2) Having no 24 hour anythings. Not kidding. This idea needs to get to France, and fast. Along the same lines: many stores close during lunch hour (which, for the French, is two hours), and practically everything is closed on Sundays. Throw strikes in there too (especially with the railroad--it wreaks havoc on travelling plans) and you've got to do some research before you want to go places. There was a facebook group called "The French will rule the world, except not tomorrow, there's a strike." I didn't join it because I don't think it's very likely that the French will rule the world anytime soon--too busy enjoying the food, aperitifs, and life.
3) The pricetags. The first two weeks of being here I converted everything to dollars in my head. Then I stopped. It just wasn't worth it anymore---you only live once (Well, technically more if you believe in reincarnation, but we won't get into that now). Being able to wash my clothes more than once or twice a month would be nice too.
4) Not being around family and friends from the US. I suck at staying in contact with people (besides this blog of course), and I wish I could stuff you all in my suitcase and take you with me. That, or we Muggles need to learn to apparate/use the Floo Network/get portkeys ASAP :)
5) My English getting worse while attempting to improve my French. A couple weeks ago, I literally asked my friend Matt, "Is those printers working?", which made him laugh and made me embarrassed. Although I wouldn't object to developing an Irish accent while in Dublin this summer.
6) The lack of good current French music. After asking several French people for music recommendations, I would mostly get a) blank stares b) suggestions for American music or c) French musicians who sing in English (i.e. Phoenix or David Guetta). To be honest, I don't think this is really France's fault. English is the Latin of our time, and there's no comparison to America's music industry and international marketing ability.
7) The double kiss. Sometimes between friends I think it's nice, but I think it's totally awkward to touch faces and make a little smacking sound to people I don't even know yet. I've had several uncomfortable experiences of 1) my hand getting smashed in between our bodies as I (stupid American!) go for the handshake and they, clearly, go for the double kiss or 2) being unsure of how many times to "faire la bise." It changes from place to place, and one can never be too sure that the other person is going to stop at two (it can go up to five!), resulting in awkward encounters. We'll leave it at that.
8) The incredible amount of forms/bureaucracy needed for absolutely everything. I swear, form-gathering is a type of national sport, and I was lucky not having to get into the tricky business of renting an apartment. Want to apply for something? Better have your place of residence form, birth certificate, visa, and a photo of yourself for good measure. For my volunteering program here, I had to give practically every form I ever had, and we had to have our French host mom help us get bikes with her French bank account number. We learned in my French socio-cultural studies class that in order to get a job, you have to have proof of housing, and in order to get housing, you have to have proof of a job. Figure that one out.
9) The lack of peanut butter. Random I know, but French people definitely prefer their Nutella. Peanut butter in France is lower quality, more expensive, and much harder to find. This girl's gotta have my pb and js. Some other Notre Dame students had their parents mail them some or had their families bring some good old Jif from the US when they came to visit.
10) All of the smoking. Luckily my host family didn't smoke and new smoking laws ban tobacco inside most establishments, but I was absolutely horrified at all of the kids smoking outside the high schools. Huge smoky crowds would develop outside any building (especially bars late at night). France is a pulmonologist's nightmare.
11) Not ever having ice! I'm getting used to having lukewarm to mildly cold beverages, but thank God it's not quite summer yet otherwise I'd be dying. Oh, and free water waiting for you at restaurants=non-existant. You always have to ask for it, sometimes you have to pay for it, and they never give you enough. Americans, apparently, are camels.
Another post: Things I Will Miss About France :)
On that happy note, I bid France a very, very fond à bientôt.
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