Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

Monday, October 11, 2010

French Appreciation

I really am loving it here, and here are some reasons why:

1. The coffee is spectacular.
2. Breakfast does not consist of incredibly heavy food (like delicious biscuits and gravy, which I admit I do miss) but rather something as simple as bread and jam or nutella and a bowl of coffee.  Yes, a BOWL of coffee.
3. People actually enjoy their time and know how to relax.  As irritating as it is when the internet goes out and I have to wait until a "trained professional" comes to reset the wireless router, it really is a tribute to understanding that there are more important things than work.
4. There is that gloriously long break for lunch which allows for good conversation or a pleasant hour to read.  At home, I would be embarrassed to go to lunch by myself because I would be afraid that I would look like a loser (as much as I hate to admit that).  Today, however, my friends had forgotten that they had some things they had to do and were unable to go to lunch.  Therefore, I went to Meli Melo, a lovely sandwich shop, bought lunch, and then sat at a table enjoying said lunch and reading.  I didn't feel lame at all, and it was one of the more enjoyable lunch breaks that I have had.
5. Shoes.  My sister can attest to the fact that I have become addicted to French shoes.  Almost any time I am walking down the street, I always stop and look at shoes in the window, and even sometimes go into the stores.  I have only bought two pairs so far, but I have been tempted to buy so many more.  At one store, almost every pair is less than 10 euro.  How fantastic is that?  Now, granted, I have few occasions to wear most of the shoes I want to purchase, but that is entirely beside the point.
6. Dairy.  At the supermarches, there are two entire aisles solely devoted to cheese.  Just to cheese!  There is also an entire aisle just for chocolate, and it's every chocolate you can imagine (well, not Hershey's, but you understand my point).  Here, there food is incredibly rich and delicious and it is because they use real ingredients.  As much as I do love Skim milk, and believe me, I miss it, when it comes to cooking, things just taste better when you use cream.
7.  The hills.  They are lovely, but I mainly appreciate them because all of the food is made with cream and fully-fattening ingredients.  Naturally, I need some way to work that off.
8.  The freshness of produce.  I bought a bottle of apple juice a few weeks ago, and I finished it just before I left to go to the Alps for the weekend.  There was a little bit left, but I was in a hurry so I didn't get a chance to rinse it out.  When I came back, only two days later, the remnants of the apple juice were entirely green and white.  The juice was that fresh and that real that it got moldy that quickly.  I understand that this is a semi-disgusting way of explaining how much I appreciate the freshness of the juice and fruit, but it paints the picture.
9. Transportation.  The buses and trams are truly spectacular.  They are cheap, get you everywhere, and are much nicer than the CTA system at home.

2 comments:

  1. Abby it sounds like you are doing great!

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  2. abby this may sound ridiculous but I can already tell the french are mellowing you out and teaching you about being relaxed. I noticed little silly grammar and spelling mistakes in your post and it made me smile because you used to be so anal-retentive about that stuff! haha

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