Free straws

There is a kind of yoghurt here in France that comes with free straws. (I just bought it, which is what prompted this post) And mind you, the straws aren't for drinking the yoghurt. This is the thick kind of yoghurt that you're supposed to eat with a spoon. (and proof is, for a pack of 8, there are only 6 free straws)

Now why on earth would anyone want free straws? The straws aren't even especially pretty (and too short for me to be able to fold anything with them) So I started thinking.

In Malaysia no one wants free straws. It's like...duh! You go to the nearest kopitiam¹ and you can get as many free straws as you like. Or those fast food restaurants like KFC or McDonalds. (come to think of it, we can get those straws in France as well)

But! One difference is in "normal" restaurants. In Malaysia cold drinks always come with a straw. But...I've dug into the depths of my mind for an instance when I had a straw come with a drink in a restaurant in France...and I can't find one. The drinks come either in their glasses, or in their original bottle/can with a glass. (Ma, you will sure like this :P) I guess a straw is considered too informal, too casual.

So the straws are probably for children... I've also seen "flavoured" straws before...for drinking milk. On the package it says that when you drink plain milk through the straw, the milk will become chocolate/vanilla/strawberry-flavoured, depending on the straw. And one straw is for a glass (200ml) of milk, if I remember correctly. I remember thinking of buying a packet for WW, but then I forgot all about it :P I'll have to see whether it's still being sold...

Oh yeah, I just remembered...the lassi in Indian restaurants come with a straw. Dinie was just talking about it when we went to an Indian buffet last Saturday, about how a lassi in another restaurant was so think that you needed two straws. How on earth could I have forgotten that? (so let me know if you can think of any other "straw" moments, will ya?)

Besides, I believe there is less use of ice cubes in French restaurants as well... (again, I rack my brains) Cold drinks come chilled, not with ice cubes to chill-and-dilute them.

Hmm...what else? :P

Small bottles of yoghurt drink in France don't come with a straw either...unlike the Vitagen (and all its descendants :P ) in Malaysia. The cover can easily be poked through with one of those Vitagen straws...but they just don't come with straws! What conclusion can we make...that the French learn to drink at a tender age while Malaysians learn how to suck through straws before drinking? lol

Well, I'll stop here...if my imagination runs a bit wilder I might have enough material for a second edition... With all this "cultural" thinking (and blabbing about it in writing)... I'd soon have enough material for a second PPH²! lol

Glossary :P
¹coffee shop
²Projet Personnel en Humanités, a project for INSA where we have to find a subject to "reflect upon", write a report, and then do a presentation.