My brother's home!

As I mentioned in this post, my little* brother just got back from France a few hours ago.  He was on a month-long trip with other American students (from all over the U.S.).  They were touristy at the beginning and end and each stayed with a host family during the middle.  It is fantastic to see him, despite the fact that he was obviously tired (it was the equivalent of 4:30am for him).

He also told me a about his trip, his host family and the people of France.

Things I found particularly interesting:

• The French have a completely different way of relating to children.  Obedience is an virtue.  Parents demand it, even of the very young...so much so that when kids get a little bit of freedom they "go crazy".
• Hitler ordered Paris destroyed in the waning days of WWII.  One man prevented the distruction (by letting Hitler think it had taken place as ordered).
• People would frequently tell him and the other American teens that they "didn't hate Americans, just George W. Bush".
• The "work ethic" (his words, not mine) was totally different.  Stores would close during in the middle of the day; if he tried to go in (before they actually indicated they were closed), he would be shooed away.  In restaurants, neither the waitresses nor the owners seemed particularly interested in serving him.

Each of these things is worthy of a long post of its own and I hope to talk more in depth about them soon.

^{*Yes, I realize he is 18, I know he is starting college in, like, a month, but he always has been and always will be my baby brother.}