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I don't know, i was born in Lille though. But my family is mostly of occitan ancestry. And then I lived in (Anglophone) Canada for a while.
I don't like smelly cheese and Bordeaux has an ugly taste for me, I prefer Parmesan and Pignoletto, so I'm not really concerned about where I should feel from, even if I miss my city and region sometimes.
I don't know, i was born in Lille though. But my family is mostly of occitan ancestry. And then I lived in (Anglophone) Canada for a while.
I don't like smelly cheese and Bordeaux has an ugly taste for me, I prefer Parmesan and Pignoletto, so I'm not really concerned about where I should feel from, even if I miss my city and region sometimes.
I don't think any of us Northern Europeans consider France Southern Europe.
I've seen it mentioned sometimes (not here). Southern France can feel quite mediterranean sometimes, but the rest of the country is western european if anything.
I've seen it mentioned sometimes (not here). Southern France can feel quite mediterranean sometimes, but the rest of the country is western european if anything.
That's why I like S. France!
Edit: I remember someone calling France Southwest Europe.
I just looked and official sources do include France into the South Europe and "Mediterranean" area.
I think many people have quite a bipolar view of Southern Europe. On one hand we laugh at their politicans, chaos and poor economy, find people lazy and unreliable, but on the other hand we admire the food, lifestyle and culture. But generally I think people here have a pretty positive view of Spain, Italy and Portugal.
I wouldn't say Southern European cultures are a world away, the Chinese and Japanese cultures are a world away, Southern Europe is just different. And strikingly similar in some ways.
They want to assimilate those states they have in the US with western, atlantic, central, mediterranean, scandinavian, central, west central Europe, which is idiotic. For example, they think that Med europe is just like Guatemala and Minnessota like Sweden..poor Swedish.
Plus, they think that everybody in a country is very similar!! I guess that compared to them that have 1000 different milks, we are all family. Quite curious, Europeans at large look more Americans, like the stereotypical Americans, than the Americans coming lately, very strange people. Completely different from Americans, say, 30 years ago.
But what really p.i.ss me off is that they call themselves "Europeans", hell no.
They want to assimilate those states they have in the US with western, atlantic, central, mediterranean, scandinavian, central, west central Europe, which is idiotic. For example, they think that Med europe is just like Guatemala and Minnessota like Sweden..poor Swedish.
Plus, they think that everybody in a country is very similar!! I guess that compared to them that have 1000 different milks, we are all family. Quite curious, Europeans at large look more Americans, like the stereotypical Americans, than the Americans coming lately, very strange people. Completely different from Americans, say, 30 years ago.
But what really p.i.ss me off is that they call themselves "Europeans", hell no.
Good grief. Take a breath, organize your thoughts, then go on a tedious anti-American diatribe.
Edit: I remember someone calling France Southwest Europe.
I just looked and official sources do include France into the South Europe and "Mediterranean" area.
I suggest these sources to spend a summer in Bretagne and see how mediterranean it feels
Northern Europeans find them flaky and unpredictable when it comes to doing anything right in daily life.
A portion barely consider them even European, especially those from Greece and the Balkans. They also do not like them coming into their countries finding work, despite the Schnengen agreement giving them and other European countries the right to settle and work.
I remember a few of the hotels I stayed at in Scandinavia were a bit irked when they heard my Spanish name making a reservation until they saw my American passport....they were probably relieved that I was not a Spanish national trying to use the freedom of movement to find work, especially in Denmark and Sweden.....
Yes..well i think they are right..Immigration un europe is complicated.. Few space, few work, erhno-cultures.
Scandinavia has its culture and ethnoculture in danger; they are swam by a mass of immigrants from all over the world..that will delete their identity.
Well..my opinions are expressed in my post multiculturalism and multiethnicity in Europe. I m against it. I think one should fight to bring up his country..and not at the first difficulty to pack its luggage and usually go in Europe or Northern Europe.
As I said I will never live there. Only in Southern Europe. And also not outside Europe. If I have to starv I choose nearby countries.
My culture is Southern European. It isn t compatible with any other places outside Southern Europe.
And before I live my country I have to be very desperate.
I like my people.. And I don t see why people like to move. Integration is a huge struggle..and in reality you will never be integrated 100% even if you were born in that place.. You will always feel your inner roots are from the motherland of your ancestors and many people from the "host" country will always remember you /take you prsent that you don t belong there, that they didn't request you with your freak exotic look; and with your mentality culture strains.
It s normal. It happens here. I do it too; sticking basically with italians 98% of the times because I feel better with my own people..I feel more secure, more alive, more myself ecc..with my people. It s always like that..in all the countries of the world ..it s natural.
You may find a local husband; some local friends..but there will always be people that don t care about you..that don t request your presence, culture ecc.
I'm french but I don't really feel french at all, I mean, I like good bread and all, but when I lived in Canada or now that I live in Italy I don't feel completely alien, after all we are all parts of the western world. Of course there are little things that could be a little bit weird to me (like the inability of Italians for queueing or the overpoliteness of Canadians), but there are also things that are still weird for me in France even after living 30+ years there.
I understand your point but in my case I can't say I feel the need to be with people who are exactly like me, culturally. Also, I grew up listening to American music and I really like food from other parts of the world (Indian, greek, ethiopian are all awesome to me). I don't even like the food from my own city, it's just too full of fat meat.
I think every person is unique and is a mix of several cultures and subcultures. I don't feel genuinely french, I wasn't born there by choice to begin with. I don't really care to be honest. I'm just myself. That's probably why I live with an Italian now. I'm interested in differences.
But someone who grew up in a specific place where all his ancestors have lived for centuries might think otherwise.
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