I realized that I haven't posted a French List in a while, so here is one. Don't get me wrong: there are hundreds of reasons why I love living in France, but there are also some snags that I've hit along the way that frustrate me (besides the nuances of the language, of course, which is a whole other frustration in and of itself sometimes).
Five Irritating Things About Living in France:
1. Showers are far from relaxing.
Even in the US, I don't take super long showers compared to others of my generation, but a nice hot 10-minute shower is absolutely lovely after a chilly, rainy winter day. Alas, while there are plenty of bitter, cloudy days in Alsace, the long hot shower to chase the chill from my bones will have to be put on hold until I return to America. When I first arrived here in Strasbourg, my host mother made extra sure to explain how I must shower: I can turn the water on for about 30 seconds in the beginning, then I must turn off the water to apply shampoo and shave. After that, I get another minute of water to rinse off the shampoo, but once that minute is up (give or take 30 seconds--it's not an exact science), the water again must be turned off. Only then can I apply conditioner and shower gel. Finally, I get one last minute of water to rinse, then my shower is done. It is quite a freezing process, let me assure you. I'm sure it is necessary to conserve hot water and/or water in general (good for the environment!), but... I miss American showers.
2. 95% of all shops and restaurants are closed on Sundays, guaranteed.
Sunday is a lazy day here, and French people take that unwritten rule seriously. It's a day for napping and long family lunches and religion for the religious, but don't expect to do any shopping or café-hopping. Even in Paris, many shops are closed on Sundays besides a few located near very touristy centers. This can be quite irritating for Americans, as we seem to take it for granted that stores will hold generous hours seven days a week. Personally, though, I sometimes think it is a good reminder that we all need to relax, for at least one day of the week.
3. Cross walk signals do not understand how traffic works.
There have been many, many instances where I am waiting patiently (or not-so-patiently) for the little red "don't walk!" signal to give me the green light so I can cross the street, and I find that all the cars on the road are waiting for their light to turn green as well. It's terribly frustrating since this discrepancy often creates a long two or three minute gap where nobody is going anywhere. Whenever I reach a crosswalk and the light is red but the cars are stopped, I have a choice: do I awkwardly wait for the green pedestrian light (even though the cars will get their green light first) or should I chance crossing the street? Often, I chance it, and most of the time I get across only to turn around and see that the cars are still waiting at a red light. The crosswalk signals should really get a better grip on traffic patterns.
4. Trains are soooooo expensive.
Yet I want to travel everywhere! Food is expensive as well. Yet I want to eat everything! And the clothes aren't cheap. Neither are books. Nor ice cream. Nor are hotel rooms (hence I don't stay in hotels), and even some hostel rooms can get pricey. And don't even get me started about how much money shoes cost, because it is absolutely ridiculous (I've seen entire stores that don't sell a single pair of shoes for under 100 euro. Not even the ballet flats. Translate that into dollars.... it's not a pretty number). And yes, these things are all expensive in the US as well, but in the US you don't have the temptation to hop on a train to go to Switzerland every weekend.
5. The bureaucracy is so disorganized and everyone is confused.
I often ask myself why French universities are so disorganized in everything. I have about one month until final exams start and I only know the date of one of my finals. I've asked my other professors, and they don't know when their finals will take place. It could be December. It could also take place in January. Who knows? Wait and see. It's the department who decides. Can I schedule classes for next semester? Nope. Not until about three days before the semester starts, and even then, there is a good chance that a few departments won't even know what classes they are offering for the semester. Sometimes I go to class and there is no class that day. However, only one professor gave out a syllabus at the beginning of the semester, so how am I to know that there is no class? I don't even know quite what I'm meant to be learning in one of my classes (something about Brazil and Portugal and the words "slavery" and "sugar cane plantations" are thrown in a lot, but I don't think that class has any.... exact focus. Am I missing something?) There was no course descriptions for any of my classes, nor are there any out-of-class readings that I am aware of (besides Zola's Germinal, of course). Heck, I'm still not even properly enrolled in any of my current classes, but apparently that is okay, too. My only comfort is that everyone else is in the same boat. No one knows what is going on over here.
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