Confession

Dearest Blog Readers,


I have a confession: today I broke one of my primary traveling rules. I will not be admitting this embarrassment to anyone else on this trip and it shall be dropped henceforth…..

Skipping ahead to my afternoon today, Matt and I decided to use the rest of our day off exploring the “downtown” portion of Strasbourg on foot. The weather was beautiful and since most places were closed because of Pentacost, we scouted out future eating places, window shopped, and observed the French.

I’ve probably been dehydrated most of this trip because I’m a cheap traveler and won’t pay 3 euros for water with my meal. Honestly, this has not been a loss for me and I keep bottled water in my room.

After spending the day walking (and carrying my laptop in my backpack since I still don’t have internet in my room had to go to the lab) I was starting to get thirsty. Both of us started looking for somewhere moderately priced, but the majority of shops were just closed.

We continued walking around another 30 minutes before thoughts of a Diet Coke dominated my mind.

Then we saw it.........Le M.


I make it a personal rule not to eat at fast food places in the US, let alone Europe.

But here was my rationalization:
1) I knew they’d have it and it was open
2) I figured it would be cheaper than paying 2 euros for a tiny bottle
3) I wanted Diet Coke, and I wanted it BAD.

So we went in. It was still about 1.5 euros (over 2 US dollars) for a medium but again, I really wanted a Diet Coke. We wait in line, and the people in front of us ordered a freaking ton of food and had to put it in a huge bag. I thought Americans were the ones with the problem…so we wait longer…

The following are my grievances with Le M:
1) That was a small, not a medium size
2) I wasn’t expecting much ice - it didn’t have any – and I didn’t care since Strasbourg isn’t that hot, I DID care that they didn’t fill it up all the way
3) McD’s was neither fast nor cheap. Discuss.

We both stood outside and guzzled our coke in less than a minute. Our attitude: screw you Le M. As an American, I expect my free Supersize Diet Coke when I get home.

Traveler’s Moral Lesson- do not give into satan and go to American fast food chains abroad. Ever. Resort to foreign owned gas stations only.


Day Revisited

To re-begin my day, I met Matt (Tulane) before lunch and we headed downtown. Again, most places were closed, but we were both starving. After passing someone from my lab on the street, we were pointed in the direction of a small Greek restaurant. On national days off, only foreign places owned by Turks or other non-nationals stay open. Our food was delicious, and it was the first big meal I’ve had in Strasbourg. You would have thought I hadn’t eaten in days.

I’ve also realized my energy and personality dependence upon caffeine. I’m starting to re-fuel my VTA/hippocampus/NA addiction cycle. French coffee is basically espresso (really strong, concentrated coffee) served black that you put sugar cubes in. I actually like it! In the US I only like my coffee with cream, but the blend over here has a unique taste that I don’t mind. It may be different but I enjoy it.

After our meal we went into the lab to use the internet and I finished the last of my school requirements. After awhile there, we set back out and did our downtown exploring. We really are learning our way around and also found a freakish open grocery store. I thought it was funny that my mini bottle of Chardonnay wouldn’t ring up, so instead of typing in the number, the cashier had to go find it in the store. I also found Orangina Light, so I was excited by that. (Orangina is a famous French soft drink.)


Stop and Stare

The French like to stare. Unlike Americans, they won’t look away when you notice them. Matt and I realized this today, and it’s weird. Luckily, France and most of Europe basically feels like a big amusement park to Americans. People dress in funny outfits at restaurants, everything is more expensive, there are themes to each city, it’s great. We get to stare right back like it’s a zoo – jokes on you Frenchies.


French fashion: what were you thinking?

In high school, the fashion exhibited in our French books was so bad we thought the pictures had to be over 10 years old. Negative.

You see it all, most of it is hideous. This does make window shopping tres fun.
Pants are seriously tight on people, and most guys seem to have forgotten the other half of their pants. Jeans are not common, and guys tend to wear pants that don’t go down to their ankles (basically like highwaters).

French fashion also makes another question nearly impossible to answer: gay or not? Let me tell you, there is NO way to tell on French guys. Not being funny here, gaydar is off the charts in France. Unless he’s with a girl rather publicly displaying his affection (which you see quite a bit too much of) you really can’t tell most of time. This makes for an interesting version of the game, boxers or briefs.


Seriously showers, get real

I still hate the showers here. You get burned, you freeze, you run out of water -- all in one day. I’m really sorry to tell my family, friends, and Adamo, but when I get back I’m getting in the shower and not coming out. Better yet, can we just lend France a few American plumbers? Seriously. This is not ok with me.

Because of this, I’m not shaving my legs and going native for the rest of the summer. This is ok with me since I’m not trying to attract any of the male species this summer.

What is it like living in the backwards age with no internet?

What ever do I do with my time in the evenings?

Well now that I’m done studying/working for the semester (which essentially ended last night) I kick back with a mini bottle of French wine, nibble on French bread and cheese, write my blog and read.

My first summer book that I’m completely pumped about is Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique,” the book which revolutionized the feminist movement in the early 1960’s. Just in the introduction it discusses the rage of women as a servant class to males and talks about how the norms of society “twist the lives of women into weird and unnatural shapes.”

I’m fully expecting to be empowered.



Tomorrow is my first day of work so I’m off to bed to read more about the feminine mystique and problem without a name. Figures crossed I don’t blow up the Louis Pasteur Institute.

MissElaineous

PS: LOVE the comments, look for my responses to them soon as I catch back up.



Addendum to above-
I wrote this blog last night and now I’m in the lab for my first day of work. When I came in they were setting up a desk for me with all the other grad students and we went down to the stockroom to get a lab coat and notebook. It looks like a grad student, Dinesh (sp?) will be helping me get started. He speaks Hindi and English, and no French. lol He’s very nice and helpful just like everyone in the lab. Two of the other Americans came up to see if I was ready to eat lunch (I wasn’t) and were jealous that I was actually jumping into reactions today! All for now.