If you are invited to a French home this festive season for a formal meal or asked to pop-round just for Aperos then we have some useful tips and insight for you so you don't make too many gaffs, as I still do today!

Faye Boulanger at Flickr.com

Many people bring up the idea of cultural etiquette during this season of gift giving and receiving. For example, you might have heard that, in Japan, you should accept gifts with both hands. Or that it is common for Singaporeans to graciously refuse a gift several times before accepting it. It is important to have a certain level of cultural intelligence to make sure that you won’t mistakenly insult the person with whom you are interacting. But it is also important to realise that cultures norms are often very complex and do not follow monolithic rules.

What time should you arrive? this is a complex issue and unless you find out by making the mistake once and then applying the rule on future occaisions, it is difficult to know the local etiquette first time around. I think being 'on time' is the best default position BUT not in Mayenne department of Pays de la Loire where they have what is known as the 'Mayenne quart d'heure' where the polite time to arrive is 15 minutes late, yes late! presumably giving the host a little time to perfect the ambience?

I’ve often heard that it can be insulting to your French host to bring a bottle of wine with you when invited to a dinner. The idea behind this is that wine plays such an important role in a French dinner that your host has probably already selected the perfect bottle for your table. This is an “old society” rule and, frankly, most French hosts would take this rule with a grain of salt (or, in the French idiomatic expression: ils prendraient cette règle avec des pincettes).

The same goes for the rule that, when offering a bouquet, you must include an odd number of flowers in it; I’ve never seen someone count the number of flowers they have just received. Rather, most of the time, they are impressed with the generous gesture and will thank you by kissing your cheeks.

If you are invited to a French home this holiday season for a formal meal, it is considered good form (especially in Paris) to send them over the day before to be used as decoration for the meal or in the days following the meal, along with a thank you card.

So while it is important to be aware of different cultural forms of etiquette, it’s also important to know that these traditions are oftentimes flexible or depend on varying degrees of formality and friendship.

For example, I might send flowers ahead of a formal dinner with business colleagues, but not necessarily to a more casual dinner between intimate friends.

If you follow your own common sense and always act with kindness and thoughtfulness, you’ll be fine no matter what culture you find yourself in.

Just how do the French celebrate Christmas where you live or visit?

Blog submitted by: David at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Baby It’s Cold Outside...

It seems like just yesterday I was waking up to la canicule, but with the changing seasons and clocks falling back, it’s really starting to get cold. I already have to turn on le chauffage (the heater, the heating) and find mes vêtements d’hiver (my winter clothes)!

After spending months next to le ventilateur (the fan) and wishing mon appartement (my apartment) had la climatisation (air conditioning), I was happy that France was cooling down. Cependant (however), after putting off buying un ventilateur for so long I didn’t want to put it away until I had no choice.

As the temperature drops, I have turned off le ventilateur and closed les fenêtres (the windows), but it has quickly become a struggle to stay warm. I’ve had to turn on le chauffage, prepare du café chaud (some hot coffee), and me couvrir (bundle up).

I’m from la Floride (Florida) and preparing for l’hiver (Winter) and le temps froid (cold weather) is something I’m not used to doing. I’ve learned how to survive and bought des vêtements d’hiver (some winter clothes), but there are still many things about le froid that surprise me.

When il faisait trop froid (it was too cold) and I turned on le chauffage, I noticed une odeur bizarre (a strange smell). Mon voisin (my neighbor) noticed l’odeur as well and came over to see if I was okay.

Ça va ? Il y a une odeur bizarre qui vient de ton appartement.

Ouais, je ne sais pas d’où ça vient.

Est-ce que tu as allumé le chauffage ?

Oui…. Il fait froid ces derniers jours.

Ahh ! Tu dois ouvrir les fenêtres !

Is everything alright? There’s a strange smell coming from your apartment.

Yeah, I don’t know where it’s coming from.

Did you turn on the heater?

Yes… It’s cold these days.

Ahh! You have to open the windows!

La Floride never taught me how to deal with l’hiver and I wasn’t aware of l’odeur bizarre that comes with turning on the heat for the first time!

Since it was already froid, I had to suffer for a little while while l’odeur left l’appartement. I took it as a sign that I needed to prepare for l’hiver and found all mes vêtements d’hiver.

L’hiver is only just starting and I’ll have to get used to le froid. I’m looking forward to les marchés de Noël, but I hope I don’t catch a cold!

Blog submitted by: David at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

These past few months I have had to constantly think about mon mémoire et la soutenance. Now that I have finished my degree there’s one question that everyone asks me:

“Alors, qu’est-ce que vous allez faire maintenant ?”

(So, what are you going to do now?)

La vie étudiante (student life) gets you into a rhythm :

Assister aux cours, étudier, faire les devoirs, écrire les rapports, attendre les résultats

Go to classes, study, do homework, write reports, wait for the results

Things can change when dealing with un système d’éducation différent. In France there’s a constant wave of CM et TD and trying to get un vingt.

Regardless of where you are, time in a classroom is time spent learning new things and la vie étudiante is a mix of stress and excitement.

La vie d’un jeune diplômé (the life of a recent graduate) drastically changes things.

Everything shifts to a new goal: Trouver un boulot - Find a job!

I have to mettre à jour mon CV (update your CV) and write many lettres de motivation (cover letters) – not forgetting la formule de politesse.

