Sorry, for those who read, that I haven't been around in a while. Immediately after returning (and by immediately, I mean less than 24 hours after hopping off the plane) to the South, I had soccer matches to referee. Then, afterward, a week-long tournament to keep me busy. And I'm glad for it, because having that instantaneous activity to occupy me probably helped quite a bit. I got to see friends I hadn't laid eyes on in a year while running my butt off chasing after a soccer ball. Loads of fun.
However, now that's over and I'm faced with an expanse of "summer vacation" laid out before me. Hopefully something that will help keep me somewhat entertained, and not depressed and listless with the sadness of feeling torn from this past year I've loved so much, is recounting all I've glossed over the past year! Namely, my vacations. I feel like I've been quite faithful with my blogging but not so much that I've missed out on the pleasures of life in Montpellier, so now comes the time to catch up. I can chat to you about Christmas markets, Bavarian food, crawling on the Great Pyramids at Giza, and the hilarious commentaries of Moroccan men, to give a few tidbits...
But I'll leave starting that to the next post. At the moment, I'll start a list. Perhaps one of many. I'm not sure. Let's start with the shortest one, things I've missed about the States, even if only marginally so.
Cheap/free laundry! Those who have followed from the beginning know that I almost religiously did my laundry by hand, for nearly ten months, because a single wash at the cheap student laundromat, besides having huge waits, cost the equivalent of 3.50 (give or take). Ouch. Also, yes, I know. I'm a cheapo.
Microwaves! Throw ovens into this list as well, because contrary to student residences in the U.S., French studios are equipped with stovetops, not microwaves. Clearly they are less afraid of their university students burning their buildings to the ground than American schools are. Granted, I loved having two burners (two?! oh no, but that's such a fire hazard!) in my dorm and lived happily with the myriad of things I could cook, but there were times that I really really wanted a quick munchie late at night and could neither run to the store for it nor pop it in the microwave. I was forced to cook, which in retrospect would probably help a lot of Americans manage their diets? This could be solved if living in France for an extended period of time, in which case I'd probably just buy one.
Having a gym! French universities are just that - universities. They are there to educate, not to disguise themselves as trendy, all-inclusive student resorts. Hence, no student "recreation center" or gym. Yes, they do exist, but me not being willing to buy a membership (which can cost), I had to get creative in my workouts. I will say, though, it was fun looking around and seeing what I could do to build up strength without all the fancy machinery. That being said, I'll surely be enjoying my last year of "free" gym membership while at the University of Alabama.
Soccer fields with grass. A bizarre thing to miss, and you get used to not having them around, but don't go to a city in France and expect to find yourself a nice green pitch within 15 kilometers. What you'll find instead is either dirt or asphalt; soon enough, you'll get used to it, and forget what it's like to have people sliding at you trying to snap your ankle in half with the underside of their cleats. :)
TV! Yes, I did miss having a television to watch, guilty as charged. No matter how busy you keep yourself (and believe me, I did!), there are going to be times when you want to just sit down and turn off your brain for a while in front of the tube. Eventually I adapted to the quiet, and I refrained from complaining about it for the most part, but the internet connection in my dorm was generally fairly terrible. Youtube or any video was typically out of the question except for those times when most people are out enjoying the day. I heard that 3 am speeds were pretty good, though...
So, that was about it, really. Maybe you can tell from the writing, but none of these things really detracted from my stay in France. I didn't miss my car, as me and my bike were two peas in a pod, American food and restaurants were a long-distant memory, and I didn't really care if nobody around me spoke English or sucked up excessively to me in the name of customer service. I still can't bring myself to calculate sales tax or tip in anything to buy (it's been two weeks now; this could become a problem), I want to hear French when I listen in on others' conversations, and I'm constantly reminded about how darn far apart everything is around here.
But hey, I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually...though I'm not sure how long it will take my poor little heart to stop bleeding every time I walk through the bread department in Wal-Mart. Saaadddd...until next time!
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