Going to France for 3 weeks, what to take?

First off, the easy question- what to wear-

They do too wear shorts, who told you no?? They don't wear short-shorts, however. Think mid thigh or longer. Skirts are cool, dresses are cool, jeans are fine! The trick is to look fashionable and well put together. And above all, don't dress, pardon the term, slutty. They care a lot about apperances and they will judge you on what you wear. Converses were super in when I went so those are cool, ballet flats are also in, so are sandels.

NOW the hard one lol-

Gifts suck because it's hard to think about whats ''american...''

Does your host family speak any english? If so, get them a book about your hometown. For that matter, a book like that is cool even if they don't speak english. Do they have children? Try something like hershey's chocolate. Does someone in your family make jam or jewlery? They obviously have those things, but homemade items are meaningful. Measuring cups are always cool - yeah, it's werid sounding, but you having a set handy means you can make them chocolate chip cookies - (come prepared or know you'll have to search a little to find all the ingerdiants there- at least pack chocolate chips. theirs suck ;] ) Small stuffed animals marked with your hometown or a college team or the usa are always cute. It's hard, I know, just try to think of something meaningful and cute-

as for money... look at what you have planned to do, add in the shopping your bound to do ;] and going out and whatnot...

would 500 euros be unreasonable? France can get really expensive.

HAVE TONS OF FUN!! exchanges are a blast and you'll love france

EDIT- in bigger cities, they do have some international stores, but in any town you should be able to find national chains...

Your very lucky. I went for 2 weeks, one in Paris, and one in Grenoble. In terms of money I highly discourage traveler's checks, or exchanging currency, because not only will you get a bad rate of exchange, there aren't many places to do so, except airports, train stations, etc. I would recomend setting up and ATM account and when your in France you can withdraw Euros from the machine, using your card. It's like an easy exchange service, but be VERY PROTECTIVE of your card, because losing it means losing all your money. I would say to bring anywhere between 200-800 depending on your finiancial situation. Your host family, if they are like mine, will be very interested in your life in the United States, so bring photos, and as a gift, maybe food, stuffed animals, or something that the French don't see normally. In France, they don't have many nationally or internationally known stores, where I was they are small and local.

For clothes, it's ok to bring shorts and skirts, as long as they are not too revealing because then the people will judge you, just as here. I'm told South of France is hot so, just imagine your in Hawaii or California. I recomend converse for physical activity, but sandals are also nice to bring for relaxing.

Oh also, you might want to buy an electrical converter. Because in Europe they use a different kind of electrical outlet, so if you plan on bringing electronics, they'll be useless without it, I got mine from Walgreens.

You're gonna have so much fun, and ignore what you've heard about the French being rude, my experience was pleasant. Sorry another thing, your carry-on for the air plane can't be too heavy or you will not be able to bring it on, and there are certain types of food, like jam, that cannot be brought on as carry on, so be careful of the rules and make sure to follow them, or it will just be a hassel, like it was for me.

Good luck, hope I helped.