Taking an exam in the US is a very different journey than what I experienced in France when I was a student there. Let's dig a bit To take an exam vs. to pass an exam First things first, let’s clarify the wording : “to pass” an exam means to succeed If one prepares and sits for the exam, then one “takes” the exam. So one needs to take it before one can pass it. This is one of these misleading words for French people, what we call a “faux ami” (literally a “fake friend”). The

“You don’t wear an undershirt?” One of my coworkers asked. “Undershirt? What’s an undershirt?” I replied. My colleague’s eyes popped, “Wait, you don’t wear undershirts in Europe? That’s gross!” Let's dig a bit Undershirts are the norm in the US An undershirt is a t-shirt that is usually worn under a button up shirt and sometimes under polo shirts. They are usually white, and - critical point - they have nice and round crewnecks (round necks). Undershirts are now the norm at t

The great thing about the USA is that it is big and the bad thing about the USA is that it is… big. Forget about leaving in the morning for your meeting in Kansas City and being back at night. Just forget. Let's dig a bit Transportation options USA geography 101 : the US alone are more or less the same size as the entire Europe and France is the size of Texas, Seattle is at the latitude of Paris and Houston the one from the middle of Marocco. Climates care widely different t

I clearly don't want to brag about the 5 weeks of vacation I had back in France, but sharing about differences between France and the USA is what this blog is about. I have to warn you: if you ever decide to talk about your paid vacation time, you’ll definitely see some eyes popping! You might even be asked: “But, how were you able to take THAT (pause) MANY (pause) DAYS!?” Let's dig a bit It is all about negotiation In the USA, paid vacation is considered part of your compens

It’s soccer world cup time, right ? What about having a world cup of complaining? Pretty sure France would win! And another one for sugar coated smiley wonderland : the winner is… the USA! Let's dig a bit Open your eyes and smile Coming from Paris, that was a choc. Just take the morning metro commute : everybody is grumpy and disagreeable; and you better not ask for assistance. It does not take long to see how friendly people are in the USA. Of course in the service industry,