Sunday, July 20, 2014

I'm Sorry. This is a Rant

Everything I WONT miss about Paris:
I've come to accept the fact that most everything is closed on Sunday, it's a cultural thing, whatever. I've also accepted that most of the places that are open on Sundays are closed on Mondays, everyone deserves a day off some times. My work has let me out by 3pm each day which is fortunate since everything closes down by 7pm except restaurants and bars which will stay open till midnight, some bars even stay open till 6 or 7am, more surprising is that there are actually people in the bar at that hour. So when do the shops open? Some, like the grocery store or boulangeries, open at 7am but most places don't open till 10am and lunch places don't open till noon. This is very unfortunate for those of us who wake up at 6am and would like to eat at 10 or 11 because we're out of luck unless we want a croissant, but the French don't give lunch breaks till 12 or later regardless of how early you start. So lets get down to why I'm ranting, there is a wine store that was recommended to me called Nicolas and they apparently (not that I would know) have a knowledgeable staff that can help you find a good bottle of wine for any budget. I went there on Monday but they don't open till 3:30pm on Mondays. I went back to my apartment and looked up what hours they were open. It's fairly common for French shops to close in the middle of the day and Nicolas is closed between 1pm and 3:30pm every day. I came back after work on Wednesday, I went to the store first so I wouldn't be too early, I arrived at 3:45 and the shop was still closed. I came back at 3:35 on Friday and the door was locked and the place was closed. I have Sunday (today) off and thought I could go by in the morning but they are closed on Sundays, I found one near the Gare de Nord station that is open from 10 till 1pm on Sundays, it was noon so I rushed up there and then spent 20mins looking for the place. I arrived at 12:45 but the door was locked and the windows shuttered. If you can't be bothered to be open when your sign says you're open, when you're website says you're open you don't get my business. I know I'm just one American tourist but I'm pissed. I have now gone well out of my way in order to go to one of these stores so I can get knowledgeable advice on wine when I could have walked into literally any grocery store a bought a bottle of French wine.
Other things I wont miss about France...
It was rather a culture shock for me in my first weeks in France when I saw people on the streets handing out cards or papers. In the states people who hand out things on the street are very in your face shoving paper at you and not taking no for an answer. Here the people just quietly stand there (kind of in your way) with their arm out stretched with the card but don't take it from them because as soon as you do they light up and bring out a book or clipboard for you to sign your name and where you're from ect. then there's a column for money. Yes, they want money from you that's what they're standing there for. There's a similar scam, mostly around tourist attractions, where someone will come up to you asking "do you speak English?" you answer yes thinking they want to ask a question but they have this clipboard they want you to sign "for the children" (or in Germany they point at their clipboard and pretend they're deaf) THIS IS A SCAM the money goes directly into their pockets and they stand there boldly telling you there's a 10euro minimum, for giving them money, what bullshit. Or the scam where someone returns 'your ring' to you (which you've never seen before and it certainly doesn't fit you) then they ask for money and insist that 5euro isn't enough for them to get lunch (well then you're eating better then I am).
I wont miss the hot summer days with no air conditioning or even a fan.
I wont miss my tiny apartment that I'm paying $900 a month for to share with a room mate I don't get along with (which I don't completely blame him for) who takes off his pants right in front of me and wanders around in his underwear like it's nothing (this is apparently a European thing). He has no set schedule and will throw parties starting at 10:30 at night or decide to go to bed at 8pm. This makes it very hard for me to plan showers or get to sleep when I need to to wake up at 6am. I wont miss having only one pot and one pan to do all my cooking in and no oven, microwave, crock pot, or toaster oven.
I wont miss the very limited (compared to the US) selection of foods. There's more breads and wines then I know what to do with but you can't find cheddar to save your life. There is only one choice in shredded cheese in fact and there are very few brands of things over all. Dr.Pepper and Mt.Dew are brands you just can't find here along with jolly ranchers or wonka candy and probably many others.
I wont miss the crowded metros filled with people who have no sense of what or who's around them just pushing and shoving to get where they need to go (I don't think this is a French thing I think a lot of people are self absorbed there's just a lot of people crowded into Paris and most everyone rides the metro).
I wont miss not being able to get to Hulu or Netflix or not being able to watch certain videos online because they "aren't available for your area" meaning most of Eurasia.
I wont miss the terrible McDonalds food (the French can not make McDonalds it's practically inedible which is saying something since McDonalds wasn't really good to start with) and the tiny portion sizes (6 mcnuggets is not an adult meal, that's a kids meal size. Also 8 California roll slices is not a meal unless it comes with 12 more pieces of sushi and soup).
I wont miss being seen as a stupid American tourist who can't speak French and yet any time I try to speak French I'm immediately asked "English?" and then they wont deal with me in anything but English (apparently this is different in the south of France).
I will be very happy to be back home with the people I love (and get along with) in my own place with air conditioning and an oven to cook in and a big grocery store filled with all sorts of food. Where there is relatively few people and they all speak English (I know that's a very American thing to say). Where all the shops are open when they say they'll be open, nothing closes on Sunday, and nothing closes in the middle of the day. It will be very nice to be back where I know how things work and I know people I can hang out with. Only one more day and then I fly HOME!!!!!

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