First, amazingly enough I have been able to get into the apartment within 15 seconds for the past two days. My landlord thinks I grew up on an idiot farm in Texas. "Just turn it to the left." Miracles are alive in Paris. Not only that, but I also set the record for bagging my groceries at the local supermarche. I looked somewhat American with my 40 items in line. I stopped counting the number of looks that I was getting. Note to self: shop often and buy little. I also was able to double book some rental insurance so if anyone wants to have an accident involving fire, theft, natural disaster, and it will cause less than 100k euro, please call I assure you we can work something out.
So now that I have made it in the door, the two largest obstacles on a day to day basis are: 1. Typing on a non-qwerty keyboard. It is amazing how disabled you feel when you can not type a sentence without making 60 spelling errors. And 2. Although I took several hours of French lessons, I can not speak French. It is so bad, that my colleagues have made me their project and I have been relegated to speaking French or not talking. Me not talking has been an issue since about the 3rd grade. What is interesting is that people come up to me and ask me questions in French. This is OK, but the questions are coming at the speed of a freight train. I have developed a strategy for this. I simply say "Oui" or "Yes." I am in the process of conducting scientific research, but early indications are that people like people who say "Oui." Today alone, "Oui" got me a free cup of coffee, password help on my computer, and new blackberry that takes pictures. So in the upcoming posts, if there is an issue with me eating dog food or working in a fast food kitchen, the "Oui" strategy has deviated from its original findings.
Finally, this week has had its challenges, but I think we all look for something or a signal at some point when times are not allowing us to enter the front door (as you can see this has had an enormousimpact on my week). The other day I was in the kitchen drinking water, because I had not become the Jedi of the supermarket, and noticed a familiar site. It is human nature to be loyal to something. Loyal to a team, a family pet, a friend, or a spouse are very normal. My parents happened to be loyal to a kitchen oven and it did not matter how often it broke, burned food, or burned out a pilot (whatever that is) they would fix it instead of buying a new one. For years, the clock said 7:33. In fact, it got to the point where I would randomly call my parents and ask if it was 7:33. Back to the kitchen, I looked up and see this god awful Harley Davidson clock and immediately thought 1. The time says 4:00 and its 8:00 and 2. I have to somehow figure out the whole store thing so I can buy a new clock. Upon returning from work and actually entering the front door in less than the time it took me to actually get home, I noticed that the clock didn't move. Instead of taking it down and looking to see if it needs batteries or buying a new one, I think I am going to leave it as is. We all look for something that helps us find North and well I hate motorcycles, but Harley's north.
Paris: 1
Brett: 2
Can he run the table?
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