More Than Halfway

Well, I'm over halfway through my study abroad experience. It's gotten to the point that most of us here are feeling like Paris has become the city we live in, not "ooh la la," tres chic, "city of love and light" Paris. A lot of people are actually already counting down the days til the end of the program because people are getting homesick. I wouldn't say I am homesick...but I am looking forward to coming home. Being in Paris has made me realize the things I take for granted in the United States. A few examples...fresh skim milk, stores that are open on Sundays, restaurants open on Friday and Saturday nights, driving, clothes dryers, deli turkey, affordable food, and summer weather. Don't get me wrong...I am having a great time and I'm definitely not wishing it away. I just have a new appreciation for my own country.

One thing I've noticed recently that I think is funny is that French people do not use hand sanitizer. You can't find it anywhere here. Yet, everywhere you go, you have to touch things that a million other people have touched already. For example, on the Metro, you either have to push a button or turn a lever to open the doors. There was this person who kept sneezing into their hands across the Metro from me the other day, then he got up and palmed the lever and walked out. The next person who got off the train didn't seem to think anything of grabbing the lever right after this person with snotty hands had just grabbed it. Me, on the other hand, though...I waited for someone else to open the door at the stop that I got off at because I had no desire to touch those germs. Mom, you would be freaking out and would probably be out of hand sanitizer by now. Also, in the boulangeries and other quick food places, they just grab everything with their hands. No one uses gloves. It doesn't bother me, but I know it bothers some of the other people.

I don't think I've ever used the Post Office (La Poste) more in my life than I have here. I feel like I go buy stamps like every day. Supposedly, they speak English in every branch, but I've never bothered to ask for an English speaker. I always manage to get by in French ("Je voudrais les envoyer aux Etats-Unis, s'il vous plait...").

C'est tout pour maintenant.
Riley =)

McDo

Quick update as I eat my petit dejeuner (breakfast) at McDo! I must say, even though I am not a fan of McDonald's in the US, the French version is awesome. The restaurants are all really nice, there's free wireless in them, and they have a totally different menu (but it's still cheap). For example, I am having a caramel macchiato and a croissant for breakfast. It was 4 euro, which is a steal for this city! I've been eating at boulangeries (bakeries) most mornings here because my host family gives me bread and water for breakfast, and that isn't too tasty. And don't knock me for eating at an American restaurant...everywhere else is so expensive! Especially along the Champs-Elysees, where I live, because they cater to tourists who don't know any better (keep that in mind when you visit Paris someday...everything is cheaper the further you go from the Champs-Elysees, for the most part).



After I leave here, I'm taking the Metro to the Eiffel Tower because my IES group is eating lunch at one of the restaurants inside of it! I'm excited...hopefully I will be able to go all the way to the top this time. Last time I was in Paris, we ran out of time and only got halfway up.