Sometimes l’emploi idéal (the perfect job) requires a move. Alors, in between updating mon profile LinkedIn (my LinkedIn profile) and asking mes professeurs (my professors) for advice, I also have to think about le coût d’un déménagement (the cost of moving).

Most of all it means thinking about what I want to do and being sure I can do it en français (in French)!

Voici un vocabulaire des jeune diplômés :

Mettre à jour son CV – Update your CV

Actualiser son CV – Update your CV

La lettre de motivation – Cover letter

Demande d’emploi – Job application

Offre d’emploi – Job ad, job opportunity

La carrière – Career

L’emploi – Job, employment

Le travail – Work, job, task

Travailler – To work

Bosser* – To Work

Le boulot* – Job, work

Le job* – Job, work

Gagner sa vie – To make/earn a living

Le salaire – Salary

Le salaire minimum – Minimum wage

Le SMIC – Minimum wage

*Informal.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Expats frequently worry about money. But the good news is that there’s never been a better time to generate income on your terms – just make sure it’s you running the business and not the other way round.

Here are some tips on how to monetise your talents…

What is the biggest mistake expats make when choosing a business?

Traditional expat ventures - B&B, restaurant, bookshop, boarding kennels, property management – tend to be fairly labour intensive and have low profit margins.

They also require your physical presence, so, eventually, your lifestyle becomes just like the one you left behind – but warmer! These businesses are also subject to local supply and demand, leaving you open to competition from other expats doing the same thing.

What’s the alternative?

Rather than copying what everyone else is doing, the secret is to start from what makes you unique. Work from your strengths and choose something you enjoy doing anyway.

The real value of any work lies not in man hours but in the creative input. As an expert in your field, you offer more value. You get to do what you love, and you will attract like –minded clients, ready to pay for your services. People buy from people they like!

But how? What can I sell?

You can create your own products or sell other people’s products. Whichever model you choose (and you can do both!), you should ask the following two questions:

Q. How do I add more value to people’s lives?

(Money represents an exchange of value. Add more value = make more money.)

Q. How can I make the product or service reproducible?

This is best illustrated by an example. If you teach a First Aid class for one hour, you get paid for one hour of your time and you add value to the lives of a handful of people. If you record that class and sell the video online, you have a product you can sell, and add value to the lives of hundreds or thousands of people.

The potential is only limited by your imagination: think puppy training, hairstyling, motor cycle maintenance, fishing, guitar lessons? You get my drift.

Today you can get your book published on Amazon in a couple of weeks, on your specific area of expertise: rambling routes, history (of anything!), collecting (anything!), photography, investing etc.

If you prefer to sell other people’s products, there are plenty of vendors looking for new affiliates. You only need a piece of text on a website or Facebook page – no need to worry about storing stock, billing, shipping – the vendors take care of all that, and one of the biggest is Amazon!

The highest profit margins are on information products, such as “Cure Diabetes”, “Lose Weight”, “How to Install Solar Panels”.

How does it work?

Build a simple website or Facebook page around your specialist subject and write short information articles or reviews.

For example, your interest is in animals, set up a pet website, such as Pets in Spain or Natural Remedies for Pets. Write an article about a good pet carrier or grooming brush, insert a line of text from the supplier in your article – and they do the rest. The customer clicks on the link and, if they buy the product, the company handles the payment, ships directly to the client, and deposits 20 per cent commission in your bank account.

The possibilities are endless; I haven’t even covered freelance websites.

What message to take away?

Stop thinking about income in terms of selling your time for money. Learn to think in terms of adding value and serving others; your customers are waiting for you!

Oh, and make sure your dream property has a good internet connection!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

Article by Ruth Sullivan, Originally published in the A Place in the Sun magazine - Issue 126

My favourite French recipe, the one I use every week, if not every day, is deceptively simple. But once you begin using it, you’ll never be able to go back. There aren’t any precise measurements, but that’s what makes it special: add a little bit of this, a pinch of that, to adjust the recipe to your preferences.

I never knew how to make a delicious vinaigrette à la moutarde until my mother-in-law showed me. Now I never buy the store bought stuff, because it just isn’t as tasty.

All you need is: quelques gousses d’ail (several garlic cloves), du vinaigre balsamique (balsamic vinegar), du vinaigre de cidre (apple cider vinegar), de l’huile végétale (vegetable oil; olive oil is often too dense/heavy), des échalotes (shallots), de la moutarde de Dijon (Dijon mustard), du miel (honey), du sel (salt), et du poivre (pepper).

Mettez quelques gousses d’ail (entières ou coupées) et des échalotes coupées dans un shaker ou un bocal hermétique. Mélangez le sel, le miel, et la moutarde dans les deux vinaigres dans le shaker. Ajoutez doucement l’huile et le poivre. Mélangez.

Put several garlic cloves (whole or chopped) in a salad shaker or a closed container. Mix the salt, honey, and mustard in the two vinegars in the container. Slowly add the oil and the pepper. Shake.

As I said, the exact measures can be determined by your own preferences (taste as you go). Typically, you want double the amount of oil to the amount of vinegar (divided equally between balsamic and apple cider). If you want your dressing a little spicier, add more mustard (if you can find the French brand Maille, use this!).

If, however, you like it a bit sweeter, add a little more honey. Make sure you make the dressing in a large enough container where you can store it for the week. As you keep the dressing with the garlic and shallots, the flavour will mature over time.

Bon appétit!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.