I totally love France, but it's funny how many of the little things I'd heard about it are turning out to be true!

1. If you're over the age of 14, you're probably smoking.

2. France is closed in August. (When I got to Lyon, they told me I was lucky I waited until the end of the month, because things had been slow but were picking up. Even so, about 1/2 the town was closed August 28th. . . I know this is normal in many parts of Europe, and I was prepared to see this, but in actuality the streets of vacant stores shocked my American sensibilities.)

3. The phrase - "Voilia!" This seems to fill in for "Here you go," "And that's that," "ta-da!" or any other conclusive phrase.

4. Lack of deodorant. This is not to say people smell bad, they just smell real. I imagine they probably think Americans seem very over-sanitized and paranoid about smelling like a human. I guess I can see that point, but I am addicted to my deodorant.

5. The regular kissing of friends, family, and anyone else you say "hello" or "goodbye" to. I got kissed by 2 strangers today. One girl who I sat next to for part of the train ride, and one 45 year old man out jogging who had showed me a cool tourist site. Both times it totally caught me off guard and I'm sure I was terribly awkward trying to respond.