With so many interesting differences I require a second post.
School
As a school teacher the Norwegian and French school systems interested me. The Norwegian school year runs from mid August to early June. The school day starts at 8:30 and ends between 12:30 and 3:30, depending on the grade and day of the week. October, February and Spring all have a one week break with a two week break at Christmas. Lunch is half an hour and students bring their lunches from home as no hot meals are available at the school.
French schools run from early September to early July. School days starts at 8:20 and ends between 4:30 and 5:30 with the exception of Wednesdays when all students are done by 12:30. Some high school may have evening classes running as late as 9:30 pm and/or Saturday morning classes. There are four two-week breaks; October, Christmas, February and Spring time. Lunch is an hour and students may go home or have a hot cafeteria meal. It is illegal for students to bring a lunch from home unless the student has special dietary requirements. At our son's school there are no substitute teachers. If a teacher is not present first or last lesson of the day the students may arrive late or leave early. If a teacher is absent in the middle of the day the students go to study hall. Wednesday afternoons are free to allow students to go to sports team practice, have music lessons, drama practice, etc. Both French and Norwegian schools do not have school teams for athletics so any participation is through community clubs and organizations.
The school district I last worked in in Texas teachers taught 30 out of 35 lessons. In Norway full-time teachers are in the classroom 22 out of 35 lessons, and in France 18 out of 39 lessons.
Work
A standard Norwegian work week is 37.5 hours with work days commencing at 8:00 and concluding at 4:00 pm. Lunch is half an hour. Each Norwegian is guaranteed five weeks of holidays. July is the unofficial month of summer vacation. Employers must allow their employees to take three consecutive weeks in July. A friend was stranded when all three doctors at the local clinic took the same vacation times. Maternity leave is nine months and paternity leave is three months, both fully paid. With proper documentation from a doctor fully paid medical leave is up to one year.
The French work week is 35 hours. The work day is between the hours of 8:00 and 5:00 pm and includes a two hour lunch. Five paid weeks of vacation is the minimum. August is the month of vacations with many of the smaller shops closing for the entire month. Maternity leave consists of six weeks prior to birth and eight weeks after.
Travel
Hotel rooms in Europe tend to be smaller than North American hotel rooms. Most European hotels do not provide wash clothes. Beds come with a duvet (similar to a comforter) but no top sheet. The official EU pillow is 50 cm by 50 cm (18" x 18"). Instead of a king size bed you may find two twin beds pushed up against each other, each with its own bedding (saves on fighting for the blanket).
Norwegian Odds-and Ends
Norwegians love the outdoors. There is a saying that goes "there is no bad weather, just bad clothes." Many Norwegians have a cabin or two, one in the mountains and one by the sea. Some cabins are isolated requiring a 10 km hike. Some cabins are modern while others have no electricity or running water, and they are used in the winter as well. Cabins are passed from generation to generation. The cabins you can purchase are very expensive, often more costly than a house. A popular summer activity is to purchase a one-time-use grill and go have a picnic at the park or beach. The grill is roughly 10" x 13" with easy light briquettes included--simply light, use, extinguish and discard.
Children and dogs are very important. If there is no school and no child care is available you may take your child to work. If you need to take your dog to the vet after work just bring it to work and save a trip home. Dogs are welcome in many restaurants and shops.
One unique Christmas tradition is the use of candles. During the Advent season you will see candles lining the road, outline the driveways and parking lots and in front of houses. The heavy duty outdoor candles come as large as half gallon (2 liters) size buckets with wind-proof wicks lasting up to 10 hours.
Norway is one of the safest countries in the world. We lived across the street from an elementary school end every morning you would see masses of young children (ages 5-8) walking to school in their reflector vests (one observer stated that they looked like Minions). Other than public transportation there are no school buses so students may walk/scooter/bike to school for distances as far as over a mile. It is normal and accepted that children under the age of 12 may find themselves at home during the day if they are ill and the parents are at work.
French Odds-and-Ends
When arriving at work in France you must greet every colleague, often with the kissing of cheeks. When departing it is equally important to wish each colleague farewell.
Growing up my geography books had photos of the French wearing a beret and riding a bike with a baguette in one hand. Other than the beret the photos still hold true. The French love their baguettes and pastries. My favorite bakery has a line out the door every time I go by. The making of baguettes is strictly regulated by law but well worth it as the baked goods are phenomenal! On many occasions I have emulated the photo from the geography text.
Food, wine and language are not a part of French culture, they define it. To be authentic and considered the genuine article strict guidelines must be followed, think of patents/copyrights on food and wine. For hundreds of years there has been a department of the government that made sure that the French language maintained its authenticity and integrity. A secondary function of this department was to ensure that no words from other languages, especially English, entered the vernacular.
To me it appears that a lot of the French smoke. Smoking is not as taboo in France as in North America. I am not sure if the percentages of smokers is higher in France than North America or just that they are more visible. In the US if an employee wanted to smoke during a break they would go "out back" whereas in France they might have their cigarette outside the front door. Living across the street from the high school entrance you see students smoking every day during their class breaks.
Eggs in France are found in the regular isle in the grocery store, not in the refrigerated section. Ninety percent of milk is also on the shelves. My understanding is the eggs are safe because of the diet of the chickens, and the milk is safe because it has been radiated. The radiated milk has a two to three month best before date, but must be refrigerated after opening.
Differences make life interesting. What is different to us is normal to others. Observe, learn, enjoy.
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