Is it funny?

Given my time spent in North Carolina, and having recently spent a month in France and a short amount of time on London, I repeatedly ask myself a question that I cannot answer: “Why do I feel more at home in France than I do in anglophone countries that are not Australia?”.

It’s not a joke, it’s a tangible feeling that hasn’t left me since I stopped living in France. And make no mistake, I’m not claiming that I feel an affinity with every aspect of French culture and society — there’s a lot about the country and the people that I simply don’t understand, or simply aren’t aware of (mind you, I could say the same of my native Australia). Perhaps it’s as simple as the uncanny valley effect, where something that’s very similar to, but not quite the same as, the intimately familiar elicits a sense of discomfort.

My recent stay in London has made me consider this rather more carefully, and I think it’s a combination of (a) differences being more evident due to my native fluency in English and my capacity to draw comparisons; and (b) that France and Australia speak different languages, thereby eliminating any direct comparisons of pronunciation or vocabulary (the British Airways pilot on my most recent flight had a thick accent and spoke quickly enough that I struggled to understand some of what he said).

But I still feel a greater affinity with my French friends than people I’ve encountered in the UK and the USA. Maybe I just lucked out in meeting the right people in France?