1. Paper is really expensive. For example, a notebook at Target is 0.79USD while a notebook here is €4 which translates to 5.50 USD.2. I haven’t seen one printer since coming here. Lots of photocopiers, but no printers...hopefully my professors will be able to read my writing.
3. You have to pay for everything…like the public restrooms and shopping carts at the supermarket.
4. Older French ladies who work at the Pharmacy don’t like it when your French is sub-par.
5. There are Boulangerie and Patisseries (bakery and pastry shops) EVERYWHERE. They are the Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts of France, except there’s about five per street as opposed to one per street. And it is even more difficult to pass one by without buying anything because the smell of chocolate croissants is just so overwhelming.6.
While there are no Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, there is a Domino’s pizza, Century 21, H & M, Sephora and Subway. By the way, went to Domino's and it is totally different from back home. It is a lot better, even though there are some pretty strange toppings...like salmon, potatoes and dill.7. Everything is closed on Sundays and apparently Mondays too (ok not everything, but almost).
Those are just some of my observations for now, I'm sure I'll discover many more things that intrigue me as time goes on.
Oh before I forget, last night we had an amazing dinner. The Madame of the Foyer is from Bretagne (aka Brittany, northern France) so we had a Breton dinner. This consisted of two types of galettes: one ham and cheese, the other sausages, onions and mushrooms. Galettes are very similar to crepes except they are for dinner and the crepe part is browner and less sweet. This was served with the famous Breton cider.
(Brittany is the second largest producer of cider in France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittany) Madame played some Breton music (basically sounds Celtic) and she and another girl started dancing around the long wooden tables in the traditional style. This style of dancing looks something like a jig and you link pinkies with the person next to you and just kinda dance around. Moe, Saichiko and I participated too. After the dancing we ate apple crepes. (In my opinion, chocolate are better, but hey I'm not complaining.)A tout a l'heure!
Heidi
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