Our students gave presentations on health behaviors today -- and I thought I'd share some of the insights I've had around the topics we talked about this morning: smoking, drinking, diet, physical activity, and sleep. Smoking feels like it is EVERYWHERE. It's hard to sit outside because of all the smoke. I smell it when my windows are open in my apartment. You see people walking around in the streets with cigarettes. EVERYWHERE. Interestingly, both in the student research and from some of our guest speakers this summer so far, the emphasis on smoking in France seems to be more "socially" -- out at cafes, with friends, etc. The smoking rate in France, though, hovers around 25% percent currently (much higher than what we see in the US in 2023). I haven't seen as much vaping, although I've seen some.
Not surprisingly, drinking is also a part of the culture -- but, drinking with dinner or dessert, not with the goal of getting drunk. Our students this morning noted that America has more of a "binge drinking" culture (at least with the younger generation), while in France, it's to augment conversation and food. We had wine at our welcome dinner on Monday and I had a hard cider in a pub this evening (more on my dinner later!)....but the students who are staying in homestays said wine has been offered most every evening. The "carding" process for alcohol also isn't a thing here - -it just doesn't happen.
My observation as it relates to diet is that the food is just FRESHER. Even the prepackaged food I've gotten in the grocery store has tasted better and had fewer ingredients on the ingredient list. The refrigerator in my apartment here is not much bigger than a tall college dorm fridge, so keeping a bunch of food in stock just isn't a thing. Shopping more frequently and getting what you need is more common. I also was tickled to find ratatouille in the market in a jar (much like you'd get spaghetti sauce) and I had it with my lunch today -- it was fantastic.
While there are gyms and fitness classes here like in the US, much of the physical activity is centered around walking to and from where you need to be and to and from public transportation. Driving seems hazardous to your health here -- it's super crowded and people don't pay a ton of attention to lanes. There are also more crosswalks -- and they change more frequently. And, there are water refilling stations throughout the city, too (they look like monuments, but water comes out of them). The built environment is simply better designed for walking, even though I still find the way the streets are organized quite confusing at times. I prefer walking over the metro or buses if I have the time/its not too far/my feet aren't hurting -- especially in the morning when it's quiet out. You just see so much more of the city!
Sleep is an interesting one -- dinner is later, so bedtime is later, so waking tends to be later, too. Our local ground team contact was shocked when we said we were planning to have class at 8 am (he was going to meet us the first day!) and even 9 am seemed a bit early to him, too. My sleep routine has been about the same as at home, although I am getting an hour or so more each night without having to get kids up and ready for camp and other morning activities (Sorry, Joe!).
We ask the students to do journals each week and compare what they have experienced here to what they experience in the US -- so, I'm trying to share some of those highlights with you, too.
My afternoon adventure today is one I'd been looking forward to since I first found it online -- the Paradox Museum (https://www.paradoxmuseumparis.com/achetez-vos-billets/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw756lBhDMARIsAEI0AglEBvhd9FR1sgWH_GZs63IKmzwqkKMx4H3HYOhAi61BZwx7dFosZcAaAtKTEALw_wcB). My family will tell you that it's not a vacation with me if there's not a museum...and while we're seeing lots of art here, I was super excited about the optical illusions at Paradox.
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