Finally, my explanation as to why I chose this name for my blog, and one event from today which proves my point. I'm not sure where this illustration originated, but it was, in part, my inspiration.
I managed to navigate the RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens) bus system this morning and get to class nearly on time, but I took the metro and an RER train on my way back, just to see which way was faster. Turns out it will take me almost an hour to get to class either way. Crumbs. But I will get my exercise, because the Parisian public transport system is not a light endeavour or particularly accessible. It's filled with stairs, long hallways, and occasionally a moving walkway to navigate you from metro to train to metro and to a million different street exits. Both escalators & elevators (for the disabled) are about as common as a 24hr store in France - in other words, there aren't many.
But there is a short escalator to the street at the my metro stop (Convention) which I was patiently standing on this morning. Two steps in front of me was a middle-aged Parisian woman with a scary furry black hat and an absolutely adorable purse. Just as I was about to tell her that I loved her purse, she swung said purse up over her shoulder and smack into my face. Did she notice? Did she care? No. I kept my compliment to myself and glared at her ugly purse. I have not yet learned to curse in French.
The moral of this story is that I am (French) toast, in this densely packed and historically layered city. My blog is thus titled to acknowledge the language mishaps I'm sure I will make, as well as all of the mistakes that come from adapting to a different culture and pattern of living. I will sometimes take the wrong bus, I will miss my stop because I can't understand what the driver is saying, I will order the wrong food at the brasserie, and I will try to see all these bits of Parisian culture I can. Even if sometimes, I am simply toast.
I know enough of the language to order a café, but not enough to tell off an obnoxious woman. Maybe in this case, that's for the best.
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