I am not at all surprised, but I can see the French rolling their eyes when they read the demands especially requested by Team USA for their separate headquarters in Eaubonne, a village about 20 minutes north of Paris.
The staff of the US team, and some athletes will stay in the huge athletic center called Athletica, where all sorts of services for the athletes are located, from medical to meals.
Most American Olympic athletes will be staying at the Olympic Village just outside Paris in Saint Denis, but will be transported to and from the facility.
In the summer, Americans have their priorities they can’t live without: ice cubes and air conditioning! The French authorities were understandably flabbergasted by their request for all those tonnes of ice cubes!
Drinking ice-cold beverages still has a bad rap here. I even wrote a post on the subject, https://www.cherrychapman.com/2023/09/07/in-france-a-hot-debate-over-a-cold-topic/ . The bottom line of thought here; drinking icy beverages, is bad for your digestion, even when you are sizzling hot.
Just this week, when I offered a French patient cold water with ice, he politely declined that it would be bad for his stomach and spleen. I wasn’t surprised. I had been warned about those dangerous ice cubes when I was a student here many moons ago.
Central air conditioning, likewise, still suffers from all sorts of dire rumours of making you sick. The south of France where summers are becoming increasingly sweltering, air conditioning for comfort is winning them over.
Here in Paris, it is still not noted to be essential for apartments. Supermarkets and shops, yes. Climate change has brought more super hot days to Paris than before, so attitudes are changing, but slowly.
The mayor of Paris, wanted the Olympic Village to be very “green”, or ecologically sound with little expended CO 2’s, so there aren’t any air conditioners. Instead, there are systems of refreshing the air from underneath the floor, that tested out to be sufficient in hot temps. We will see.
Lodging for the Team USA at the center has “air refreshing” mechanisms throughout the rooms , thought to suffice, but no, portable air conditioners have been brought in for back home comfort! The US is not alone, as several other countries have requested portable air conditioners for their athletes too.
Oh, don’t forget a larger serving spoon for the athletes and staff! Servings in the US are notoriously humongous in comparison to the pitifully small French ones that barely cover the plate.
For American athletes, there was concern that serving portions would not meet predetermined caloric needs. Even when ordinary Americans go out for a meal, the portions expected could rival that of a wood logger.
The French were also flummoxed by the request to order all soy from England! Frankly, I am too, and don’t have a clue to why English-produced soy is better than what one can find here.
Despite these American creature comforts, Team USA, was adamant about enjoying traditional French cuisine, with loads of our great French cheeses and wines! Well, well; I don’t blame them!
Staff and students from the famous cooking school, Ferrandi, noted to be the Harvard of gastronomy, which has a new campus nearby, were solicited to help.
They, along with American chefs, make sure that Team USA has their fill of the very best of French cuisine, only with much larger servings! If US trainers determine that some athlete’s caloric needs must be supplemented, like the weight lifters, I guess the sky’s the limit, minus the flow of wines!
I don’t know if American athletes can choose to stay and eat in the Olympic Village, where 40,000 meals are prepared daily, with multi restaurants offering French, Asian, African, and Caribbean cuisine.
This, of course, is supplemented with loads of French baguettes, pastries, croissants, and pains au chocolate, but minus French fries, due to fryer fire hazards.
Mon Dieu, I hope they won’t catch Americans putting ice cubes in their wine!
PS. The French press reported that some athletes at the Olympic Village were already complaining of smaller portions served and not enough eggs. Things have been quickly corrected!
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I speak only for myself as an aging American. Ice cubes I need less and less. Ac I need more and more. Great post, Cherry. Made me smile a lot.
Happy Birthday to you, Gary! Paris is having greater summer temps than before, so I caved in and bought a portable ice maker and air conditioner! I use the ice maker more, the portable a.c less, only because I have to drag it and place the tube to outside. Wish I had central, but can’t live without my fans!
Cherry,
As a child, I was always told to eat everything on my plate as children are starving in China. I have continued to clean my plate but the portions have greatly increased from when I was a child. American restaurants, for whatever reason, dish out too much food…and it shows in the girth of the American people. Only recently have I consciously tried to not eat every crumb of food on my plate but it is hard to break old habits.
I have also noticed that the young people in Europe are beginning to expand in size. This could be the result of the fast food lifestyle of modern people and the chemical ingredients of the food served. France being the exception.
I, too, do not like ice in my water or drinks…room temperature is fine with me. I find that I ask for “No Ice” frequently. While playing sports in high school, we were not allowed ice nor cold water because it was considered bad for us.
We have been spoiled by air conditioning. I lived without it in the early years of my life. I had a business in the Caribbean for 30 years. I would travel there for business and find that the first day would be miserable but my body adjusted quickly. I would wear a coat and tie to an un air conditioned church with no problem.
I recently fractured my Pelvis. The only remedy is to stay off of it. I have tried to eat smaller, healthier portions but I can tell (without weighing) that I have gained weight. My food intake and sedimentary lifestyle is not good for me, and I know it.
Eddie, I am so sorry to learn you fractured your pelvis! How in the world did you do that? I do agree Americans overuse air conditioning! I always felt frozen inside dwellings in the states. Your observation about expanding girth in young Europeans is true, I have noticed it too. Fast food is partly to blame, as well as the over usage of tech with less exercise. It was most noticeable to me in Sicily with elementary school children showing signs of obesity.
I am fortunate that I have to walk a lot to get anything done, and Paris is so enjoyable to walk around anywhere!