From what I have observed French culture differs from American culture greatly regarding some things and not in all regarding other things so I think it would be easiest to sum up differences and similarities in a small list.
1. Physicality: There is definitely a French cliché that everyone kisses each other on both cheeks and to say that this is completely wrong would be a lie. While not nearly everyone kisses each others' cheeks (faire la bise), you often kiss cheeks with people who you are familiar with. For example, now that I have known Clara's friends for a week now we often exchange cheek kisses while in American people would normally think that was an invasion of personal space. Additionally, there is a lot more physical contact with friends in France. While couples seemingly rarely hold hands in public, friends often have their arms around each others shoulder and hold hands.
2. The importance of meals: In France it seems as though (although this might be specific to my household) everyone must be together to eat at least dinner. Dinner is almost always preceded by an aperitif, a drink and small snacks like chips or crackers before dinner, which is followed by a meal that begins with the main course then flows to bread and cheese and finally desserts. There seems to be much more of an emphasis on family meals here and much less eating out/takeout/fast food. Personally, I have eaten no meals outside of the house (although I have had a waffle and crêpe while walking around) but I do know that Jessica has eaten out once or twice. Overall, it seems as though eating a home made meal together as a family is very important here.
3. Breakfast: In France breakfast is not really a full-blown meal. If anything, breakfast is probably a small bowl of cereal, a croissant (my personal choice), or a piece of fruit. Contrastingly in America we often have big meaty breakfasts filled with bacon and eggs. Breakfast is one of the things that Jessica and I have talked about introducing Clara and Dana to, after all everyone deserves to experience a Snooze breakfast at least once!
4. Public Transport: In Grenoble specifically the tram is everywhere and you can find a tram stop almost everywhere you look (something that is good for Jessica and I when we get lost). If the tram doesn't go somewhere the bus often does and unlike American public transport systems, the French system is actually pretty easy to follow even if it is in French! I know if I ever get lost to get on the A tram headed to Échirolles or if I want to go to city center to take the A tram to Victor Hugo. Nearly everyone here seems to have a tram pass and take the tram everywhere. Although it is a small city, taking the tram cuts down travel time.
5. Pedestrian Traffic: In Phoenix being a pedestrian can be dangerous, however, in Grenoble almost everyone is a pedestrian! From my house you can cross the entire city in only twenty to thirty minutes which goes to show how small the city is and how much walking everyone does. Cars are outnumbered to pedestrians and bikes and almost always yield to pedestrians who run across crosswalks even if the light is red.
6. Shopping: In France you are almost never approached by salespersons while you are shopping in almost direct contrast to normal shopping experiences in America. There is much more independence and people seem to not really go shopping unless they have something that they need to buy. Further, most of the stores in Grenoble seem to have ventes privées, or private sales, and you have to sign up for mailing lists to get the sale. Lucky for me I don't even have to be baited by a sale to sign up for stores' mailing lists!
Besides spotting similarities and differences in French and American culture it has also been interesting to observe the influence of American brands and food in French stores. I have only been inside one "American" store but it was packed to the brim with food that I am used to seeing in regular grocery stores. There was an entire wall stacked with pop tarts, let's just say that I was in heaven. There were also many peeps, lots of other marshmallow related products, oatmeal, cereal, vegemite (which I thought was only an Australian thing?), marmalade, etc. Besides just American grocery type stores there are some fast food places here that we have in America, namely Burger King and McDonalds. Although I have not eaten at either, I have seen many ads (or pubs here) that push a new burger at McDonalds named the "petite big mac" which I incorrectly assumed was just a normal burger. As far as fashion there are many shirts around the city with English text scrawled all over them, while they are sometimes not always grammatically correct I can't help but wonder if that is what French shirts in American are like to visiting French people. Overall, I love it here and I am glad to experience some of the things that are very different here versus how they are in America!
Au Revoir,
Emma!