I'm in an on-again off-again relationship with France

Today's post brought to you by:
10 things I love and don't love about living in Paris

Click on the link above to check out a VERY true pros and cons list of living in Paris or in France in general. It didn't even hit on the trains which fall into both the category of love and hate. For example here is a map of the Paris metro system::

Now here is a map of the "El" (elevated trains...though some run underground) in Chicago:

And those of you who don't live in Chicago or Paris probably don't have a public transit system that wouldn't mean losing your wallet and jewelry if you took it.

So for this, I love the Paris metro system. However a few days ago, a "security issue" delayed train after train which read "retarde" on the screen (it means late...it's not offensive) and then train after train switched to "supprimer" which means cancelled. When Manu asked the lady working there asked if we could take any other train, she very politely (it's always a polite no) said no, that all trains are affected. As you'll see in a minute, customer service (as noted in the article above) is another thing to lament about Paris (really most of Europe doesn't really get it). So as we're standing there debating whether or not to go home or wait for a train that would put us late for a meeting (if it even ever shows up) with a representative from my MBA program, we saw a train go whizzing by from a town farther from Paris than Les Clayes (Manu's parents' town). Turns out the train employee was wrong. Or not wrong but unable to think outside the box and really help us out. Some trains were running between towns before getting to the affected area in Paris. Which means we could have taken a train one stop backward and transferred lines and taken a different route to Paris that wasn't affected. After that, it was give-up-city for us! We decided to walk home... about 20 minutes away. It was a lovely walk home followed by an apology email to the lady at my school and a rescheduled appointment.

Now the charm of France is what happens on any given day. I'm convinced that the whimsical hours spent here and the ups and downs of life can you put you in much more unexpected situations than we have in US where things are so efficient that detours and setbacks are a rarity. Our lives are much more liable to following a routine. After this unexpected setback, Manu and I took a lovely walk through Les Clayes. It was the first time we had done anything leisurely since we got here.  After accepting defeat from the earlier obstacle (a common part of life here) the walk was exactly what I needed to finally enjoy some time here... and I didn't even know I needed that.

On the walk, we encountered a little boutique. The contents that drew us to enter the store? An entire wall of beer including a Boston lager. Here we met Jerome, the owner of the store. When we entered the store, We received the quintessential "Bonjour" with its melodic sincerity (much prettier sounding and genuine than our "hello" in America). After hearing us speak English (I know, I know...I should be speaking French but...) he responded, "Ohh I guess I should have said hello and welcome"). We stayed in his store for about an hour. We spent 15 minutes looking at his vast array of unusual products by French standards and comfortingly recognizable products by my  own: horseradish, whiskey (Jack Daniels is royalty here), and a wall of beer. The next 45 minutes were spent conversing with Jerome about his store, stories, and generally talking about this and that. All this was done at the expense of his customers who were waiting in line patiently. This is the true form of a real French conversation. When you've broken the ice, there is no small talk and then a goodbye. When you think the conversation is over, it just switches topics. Long pauses mean nothing. And, it's really really nice...... because I had no where to be. Don't get me started on trying to leave a party when Manu hasn't said hello to someone yet. Jerome was a delight and moved me to start keeping track of great people I meet so I can hopefully keep in contact with them and build a solid network here. He's someone I'm happy to know.

An up for the day!

Later that day, we were trying to buy all the accoutrements for our new smoker. This is no easy task here because the only smoker they know are the ones who light up cigarettes. After checking out a few stores, we had one more stop to make and the GPS said we'd get there just before closing so off we go. Well any of you who have been to Europe, specifically Italy or France, know where this is going. We walked up to the door with about 7 to10 minutes left before closing time.... to be turned away by a man. Manu calmly explained in French that we just need one item to no avail. He begged and the response was, everyone working here has already gone home. Oh OK, so by closing time at 7pm, you mean your staff is home by 7pm. Got it. Lesson learned. I may have started a slight altercation but to maintain my reputation, I won't go into details. And don't worry, I didn't scar the reputation of the U.S. because the guy told me that we people in the UK don't respect anybody. Sorry UK.

Next chapter - tails of smoking meat in France which is like us seeing horse meat on menu: curious but skeptical. Also up next, hunting for an apartment in Paris... which is harder than finding a good man in Chicago (ladies am I right?)

A bientot,

Jessie