at American sports games. Certain fans, for example, may develop an entire song for just one popular (or very unpopular) player on their own team or on a rival team. This elaborate "chant" culture I think, is another interesting cultural aspect.
The Japanese national team went viral after images of them leaving their locker room nice and tidy were posted to the internet. If you look at the left image, you can see that the players left origami cranes. There were also reports that Japanese fans stayed after the match to clean up the stadium. To top it all off, the Japanese national team actually beat the German national team 2-1 in that match, which to my understanding was considered an upset.
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