We often hear that traveling and living abroad opens our eyes to other cultures, but, just as importantly, it forces us to take a look at our own culture. When you’re abroad and you start interacting with people and watching the news, you get a good glimpse of how your country is portrayed and viewed from the outside looking in.
Naturally, I try to expose Jonathan to the great American culture whenever possible, which usually means presenting him with various preservative-filled and artificially colored food items. My main goal is generally to gross him out and/or shock him, but this seldom works.
Sure, Paris can get a bit crowded during the holidays. And let’s face it, the sidewalks are even more congested this holiday season with the current indefinite strike. Adding to this charm is the fact that Paris gets “cold” (it’s all relative when you’re from New England) and more gray than usual by the time December rolls around. But if you can look past all that, there are plenty of things to keep your spirits up during the holidays in Paris.
A true procrastinator at heart, I’ll admit that I had done little to no planning before securing our wedding date. Given how long it takes for paperwork to be processed in France, I figured I would have a while before our dossier de mariage was approved. And then we got our date, and our wedding was suddenly a little over a month away.
Preparing for marriage in France is a complicated process, even if you’re French. As an American, there were a few extra steps. Knowing that it was my intention to get married ASAP, I had many friends ask me on the regular if I had secured a wedding date yet. Read on to find out why it just isn’t that simple.
As an expat, trying to make a place for myself, it’s easy to get frustrated with daily life, which includes grocery store disappointments. At the end of the day, I love living in Paris, and despite any negativity you might see on this blog, I truly am grateful for this opportunity.
When travelling, I think you should do your best to try new things and embrace the culture that surrounds you. However, now that I’m trying to make France my home, I have a slightly different view when going to the grocery store. I have yet to truly explore specialty stores, like co-ops and ethnic markets, but here are a few things that I have to get used to when shopping at the typical grocery store in Paris.
Have I really already been here a month? The past few weeks have been exciting, busy, and exhausting. As this first month in France ends, I’d like to take this time to share a couple of highs and lows from the adventure so far.
In general, my experience opening a French bank account was positive. We spent over an hour there, and I cannot tell you how many papers I signed, but the process was relatively smooth, despite scaring my advisor with my passport…
Happy hour may have originated in America, but France offers some fierce competition. Who does it better? Let’s compare the essential components.