John Steinbeck
Today I gathered my thoughts for a minute and summed up my personal experiences and impression to date of our new home. I must admit Paris has been pretty cool runnings so far.
I expected a rather dreary start to our new life in France with:
- bad weather
- terrible traffic
- unfriendly people
- endless paperwork
- eternal delays in communication technology and
- a stressed me
Instead I found that:
- the weather has been phenomenal (it seems summer is one to two months late in Paris this year, just my luck)
- taking the metro lets me avoid the traffic completely (which lowers the stress level considerably)
- the French have been not only friendly but helpful and smily (I wonder if it's the weather???) I can't remember the Parisian being so forthcoming, ever. They hold the door open for the next person when exiting the metro, they stand up in the bus to give their seat to an elderly person, the help you out when you get lost in the parking garage, they lend you their trolley for you to move your furniture without breaking your back and the list goes on.
- no paperwork is to be done, it's all online nowadays: TV, Gas, Electricity.
- we were connected to Internet, TV and a telephone line within 48 hours of our application! Can you believe it. Now, I call this luxury.
- therefore I am totally ZEN and "totalement bien dans mes basket"!
Parisians being friendly, smiling and helpful??? What has happened since I left? ;-) Highly unusual in my books!
ReplyDeleteI know. Isn't it amazing? I am sure it's due to the fantastic weather we are having! I am waiting for the long faces to appear with the rainy days!!! :(
ReplyDelete