I have actually also spent a significant amount of time wondering about this as well. I live in Italy and it’s strangely true as well. This solution could describe the Italians as well.
My very French Haute-Savoyarde wife is proof positive that this is all BS 😁.
Martine hates to sweat, and does everything she can to avoid any situation where she might sweat, But she stresses endlessly over every possible little thing in her life. And if she momentarily has nothing to stress over, that stresses her. And she sweats - not just the small stuff, but all the stuff - big, little, or microscopic.
They save their passion and anxiety for heated discussions about the correct way to make a bouillabaisse. Even then, no sweat! Literally and figuratively.
Phew! So glad MotH is back safely! He's a keeper! I still think of him supplying us with coffee and those colorful lunch pails! A great reminder not to sweat the small stuff. xx
What a good story! Wise MotH to turn around and head back home, avec le vin. Confession: I am one of those women who don't sweat. Reading this post confirms what I've always suspected: that I am part French, even though my heritage and Ancestry.com insist I am Swedish/English, and in spite of spending loads on Duolingo and Babbel and taking classes at the Alliance Française de Providence, my French is still pitiful. In truth- I think I must have been French in a past life, because every time I go to France (3 times so far) I feel like I'm coming home. And I'm excited to be planning my 4th trip, this time to Collioure, in June...!!!! I cannot wait 🙂✍️🇫🇷
Bah! What does Ancestry.com know? And regarding your French, remember: petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid. Little by little, you will get better. I can't wait to welcome you to Collioure in June.
As I was reading this I was thinking, "I don't sweat either." I'm definitely not French, but half Swedish, so maybe your northern European ancestry DOES play a role. However, Swedes aren't known for their sense of humor, and I find all of Karen's essays laugh out loud funny, so maybe I'm a bit French as well.
OMG, imagining the horrors. So, do the French not write? Is there a correlation between creativity/imagination and sweat? For sure the French must not travel the way I've been traveling by walking with all my stuff on my body. I had to buy new shirts because I'd stunk up two that would not give back to unstunk shirts despite hotel sink handwashing and conventional machine washing. I even used a soak with Windex. But if I understand this, it's not a big deal to be wearing a stinky shirt. Don't sweat the small stuff?
Did the MotH intentionally forget his phone? Was that part of the adventure? I admire that, but not the worry it caused you.
All these are most excellent questions. The more I think about it, the more I think it's because the French tend toward depression (low energy, less sweating), whereas Americans tend toward anxiety (flop sweat). A soak with Windex! You're a beast. Slow travel on, friend!
You might be on to something. I can catastrophize with the best of them, and I also have to dress in strippable layers to go to the mall in my Breton city. I end up wearing short sleeves and a glisten of sweat in the Monoprix while the French women sill have their duvet wrapped around their necks.
Oh what a sweet story with quite the build up!!
Not just the French, but nobody, anywhere else on the planet, catastrophizes the way we Americans do.
I have actually also spent a significant amount of time wondering about this as well. I live in Italy and it’s strangely true as well. This solution could describe the Italians as well.
Excellent! Two birds, one stone.
Omg !! As a half-Italian, half-French I was just about to say that istg. Both countries are truly similar.
Thanks, Jamie. Miss you, doll!
So great, Karen! And so true, but the way you tell the tale--very funny. Love you, Jamie
My very French Haute-Savoyarde wife is proof positive that this is all BS 😁.
Martine hates to sweat, and does everything she can to avoid any situation where she might sweat, But she stresses endlessly over every possible little thing in her life. And if she momentarily has nothing to stress over, that stresses her. And she sweats - not just the small stuff, but all the stuff - big, little, or microscopic.
So interesting! A similar perspiration vibe here in Italy.
Oh, I can only dream of being as cool and laissez faire as the French. Instead my personal motto is, “panic first, ask questions later.”
They save their passion and anxiety for heated discussions about the correct way to make a bouillabaisse. Even then, no sweat! Literally and figuratively.
Truly enviable.
Phew! So glad MotH is back safely! He's a keeper! I still think of him supplying us with coffee and those colorful lunch pails! A great reminder not to sweat the small stuff. xx
What a good story! Wise MotH to turn around and head back home, avec le vin. Confession: I am one of those women who don't sweat. Reading this post confirms what I've always suspected: that I am part French, even though my heritage and Ancestry.com insist I am Swedish/English, and in spite of spending loads on Duolingo and Babbel and taking classes at the Alliance Française de Providence, my French is still pitiful. In truth- I think I must have been French in a past life, because every time I go to France (3 times so far) I feel like I'm coming home. And I'm excited to be planning my 4th trip, this time to Collioure, in June...!!!! I cannot wait 🙂✍️🇫🇷
Bah! What does Ancestry.com know? And regarding your French, remember: petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid. Little by little, you will get better. I can't wait to welcome you to Collioure in June.
😊🇫🇷 merci Karen !!!
As I was reading this I was thinking, "I don't sweat either." I'm definitely not French, but half Swedish, so maybe your northern European ancestry DOES play a role. However, Swedes aren't known for their sense of humor, and I find all of Karen's essays laugh out loud funny, so maybe I'm a bit French as well.
Merci bien, Kaarin! France lives in our souls, regardless of what the DNA says.
OMG, imagining the horrors. So, do the French not write? Is there a correlation between creativity/imagination and sweat? For sure the French must not travel the way I've been traveling by walking with all my stuff on my body. I had to buy new shirts because I'd stunk up two that would not give back to unstunk shirts despite hotel sink handwashing and conventional machine washing. I even used a soak with Windex. But if I understand this, it's not a big deal to be wearing a stinky shirt. Don't sweat the small stuff?
Did the MotH intentionally forget his phone? Was that part of the adventure? I admire that, but not the worry it caused you.
All these are most excellent questions. The more I think about it, the more I think it's because the French tend toward depression (low energy, less sweating), whereas Americans tend toward anxiety (flop sweat). A soak with Windex! You're a beast. Slow travel on, friend!
You might be on to something. I can catastrophize with the best of them, and I also have to dress in strippable layers to go to the mall in my Breton city. I end up wearing short sleeves and a glisten of sweat in the Monoprix while the French women sill have their duvet wrapped around their necks.
Lovely article, and as some readers have already commented, yeah this could also be said about Italy. 🇮🇹🇫🇷
Ah dang, us Belgians didn't get that from the French! What a shame.
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Well now, that's an interesting demographic. Tragically posh?
And, they don’t worry about sweating either—we do that for them! 🤣