Things I Miss About The US

I been in France 2 months and here are some things that I miss about the good ole USA...



1. Starbucks. I am admitting Starbucks is my needful thing. I need a Dulce de Leche latte every other day.



2.Mexican restaurants. Taco Bell, Chipotle, Chevys, forget it. Won't find them here. Every now and again a girl has gotta have a buritto. There is a Casa Papito in Bourgetheroulde but I haven't tried it yet. I guess I should have researched taco trucks in France before I arrived.



3. Shoe shopping. I miss shopping for shoes in my size... I see all these killer boots and shoes and hate that I can't buy any. I hate the fact that Zappos does not ship international.



4. My Solara. I miss driving my car with the moon roof and tinted windows. I miss the CD player too. My Renault is small and doesn't have the same smooth ride as the Solara.

5. Cheap gas. I know some people think gas hasn't been cheap since the 1990's but try paying 45 euros everytime you fill up your gas tank... then tell me that paying $2.25-2.50 per gallon isn't cheap gas.

6. Tall men. French men are incredibly short, and you can almost tell who is French and who isn't just by the height. Where are all the basketball players?

7. Stores that stay open late... I miss being able to stop at the 7-11 at 2or 3 in the am after the club or getting McDonalds after a wild night of partying... The Chez McDo closes promptly at 8pm. The grocery store closes at 8....9 on Saturday night! No late night grocery shopping here... and 24 hr stores... forget it!

8. Knowing how to get around. I spend more time lost in my car than I like. I am seriously considering getting a GPS. A girl has gotta get where's shes gotta go.

9. Brunch with the gang. I think the last time we did brunch it was February, and that was ages ago... so much has happened since then.

10. Mail. I miss getting mail, even if its bills. I've received one letter since my arrival here. I wish more people wrote letters... it really is a lost art.

11. Netflix. I miss American movies in English. Oh, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of American films... they're just all in French.

Visite Medical Obligatoire

Oh yes, friends! You must have a chest x-ray and physical if you want to become a resident of France. Ok, I'm alright with this... I'm healthy, my lungs are good. I can totally handle a medical visit.

When I registered for the French class, the university gave me an appointment for the medical visit... 2 MONTHS OUT! That was back in September, and today I have arrived at the medical vist and radiographe to learn I am not "on the list". What does this mean exactly? It means that even though I have a convocation, and an appointment, because I am not on the list I will not be seen.

YOU'VE HAD 2 MONTHS TO PUT MY NAME ON THE LIST! WTF WERE YOU DOING ALL THAT TIME?

I am trying to remain calm about this... because these things happen... especially in France. I had to go back to the Prefecture to find out who f**cked up and and figure out if things were gonna take another 2 months to straighten out...

Once I got to the Prefecture, I was greeted by 48 other people (mostly students) who just went through the same thing as me.... Come to find out the Prefecture failed to send the information to the medical vist folks, hence a no-show on the list!

After standing in queue for about 20 minutes, a woman came out of the office and judiciously informed us we needed to make photo copies of our provisional resident card and return to medical visit folks to drop off the copy.

"Uhmmm... you fucked up and I have to make another trip over the the doctor's office? Don't you have a fax machine? "

Back to the Dr.'s office for foreigners to drop off the photo copy I go. I will get a letter in the poste indicating the next appt time and date.... along with a letter to pay 55 euros.

"Ok, so you fucked up and now I have to pay you? Why don't I just bend over right here for you while I'm at it?"