However, I also learned that French cuisine is incredibly diverse. Many renowned chefs around the world train in French cooking techniques before branching out into their own styles. There are beef, duck, pork, chicken and lamb dishes that are typical of France as well. Canard a l'orange or duck a l'orange is a classic French dish prepared with roasted duck and an orange sauce. It is complex and full of flavor. These sort of dishes and many more are way too diverse and specific to fit into any generalization or stereotype.
When we categorize the world, we simplify reality. This is useful at times, but we have to be aware that a worldview based on stereotypes is way less accurate than one gained through experiencing new places and people first-hand. In France, like the United States, many people from different cultures coexist. Since France is part of the European Union, travel between European Union countries is easy. Many people from Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal and other countries live in France, which makes the culture here even more different from the stereotypes of France. These people all also carry with them distinct ways of doing things. This interaction between cultures often creates something new and unexpected. The burrito we know is a mixing of Mexican and American culture. Macaroni and cheese is a mixture of Italian and American. This mixing of cultures, along with everyone's unique traits, makes stereotypes less true and means that Americans have a lot more in common with French people that some might think.
I'm trying to keep an open mind. Partly because the culture of a country is extremely complicated.
