First Observations

Bonjour,

It is my fourth day in France and I have decided to create a blog for a number of reasons. Doing so will help me remember things I do and observe and will also allow friends and family from home to see photos and hear about my experiences abroad.

I've made several observations over the past few days. The first: the French are culinary geniuses! The food is delicious and made from very little artificial ingredients. Fresh produce at every meal is standard. From an American viewpoint, the French eat slowly and savor what

they are eating. Lively discussion often ensues. Oh, and the television is not a component of dinnertime rituals. Us Americans, on the other hand, scarf our food in order to go on and do the next thing. Ingrained in us is a sense of "Go, go, go! We need to be fast!" I'll admit that eating so slowly does make me a bit uncomfortable. I feel as if we need to hurry so that we can go on to the next activity. But what exactly is the next activity? Nothing! Lately after dinner we have been going on walks or riding bikes. I will have to work on keeping my American tendencies for

speed in check.

Observation #2: With the amount of coffee and alcohol the French consume, it is amazing that anyone stays hydrated!

Observation #3: Everyone thinks Americans are fat and rich.

Observation #4: When purchasing something at a store, the interaction between the buyer and the cashier is interesting. The cashier is always incredibly polite, saying, for instance "Your total is $4.56 please." When you hand them your cash they say "Thank you," and then again when they hand you your bag of merchandise. It is all very civil.

Observation #5: Little French kids wear the cutest clothes!

Well, those are my first observations. I have to go eat lunch, which will definitely take an hour.