The biggest cultural confrontation that I experienced when I first arrived in France was the lack of air conditioning. Being in the south of France at the end of August and September, it was very hot and slightly humid, but going inside did not help as much because there was no a/c. In order to combat the heat and prevent excessive sweating, I had to bring around a towel, deodorant, and sometimes even an extra shirt. Water fountains are also scarce in France, but the fountains are potable meaning that they are drinkable. It is still hard for me to wrap my head around filling up my water out of fountains, but I go to fountains inside buildings to fill up my water there. Accepting this massive cultural difference was hard, but in the end I have come to terms with it. I understand that the French are very ecologically aware and want to preserve energy and water as much as they can. While having no a/c sucked; it did allow for my body to adjust to the heat and cool down in a different way that I was not capable of before. Never have I thought that I would need to carry around an extra stick of deodorant, but having one on hand really helped prevent me from sweating too much and just accepting the heat. Now the insides of buildings were cooler, if you opened up a window or had stone walls. Finding enough water to drink is critical for me because I like to work out and need to stay in shape for swimming. Knowing where water is readily available to fill up my water bottle was critical. It was hard at first, but now I know a couple of places where I can get clean and refreshing water so that I may stay hydrating and continue to workout to the intensity I must maintain.
