1. The French are known for their baguettes and their pastries, but little is often talked about the butter. That is, until you have lived here and consume enormous amounts of this creamy deliciousness. Recently, I had been chatting with a few expats, who live here now, and they commented that every time they go back to the United States, they freeze some French butter and take it back with them. I definitely plan to do it.
2. The light switches for most bathrooms are on the outside of the room. This way you turn on the switch before you enter. It keeps you from fumbling to find it.
3. Paris really understands and takes advantage of the right to free speech. Almost every weekend there is a demonstration of some kind scheduled. There are police ready and available to keep these as peaceful as necessary. That being said, there are some groups in town that try to take advantage of these demonstrations and take it to a new level, but setting things on fire or overturning things. Luckily the police are already present with their riot gear and tear gas. This might all sound scary to an outsider but to us, it is now just normal. Plus, there are no worries about fire arms being discharged because people here don't have guns. It all just feels much safer. In addition to weekly demonstrations, if people want to make a point about something, they make signs and glue them on buildings. They take A4 paper, print a letter on each page, and use a can of glue to paste it on the wall.
4. Twice a year, all the stores in Paris have sales. The last for about 4-6 weeks. Everything in the store is marked with a colored sticker indicating if it is 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% or even 70% off. The windows are also marked with the words "Soldes," which means sale.
5. The sidewalks are not just for people in Paris, they are also for the occasional moped or motorcycle. You will often find them driving right up to the ATM or to the door of the place they are visiting, with no regard to it being a sidewalk. The irony is that nothing makes a French person more upset than a bike or an electric scooter on the sidewalk. A motorcycle on the other hand...
6. There are brown posts all along the sidewalks in Paris. These posts create a barrier of where the sidewalk ends and the road begins. Some posts also have a white top. This indicates where one can cross the street. Will likes to try and "jump" these posts, much to the horror of his father. He has yet to "injure" himself.
7. Parisians are not afraid to park any where and run into a store. This is my favorite one. I see it everyday, outside my bedroom window, or when trying to cross the street. Who knows if this person is running into the Post Office, getting a haircut, or picking up some dry cleaning. I can't imagine doing this in the United States?
8. Most building have an outdoor keypad that allows you to get inside the building. This is not the place you ring the person you are visiting. That is inside. Instead, when you visit someone, or have someone visit you, you give them the outdoor key code. Once inside the main door, there is another door that is locked. There they will find a place to ring the person they are visiting in order to be let up. What is unique about this is that this number is given out to so many people. In addition to the mail person having it, any workers you have coming to do work in the apartment have it - electrician, gas meter reader, cable person, etc. Ours code is changing this week. I wonder how many people will get locked out!
9. No one walks around here drinking coffee in a to-go mug or even in a disposable cup, unless you are a tourist visiting the several Starbucks around town. The reason is that Parisians see having coffee as an experience, not an accessory. They would rather enjoy their coffee at a cafe, while visiting with someone, or taking time to read or do work.
10. I am not sure if I mentioned this earlier in the year but I was again reminded of it when I needed to buy Will a new Math notebook. Almost all notebooks here are not lined the way we are used to in the United States. They are either graph paper or lined like the one below. While this is excellent for math, it proves a bit trickier for Edy and Will with writing. Luckily friends have supplied us with both wide-ruled and college-ruled notebooks for our homeschooling.
On that note, I am off to finish preparing for my big meeting on Thursday. While it was only Edy they are calling in to interview, I am also preparing a large amount of paper for Will as well. This is to show them in advance, so they won't call upon us again in the future.
Au revoir!
Betsy
