The Gifts :: Les Cadeux

This is for all the other students that want to go abroad.  It's never a bad idea to give someone a good gift.  I got my host family gifts from America, to show them a little bit of the U.S.A and also because one should always show his or her appreciation to their host family.  

I spent a really long time thinking over my gifts, a ridiculously long amount of time.  Now that I think about it, there are two types of gifts you can get for your host family.

The first type?  NATIONALISTIC PRIDE.  

Good luck getting fireworks past security

Got something from my country, my state, my city!    I found some saltwater taffy from my state and gave it to the whole family.  I got my host father a tape measure with inches (silly America and it's screwed up measurement system.  I can't make cookies here since there are no cups!) and he loved it!  I gave it to him at an opportune moment; he was building a staircase for the garden out back and was using a ruler, so I went and grabbed my gift from my suitcase for him.  I made sure that the tape measure I got him also had centimeters on it, so he could still use the metric system.

After all, they chose (or at least my host family chose me) you, so they're curious about your country and culture.  I've mentioned so many differences here, to my host family and friends, and they always want to know more.

Second gift idea: TYPICAL GIFT.  Straightforward, simple, easy.  Got a host brother?  I pretended I was getting a gift for a guy friend.  The host brother's two years younger?  I pretended I was getting a gift for a younger friend.  I didn't have a guy friend that age?  Ask someone who does. 

I got my seven year old host sister a teddy bear.  Lucky for me, she loves teddy bears, has a bunch of them lining her bed.  The teddy bear I gave her is ...microwavable?  Apparently you can pop a little pad from it's tummy into the microwave to heat it up for the cold winter. I suppose it's similar to a warm water bottle for a puppy.  I got it for my friend and (I think) she liked it.  I was running around stores the day I got gifts and I saw the teddy bear again and it was like BINGO!  Seemed like an American brand, "these are the special teddy bears we have in America, we take the stuffing out and heat it for warmth."  Except, my host sister tore off the tag with the microwave instructions, so I'm iffy about putting the pad into the French microwave.  

Admittedly, I had no idea what to get my host mother.  I searched online "gift ideas for mothers'  day" and I read on many websites, "get your mom a dish cloth" "get her a nice bar of soap" "give your mother cake mix, not from a supermarket but from a specialized bakery."  Now, those are all pretty good ideas.  I thought though, that I didn't want to get her a dish cloth since I didn't know whether or not she would like the design on it.  For example, what if I got her a blue dish cloth and she hates blue??

Now see, I stressed about little things like the color.  At that point, my dad stepped in and I took the easy way out by accepting the Chinese silk scarves he told me to give to her.  That's another thing I forgot to mention.  I "cheated," but it still counts.  I went back to my heritage = good conversation starter.  I suppose that if I lived in a German influenced city, I could've gotten my host family something German.

My gifts for my host brothers, on the other, third hand, were a mix of the two categories.  I found them some hats.  OOOOH HOW EXCITING!  I know, right?  Shush you, they loved it.  These were my gag gifts since my host brothers are teenagers, but they're not too bad.  I got my high school host brother, well, this:

Made it look fashionable with his French swag

I thought that I'd give that to my guy friend, as a joke.  I rationalized that if I found out that my host brother really hated Superman, I'd keep it.  I gave it to him after watching Batman with him (since I figured that clearly he does not hate superheroes).

I got my younger host brother an Angry Birds hat, since my host family mentioned vaguely in an e-mail that they had an iPod base.  See? Noting tiny details helps.  My host family has a surprisingly large amount of Apple products.  Two iPads, a Mac Pro, several iTouches...Apple products would be a good idea, if you can afford it.

oh, but what color???

I also got my host family peanut butter.  "What???" Shush you, I read on multiple pages on the internet that they don't have any peanut butter in France.  

Ha! That's not true.  They must have been using each of the other pages as a source.  I sheepishly offered my host family the jar of peanut butter after I spotted the peanut butter in their pantry, "this represents American ignorance" (and it was then I realized that the internet was not infallible).

Well, actually, they liked my peanut butter more than the peanut butter they already had.  Lucky for me.  My host brother offered it to his friends for them to try whenever they come over to the house.  Or maybe they're mocking it in French by using tiny words I don't understand.

I suppose I'll throw a lifejacket.  I'll put up a list of all the things they don't have in France (ohoho good gift ideas, n'est-ce pas? <--I bet that isn't the right French phrase) and I'll add to it whenever someone points out to me that it doesn't exist in France...like pretzel M&Ms.

However, note that my experience is based on my host city.  Maybe there are pretzel M&Ms in Paris, or bigger cities.  

GIFT IDEAS FOR USA->FRANCE STUDENTS ABROAD

• a nice football, or a little stress squishy football you can toss around with your family
• I <3 NY shirts, or parodies
• pretzel M&Ms, or regular M&Ms.  They have practically the same thing here, except it's called Smarties.  My friends only know about peanut M&Ms, though I later found out that my HSHB knows about the regular M&Ms and the pretzel M&Ms
• American measurement systems
• pounds
• measuring cups - can make them cookies (I can't)
• rulers with the metric system and inches
• Fahrenheit and Celsius thermometers
• Abercrombie and Fitch things - apparently there's only one, really expensive A&F store in Paris
• Things with Marvel Comics

Actually, I guess these things wouldn't suffice for gifts, at least not on their own, maybe in combinations.  If anything, I guess it's a list of things that you could show your French host family.  If you think of any gift ideas, do tell!