Things that have surprised me after two weeks in France:
1. Most common store in downtown St. Dié: Hair Salon. Number 2? Pizzeria.
2. The most economical drink at the grocery store? Coca-Cola. I shit you not. It's cheaper than anything, except for the store brand cola.
3. The cereal comes from Germany, but has English names. Currently I've been eating "Sugar Flakers."
4. The drivers are horrible. I mean I knew that Paris was bad. But this is ridiculous. They constantly tailgate, and do all of their stopping in 10 feet, regardless of how fast they were going. And they get pissed if they have to stop to let you cross the road, but they give no indication (such as slowing down) that they want you to cross, so then suddenly there are just stopped cars with drivers staring at you.
5. Body size. They biggest difference I've seen is that they don't seem to have a middle ground. Everyone is either thin (I mean rail thin, bordering on sickly thin) or heavier than me. I'm serious. I've seen just as many people, if not more people who are heavier than me than back home. But they don't seem to have that "average size" that we do in the States or what we tend to consider "fit." You're either a stick or tubby. Granted, I'm still basically a giant here, as I've met 1 person taller than me. And I suppose even back home, the human tank is kinda rare.
6. Cafeteria food rocks. We're talking chicken and rice with mussels (which wasn't big with me 'cause I don't like seafood under my policy: I won't eat anything that still has a face, or looks like it did when it was alive. So, I'm sorry, but that includes whole pigs on a spit. Unless we're talking stranded on a desert island with nothing else to eat.)
7. Cafeteria dessert: Only the French would make a hot-dog and ketchup Danish.
Big 3:
Best thing: First assistant arrived, New Zealander. So far I haven't been able to figure out the linguistic differences in the New Zealand and Australian accents, but I'm sure I'll be able to find them on line.
Worst thing: Still haven't been able to find a piano.
Funniest Thing: Apparently, I'm a novelty. After yesterdays incident, I started paying attention while getting my food in the cafeteria, and at least 50 % of the student population was watching me... Close runner up was realizing that the danish was filled with hot dogs and ketchup.
2. The most economical drink at the grocery store? Coca-Cola. I shit you not. It's cheaper than anything, except for the store brand cola.
3. The cereal comes from Germany, but has English names. Currently I've been eating "Sugar Flakers."
4. The drivers are horrible. I mean I knew that Paris was bad. But this is ridiculous. They constantly tailgate, and do all of their stopping in 10 feet, regardless of how fast they were going. And they get pissed if they have to stop to let you cross the road, but they give no indication (such as slowing down) that they want you to cross, so then suddenly there are just stopped cars with drivers staring at you.
5. Body size. They biggest difference I've seen is that they don't seem to have a middle ground. Everyone is either thin (I mean rail thin, bordering on sickly thin) or heavier than me. I'm serious. I've seen just as many people, if not more people who are heavier than me than back home. But they don't seem to have that "average size" that we do in the States or what we tend to consider "fit." You're either a stick or tubby. Granted, I'm still basically a giant here, as I've met 1 person taller than me. And I suppose even back home, the human tank is kinda rare.
6. Cafeteria food rocks. We're talking chicken and rice with mussels (which wasn't big with me 'cause I don't like seafood under my policy: I won't eat anything that still has a face, or looks like it did when it was alive. So, I'm sorry, but that includes whole pigs on a spit. Unless we're talking stranded on a desert island with nothing else to eat.)
7. Cafeteria dessert: Only the French would make a hot-dog and ketchup Danish.
Big 3:
Best thing: First assistant arrived, New Zealander. So far I haven't been able to figure out the linguistic differences in the New Zealand and Australian accents, but I'm sure I'll be able to find them on line.
Worst thing: Still haven't been able to find a piano.
Funniest Thing: Apparently, I'm a novelty. After yesterdays incident, I started paying attention while getting my food in the cafeteria, and at least 50 % of the student population was watching me... Close runner up was realizing that the danish was filled with hot dogs and ketchup.