Reflections on France and New York Updates

As it's my penultimate day before my flight day (ie I'm leaving on Friday...), I thought it would be an appropriate time to reflect a little on France and my stay here this time around. I don't think it will be too extensive but I'll give it what I have. I'm not going to be talking about specific people (like of course I will be missing H!) but rather generalized. We'll start off positive :

Things I Will Miss in France –

- pastries!! I'm sure you guys are so so surprised

- pretty cathedrals. we just don't have them like that over in the US

- walking around. Well going to New York I think I'll be able to have a similar experience but I just like walking in a city because I feel like I need purpose. When I just walk aimlessly around a neighborhood I feel like I can get bored rather quickly whereas when I have a place to walk to time passes so much more quickly and I like walking with purpose. I think France will still have the upper hand over NYC in that I think the French architecture is prettier.

- hearing French all the time. I admit I don't make as much of an effort with speaking French as I should but in stores and such I always do so I'll miss even the little exchanges I think.

- the kids I worked with. this goes along with being surrounded by French but when it's little kids it's especially cute.

- Easy access to French books! I'm hypocritical because I when I go to French bookstores I get overwhelmed because my brain cannot process all that at once and also assess if a book sounds good or not... but I know once I'm in the US I'll miss having so much variety. The grass is always greener!

- Nice people. I know the French get a bad international rap for their rudeness so this point might seem counterintuitive lol. But believe me there are nice and kind people too! To them I say bisous and I will miss you. I think the bar is low for me in terms of what I expect out of interactions here so any pleasantness makes me feel so respected and amazing. But still, there really are kind souls.

[I've seen these in a lot of French cafes. proof that French people can be silly and fun! lol but for real I've been to this place and the people are super nice and friendly]

Things I Will NOT Miss in France –

- Rude people. There are, however, so many people that confirm the stereotype and to them I say I will not miss you. Now that I've lived and visited elsewhere in France, I can confirm as well that there are more rude people in Paris. When I was living there I think I gave more people the benefit of the doubt on the street and public transport and stuff but now I know some of that behavior is straight up rude.

- smoking culture!! Yes I'm another American who harps on this difference but it's for real! I haven't done too much thinking about this or historical research but I read this cancer history book and it was talking about the rise and fall of tobacco and cigarettes in America. It's interesting how even though America and France are "western", they're different in this manner. I know in America it was a lot of lobbying against the tobacco industry... It's crazy to me bc I have the stereotype as well that the French are all into "natural" things but I guess go off on your lungs no problem??? Make it make sense.

- slow af administration. I admit there were some people who really got things done in my school district. Actually all the women I worked with directly were really efficient and helpful. But I never got my social security and health insurance despite applying in October so yes I'm bitter. All things considered things could have been worse butttt it's not up to American standards in terms of digitalization.

There's probably a lot of niche little things I forgot but oh well!

This week I've been in Amiens and sadly preparing for my departure. I'm crossing my fingers that my luggage will not be over the limit! Other than packing there's just little things to be done: returning library cards, cleaning out the fridge, cleaning a ton in general (agency people came to check the apartment), doing things "one last time" like getting my fav panini, closing my bank account, etc etc

[I made this crochet bag around Christmastime but I didn't like it so I finally went back and fixed it up – evidence of my packing – nails with special nail stickers :) ]

[this is messier than usual I'd say but I just wanted to show a bit how my stuff was arranged because now it's all packed up :( ]

The past weekend, H and I took two little day trips. One day we went to a nearby city called Beauvais just to see what it was all about. It was cute and they had some little museums that I enjoyed. The other day we went to Lille again. The main goal was to use a gift card that H got me for my birthday at this specific yarn shop. I'm very excited to use my new yarn :D but I will save starting that project for when I move. The weather was HOT those days and it made things difficult to maneuver honestly. Another thing to not miss about France: lack of AC in most buildings. But the weather has cooled down this week with some rain.

[water lovers rise up]

[Beauvais had a really pretty cathedral and cool museum landscaping!]

In terms of what I'm expecting for the next week, like I said I'm flying to New York Friday and will just stay there (ie not go to Dallas or Boise after). We got some bad news today which is Mary got Covid :( She said she feels ok so I don't think symptom-wise it would get worse. I was planning to stay with them when I first arrive and I think now we're still going with that plan and we'll just be cautious.

I've been doing various onboarding activities for my job and I'll have a few to do in person when I arrive but I don't think it's hit me completely. I have had a bittersweet feeling constantly these past few days, but there's gonna be a lot of changes these next few weeks.

[I forgot to talk about this but when I was in Tours we went to a nearby castle called clos lucé. It has the castle where leonardo de vinci lived and worked and died in France after coming from Italy. H told me it was lowkey a kidnapping situation lol but don't quote me on that. Those roses are apparently called Mona Lisa roses!]