Actress Natalie Portman has recently moved back to LA from Paris, where she lived for the last three years.
With this move comes a rather tumultuous cultural transition from the Parisian culture etiquette to the freestyle way of life that is LA. “Everyone smiles a lot here,” said Portman while discussing the move on Jimmy Kimmel last month.
While it’s not true that Parisians never smile, they are more introverted and won’t necessarily strike up a conversation with you on the elevator, something that Portman said she didn’t notice she missed until she was back in LA.
“There’s a lot of rules of politeness [in France],” said Portman. “I feel like it’s a lot looser here… we care about making the person next to you comfortable.”
While it may seem a lot looser here, it can also be harder to move from being friendly acquaintances to actual friends. In France, someone may seem rude to you at the start, but once they are your friend, you’re friends for life.
Watch Natalie Portman talk about living in Paris on Jimmy Kimmel:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1luQazgw6jo&w=560&h=315]
