Observations

Well now that I finally have internet connection, I was able to post my previous blog that I wrote on my first day of travels. Since I wrote that, I have been in Paris for three days and today I moved into my dorm and met my roommate! Her name is Diana, she goes to UC Riverside and we have a lot in common! (She runs, eats, does orientation stuff at her school, and likes shorts.) Our dorm is in this great area and our window overlooks a courtyard. After my tiny hotel room that barely fit my ass, I feel pampered to be in this apartment. We have a bunk bed, a little kitchen, a desk, a mini table and a bathroom that has some space. However the shower leaves a lot to be desired, as I was hoping to wash more than one body part at a time. However, I digress, I wanted to write this post about some observations of the French people that I have made in my past days here, two of which I spent half days at the Louvre, which was mind blowing, as I was sitting next to the pyramid, my feet hanging in the water, looking at the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Ok, my observations are:

1. French people don’t sweat. I swear it is in their genes, that they can walk, bike, carry groceries, wear pants and a sweater in 80 degree weather and still not break a sweat. I, however, bike about 8 minutes and suddenly I feel like I’m in a swamp. It’s cute, I know.

2. French people LOVE coca cola, I pretty much see the classic coca cola bottle everywhere, which brings back oh so fond memories of my coke (coca cola) addiction in middle school, where I got to a pack a day….

3. French people LOVE Macdo (McDonalds) a bit more than they love their coke. Everywhere you go, you see McDonald’s. And what do you see next to McDonald’s…McCafe, which means their blended drinks and full on pastries! Macarons, muffins, croissants. Way to step it up McDonald’s. And in a tie for McDonald’s is Starbucks. They love Starbucks as well, where they also get ice blended drinks. My guess is its one of the few times they can get a cold drink. There is no such thing as ice in Paris, it’s extinct.

4. Much to my dismay, there are barely any bathrooms, or public bathrooms. Which means for my tiny bladder, I have to strategically plan out where I will pee that day or dehydrate myself. I believe that I peed in 4 different bathrooms in the Louvre. Thanks Louvre, you’re my savior.

 

That’s all I have at the moment, but I’m sure I’ll keep this as a continuing list. Tomorrow I have orientation and then my two week language intensive begins!

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