Link to Paris pictures

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=332680&id=689395866&l=6d814c4971

I believe if you click on the above link it will take you to my album of Paris pictures.  I've never done this before so let me know if it doesn't work.

 

Also, I thought it might be interesting to make a list of things that I am finding odd or difficult, so when I'm all adjusted and Parisian in four months I can look back and remember that it wasn't always perfect and wonderful :) So here goes...

• The toilets have wierd flushers and I can never seem to do it right.   Seems like a simple thing, right? It's not.
• There are no giant superstores with everything in one place. You have to search out a specific store  for every little thing you want.
• IT'S SO EXPENSIVE HERE.
• The keys are very complicated, and turn in the wrong direction.
• Bars/clubs open very very late (like midnight).
• Everything is small.  The rooms, the seats, the stores, the cars, the metro...I've never felt so crowded for so long.
• I can't smile or say hi to random people on the street.  They look at you like you're nuts if you smile.
• A lot of people do not shower often enough.
• IT'S SO EXPENSIVE HERE.
• I can't identify what anything is in the supermarket.
• There is no peanut butter.
• The shower is not a shower.  It is a bathtub with a handheld showerhead and no curtain.
• The catcalls.  French men think it's acceptable to just yell things at you on the street, and you have to completely ignore them, as if they don't exist, or they will follow you, continuing to talk to you. And most of the time they are the ones who don't shower enough.
• IT'S SO EXPENSIVE HERE

With all that being said, I also feel obligated to say that while it seems like I hate everything and am miserable, I really am not. All of these things are just minor annoyances.  Some of them aren't even really annoyances, they are just taking some getting used to.  And while there are several things I am not a huge fan of, there are just as many that I love. For example:

• The cheese.  There is so much of it here and it is so. good.
• The metro.  I don't have to drive anywhere, ever.  Public transportation was the best idea anyone ever had.
• The excess of restaurants and cafes.  And the fact that your waiters let you sit there as long as you want.
• You don't have to tip. It's great.
• Les Soldes.  The entire country has sales from January 1-Feb 15.  You don't have to search them out- they all are on sale at the same time!
• My host family.  They are so nice. And both my host dad and brother play guitar extremely well, so it's great to just hear them messing around while in my room or eating or whatever.
• The nightlife-there is always something to do! And as unfriendly as people are on the metro/on the street/in stores, they are the exact opposite when in a bar.  I've met so many random people.
• The open-air markets.  They have such great stuff.

I'm sure I could continue, but I think I've made  a pretty good summary.  I'll look back every now and then and see if any of these things have switched lists :)