Cultural differences I experience as an American married to French man

I'm an American who fell in love with a Frenchman while living in Berlin. The start of our relationship was a breeze, but the longer we went on the harder it became to pretend we hadn't had upbringings in countries thousands of miles apart. We're lucky to have a lot of common interests and agreed major values, but we've come to accept that there are some ways I'll always be a little too American for him and he a little too French for me.

We have opposite approaches to self-medication. Reliable health insurance was never a sure thing for my family, so I kept the medicine cabinet stocked and wasn't surprised to pack several bottles of ibuprofen; my husband was shocked. In France, painkillers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen aren't easy to buy in bulk or grab off a grocery shelf — you get them from the pharmacist, who typically debriefs you on proper usage.

american, french, cultural differences, marriage, berlin, self-medication, health insurance, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, pharmacist