13 Mar 2009

what makes a wall?

I ran off to Annecy this week having finally done something about having a couple of days off. It was a good move as my relationship with Bourg is becoming stale and I was in danger of thinking that all of France is like this one little town. I had to get out of the valley because after a while mountains start turning themselves from picturesque scenery into walls, too high and too wide to get around. 

Things that irritate the hell out of me when it comes to French culture (these are just things that clash with my personality). 
~Food is only worth eating if that dish has a name.
~There are certain times of day for certain types of coffee or drink
~If I do something slightly odd it must be something English
~Because I cannot speak the language properly this means it's safe to assume I have no knowledge of anything.
~There is an expected way to behave for every situation. 
~The only food/wine available is the food/wine of that region. 

Things that I wish I could bag up and take back to England with me. 
~When you walk past someone, you say hello, it's rather impolite to ignore people in your presence. 
~The coffee really is so much better here. 
~You are not expected to disclose personal information, ever. 
~My apartment.

Everyday I wish I were either in London or Aix en Provence. They are both less than two months away. I arrive back in London at the end of April and head to Aix for the 9th May. They cannot come soon enough. 

2 comments:

Frances Grahl said...

oooh, I'll come and see you in aix- what are you doing there?

I miss curry most. There's loads of indian restaurants in France but they're all rubbish...

But at least the regional food/wine is usually good! although I guess you can eat too much raclette...
xx

sunglasses and scores said...

I'll be in Aix for about a month, 3 weeks in a language school and then 1 week for bumming around and drinking too much wine.