Le Retour

The past 12 days have happily found me outside of France, traveling for the vacances de toussaint. While I will be writing more on these locales later, I just want to express the wonderful feeling I felt upon my return to France this morning. The French are familiar to me, I have already learned of their quirks and oddities, I have accepted them. (See pink toilet paper, iceless water, etc.)  I have learned their language, their history. Such is not the case for Eastern/ Middle Europe. The Eastern Europeans are different from their more westernized cousins, its like the difference between visiting the south and new england, one is going to feel a little more like home, depending on what home is to you. 

Here are the French habits I have most missed:

1) Free bread.

2) Free (tap) water. 

3) Tip-included bills.

4) Relatively simple public transport, with intelligible announcements. 

5) Salads on every menu... and cheese that isn't deep-fried. 

6) Small dogs... they poop less than their bigger, eastern european relatives. (Though no one bothers to pick up after either of them)

7) Fewer cobblestone streets, those things get painful after lots of walking. 

8) Legible language... and pronounceable words. 

9) Currency that doesn't require higher math skills... spending 10000 forints is surprisingly confusing... especially after a couple 258 forint beers. 

10) French dance music: good house, eurotrance and american remixes all in one night... not just a steady stream of the same trance-y songs. 

11) Pain au chocolat. Need I say more?

Things I am already missing about Eastern Europe:

1) Paprika- the national spice of Hungary.

2) Czech beer.

3) Mulled wine.

4) American style coffee, none of the baby-sized espressos popular in France.

5) Viennese cafes... they have outdone even the cafe-crazy French. 

6) How cheap beer and food is. ( the important things)

24

How to begin? My first 24 hours in France have been insane, wonderful, and a little overwhelming. After disembarking the plane at the Lyon airport (LYS) I had this horrible, twisted feeling in my stomach, nerves. But my host mother is nice. After seeing the apartement that was to be my home for the next five months, I was estatic. My room here is a classic French boudoir, with a 10' ceiling, french doors, and a giant bed in velvet and wood (with matching armchair). I think I have landed in a fairytale a la Francaise. Then I saw my University. Perfect. Stone corridors, giant glass doors, and hundreds (or so it seems) of courtyards to connect it all. The city? Also perfect. Then I got really lost in aforementioned city. Not so perfect. Well, if this is what it is like to feel bipolar, I kinda get why those kids don't always take their meds. I'd miss the great highs too. (just kidding, btw)

I am currently enrolled in my stage, a two week intensive french course, running from 9h to 16h30 each day. The focus of the stage is development durable, or roughly, sustainable development. It seems really interesting. Apparently, le development durable is a big tag thing here in Europe, kind of like renewable energy in the States. After the end of the class today, the professeurs took us on a walk next to the river. Waiting at the end was a little, informal cocktail event, with free beer. Yep, free. Perfect. Then I took the metro home and got lost. Ah well, can't have everything.