"C'est La France!"

Such a rough life I live here in France. No school for the kiddies on Wednesday!

So, I woke up early to get a few sheets of the never-ending paperwork out of my hands. First to the MGEN then to the infamous Madame Mouthino ("mooo tee nuuu"). Of course, since I've been walking everywhere these days, I no longer walk .05 mph. No, No. Now what would have taken me fifteen minutes takes me maybe three. So instead of making the bus I intended to get, I actually arrived early enough to get the bus before that...which leads to me being thirty minutes early for my appointment. I didn't really notice until I walked in, told the secretary my name, and then was told that the lady I had an appointment with was not in yet. So, I sat down to wait, relieved I found the place and was early, only to learn my First French Lesson: Don't EVER arrive early.

I always knew that the French loved their lunch breaks, siestas, and all that jazz; what I failed to realize is that they like to take their time to get to/fro places, not just when they eat. So the first thing I heard was, "You're really early." Crap, that doesn't sound like a good thing here. Yet, instead of making me wait, she took me right away to her office to fill out more forms, still kinda pissed...

Now onto another French Lesson: Carrefour would beat Walmart's ass anyday anywhere anytime.

Marc took me to this gigantic supermarche today. Not only is there an aisle just for cheese, a huge counter just for jambon, and another huge aisle just for baguettes; there is a mall too (well at least that's what it looked like). Lord Have Mercy, I was overwhelmed. I couldn't stop staring around in awe, clearly displaying that I never shopped there before in my life (nor am I French).

 

Now, I'm a little afraid to shop there because of how much variety there is....and if you know me, you know I take forever to make up my mind about anything, let alone what bag of brioche to pick. Fortunately, there are a few things that resemble American supermarkets (par exemple, the check out yourself lines). Ironically enough, they take longer than at home. So as we waited for an attendant to help us, Marc kept repeating, "C'est la France. Tu vois?"