Day 3

Don't worry everyone, I won't post this often normally. I swear! Once again I didn't do much today but I have some observations. This morning I went to my meeting at ACCENT, which is the program providing my home stay. I managed to get myself a pastry for breakfast and get there early despite the fact that the building was set back in a courtyard. I will meet my home stay family tomorrow, but we had an orientation today. I learned things such as:

1) French people will be able to tell you are American without you opening your mouth and you will have no idea why. It might be your clothes or your facial expressions or the way you hold yourself. Don't feel bad. It isn't an insult if you decide it isn't!
2) French people do not have fire or carbon monoxide alarms, so I was provided with both.
3) French washing machines are extremely complicated and your home stay family will probably tell you they will just do your laundry for you.
4) I am not here to LEARN French, I am here to PRACTICE French. My goals should not be so overwhelming.
5) Pickpockets can look like old grannies or students. TRUST NO ONE.
6) Just carry a copy of your passport, not the real deal. And don't bother bringing your driver's license; it doesn't mean anything here.
7) Never take the night bus because everyone is drunk and rowdy. Take a taxi if the metro is closed.
8) If a man hits on you and you don't want to talk to him, look him up and down pointedly and then look away. Do not respond. It isn't rude here, it's the norm.
9) French stores never have enough change.
10) Everything closes super early. Like 6 PM.
11) Door locks are inexplicably complicated here. My friend was locked in her house and couldn't get out today.
12) Doctors here make house calls! They're called SOS médecins.
13) About half of the people in Paris live alone.
14) French people NEVER use toilet paper as tissues because they think you will get sick from it.
15) Americans tend to leave about an arm's length of personal space. French people do half an arm's length. And even less on the métro. It will make you uncomfortable at first but you just have to get used to it.
16) Everything is different in France. Don't fight it. The Coca-Cola example: It's smaller, more expensive, tastes different, won't have ice, there won't be a free refill, and there might be some lemon in it. Keep an open mind.

After the meeting, we walked down the Champs-Élysées. The holiday village was closing up so I didn't get to see it, but it was pretty and there were more Christmas lights.

Once again, classy spheres. In a fountain!

Panthers! Or maybe lions.

We got to the Arc de triomphe and couldn't figure out how to get to it until we realized you had to take a tunnel underground. We went in the tunnel but then realized it cost money so we bailed.

L'arc de triomphe!

Obligatory picture of me in front of the Arc de triomphe that I did not want to take.

We found the hidden tunnel!

Inside the tunnel.

I figured I should get back early anyway because it was raining, I'm moving out tomorrow, meeting to have my interview in the morning, and then touring the Sorbonne. And in the evening I'm moving into my home stay! So I have a long and busy day ahead of me starting early. In the metro a boy yelled "Bonjour les filles, vous êtes charmantes!" (Hello girls, you are lovely!), which was at least polite if obnoxious. Anyway, that's all for now.

Bisous,
La vache espagnole