i had just fallen asleep last night when an old ami sms-ed me. i could not fall back asleep pour longtemps, et alors, i slept in much later than desired. i had really bizarre dreams, too, and the whole experience put me in a bit of a funk when i finally got up. i opted to take a nice, brisk walk in nearby parc des buttes charmonts, which was such a wonderful idea. it is a beautiful park, only about five minutes from my apartment. and it is full of wonders! i was walking and heard a waterfall. i looked to my left and sure enough, there was a waterfall. there was a place to walk under it and as i entered this little cavern and looked up, i saw all kinds of mineral deposits hanging down from the ceiling (i cant remember if they're called stalactites or stalagmites, and i obviously cannot remember how to spell them). it was really beautiful. in the midst of paris with all of its business and life, there is a place left untouched for so many years that these formations have been created.
after my walk, i became clean. dear friends, i will not mention my showering habits on a daily basis (ha, cuz sometimes it isn't exactly a daily occurence), but i mention it now because i have to shower in a rather unusual way. in my shower, there is a hose with a shower head attachment, but there is no place for this shower head to rest on the top of the shower. i have to hold it with one hand and scrub with the other. also, in a previous post, i mentioned how i had clotheslines running the length of my shower. of course i would be too tall and bump these clotheslines whenever i shower. i wonder what the proper method of showering is when one only has this hose/showerhead contraption. are you supposed to sit down? are you supposed to just take a bath instead of a shower? are you supposed to turn the water off while you lather? i am just not sure.
welcome to the parisian cheapo grocery store: ed. i had seen them last time, but always opted for the similarly cheapo grocery store that is lidl. well, at ed, you must weigh your produce and print off a sticker. i learned this lesson at a different store last year, after trying to buy fresh figues and being told that i needed to weigh them. as i did not want to be sent back to the produce scale, i opted to kick it in the fruit and veggie aisle and watch what the real parisians were doing. i tried weighing bananas and there was a lovely woman to whom i asked what the hell i was doing. if the price tag by the particular produce says "piece," then you do not have to weight it - it is generally going to be a pre-packaged bag of apples or oranges, or something that is individual and kind of weird, like a grapefruit or wrapped up cucumber. but if you pick out apples or bananas, then you must weigh them. whew, i didnt screw up in the produce aisle. i was really quite impressed with ed and all of its variety. it really is the way to eat cheaply in france. after getting to the checkout and asking if the carte bleue (french debit card) was accepted, im pretty sure that my cashier knew i was foreign (and probably wondering why the hell i had a carte bleue). he had to guide me through the process of where to bag my groceries (oh yes, one bags their own food here. they even have two different places for groceries so that after one person has paid, they can check out another person and sort their stuff to the other side. these french are just so clever.) and how to pay (the carte bleue is not slid through the machine - it is stuck in and left there until you enter your pin). i had to buy a big grocery bag (yes, they are bought here) and of course, it is prefered to pay for something that is 95 euro cents with coins - not even a five euro bill. as the cashier was saying 'monnaie,' i think 'woohoo, money, i have a five euro bill.' he looks at me, and says, 'monnaie, monnaie, une euro!' oh shit, coins, thats what he wants. whew, i had a euro. i bagged up my stuff and left, chuckling all the way out. the cashier loved me and how stupid i was. as long as you dont get too pissed, they generally wont. i have now mastered ed. i will rock that place again next week.
and this is why my title is what it is. this is how i am learning to do things. by doing them. and sucking at them. and figuring shit out. i had to learn how to open my door (i'll post a picture of my huge key later), use a percolator, haha, speak in french all over again.
and then i learned to keep my ipod phones in, so as to avoid getting talked to by strange old french men. after delivering my groceries back to my place, i had a bit to eat, and then decided to search for the monoprix that supposedly resides in my arrondissement. i could not find monoprix, i could not find a lidl, but i did find parc de belleville, in the 20th. and mon dieu, c'etait vraiment belle!!!!! it was while walking through the parc that i took out my earphones, just to really take in the moment. after exiting the park, i was just minding my own business, looking around and strolling about, and then a middle-aged french man approached and began to speak. i whipped out the "eh, je ne parle la bonne francais, desolee." turns out, mr. hamid was a teacher and was having a relatively bad day. he was complaining about how everyday he must pay taxes and he is poor. we went back and forth between french and english, and then he decided to give me his phone number (both his cell and his house phone - in case i call the house and he doesn't answer, he said that his cats will. his cats speak english. apparently.) and his email. as i told him that my name was stephanie (stephanie strikes again! but this time from america, not london), i will not be calling as i do not feel up to pretending to be stephanie the whole time or to explain why i said that my name was something rather than what it really is. but if anyone would like to parler avec un homme maroccain/francais, contactez moi - but only if you feel like being stephanie.
alors, after that, i went back to visit leonie at ACCENT (she helped the biz school kids last year) and then just wandered about. made my way to a monoprix for a few more things for this week. and now i am home, finishing my second glass of a nice cote du rhone. claude, my stalker, is outside, and oh, he just looked up this way! goody!
d'accord, i must finish here, as i have lots to prepare for tomorrow. i start work. scary. oh, and why didn't i have work today? because it's columbus day in america - and i get all american holidays off as i am working for an american bureau. but the real question is, do i get french holidays off, as well?
ill keep you posted.
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