For Thanksgiving, which is today!, I will be spending half of my day in Paris in class, part of my day on a train and the rest of the evening in London, where I’ll be staying for an extended weekend. I’ll try my best to make it feel like Thanksgiving by dressing up and maybe I’ll eat a turkey sandwich or some peanut butter today, but I’m going to take a wild guess and say that, like Halloween, the day will probably pass without anything remarkable or festive happening. So to get into the spirit ever so slightly I’ll fashion a list of the 50 25 30 Paris-related-things I am grateful for this Thanksgiving season.
30. Having found the perfect spot for hot chocolate
29. Finding what I consider one of the best croissants in Paris
28. The absence of cleavage here in Paris as a fashion statement or whatever reason it’s so omnipresent in the U.S.
27. That the heat finally came on in my apartment
26. How walking around the house without shoes or slippers on is considered a scandal for it makes me feel like I’m living in the 1900s in the old country.
25. Having the opportunity to live and study in Paris
24. Having found good friends in my Paris program
23. Only having to cope with a 6 hour time difference so that I can still skype to my family on weekends.
22. “Prix reduit” at museums and other cultural spaces for students or residents under 26 years old
21 The convenience of the Paris metro (sometimes)
20. That I have yet to be mugged
19. Being able to find good and affordable meals at restaurants
18. Having a wide range of patisseries to choose from daily
17. That I have the time and means to start practicing ballet again
16. The older Parisian women I see on the streets who are dressed impeccably or are even more daring than most younger Parisians, who are generally dressed alike.
15. The enormous yogurt aisle in food stores.
14. The Seine River at night
13. Well behaved children on the metro..Seeing children in the school yard wearing uniform smocks so they don’t dirty their clothes.
12. The no smoking law indoors
11. The dismissal of certain laws (which are really more like suggestions) like the one regle that says you can’t drink while picnicking on the grass beneath the Eiffel Tower
10. Being able to taste and eat “real” macarons, bread, cheese and wine
9. That it hasn’t rained an awful lot this fall
8. That tax is already included in the price of items when you’re shopping
7. Cheaper luxury items
6. My pass naivgo (a.k.a. Metro card) that gives me unlimited rides and that I dont have to worry bending or de-magnetizing
5. The inefficiency of businesses (like not responding to e-mails, closing their stores whenever they feel like it, freezing bank accounts for no good reason, posting inaccurate and deceitful information on their webpages) for it reminds me that I could probably never live in Paris.
4. The too-relaxed attitude (or ignorance?) concerning hygiene and the prevention of illnesses for it has built up my immune system.
3. Going grocery shopping every weekend at the open market
2. The fact that my host has an open tab at the boulanger next door
1. That Disneyland Paris is only a train ride away (even though I have yet to go)
StaceyLa: Parisienne 