things i have learned thus far

things I have discovered that are different in France:

after I turn on my tv, the picture doesn’t appear until I change the channel…this might just be my tv.

the pillows are square…and so are the pillowcases, with a little border that flops around on the edge.

they actually have electric coffee makers that make espresso in regular coffeepot size containers. there is one in the teacher’s dining room at the school canteen. it is amazingly big considering that there is espresso in it. everyone has one of these coffees after lunch.

their tv commercials are preceded by a screen that says “commercials”

their cell phones (the one I have) has a radio function. the earpiece acts as the antennae. you can set the alarm to wake you up with the radio. very cool.

people greet one another constantly. when a new person comes to sit down at the lunch table, where a group of people are already eating, this person often says, “bon appetit a tout le monde!” (bon appetit to all!) and everyone says, “merci!”

at uncontrolled intersections the right of way is always to the right. unless you are at a roundabout, when the right of way is at the left…

lunch at the school canteen always comes with dessert (yogurt is considered dessert) and fried cheese is actually an entrée. today lunch was mashed potatoes, fried cheese, devilled eggs, and cooked carrots and peas. yummy but I might have a heart attack.

Things I have acquired since I got here:
a loaner bike – the handlebars are crooked, the tires are flat
a mailbox in my school’s teacher’s lounge
a new name: Rebecca (the French don’t know from Becky. Rebecca is just way easier for them to understand)