What we won't miss

After waxing on in the last two posts about what we’ve enjoyed this past year, I thought I’d follow up with two additional lists today. 

First up: What we won’t miss about France.

1. French beef. I seriously struggled with beef in France. It’s cut differently, it’s not aged as much or the same way as US beef, and it just never seemed to cook up or taste the way I anticipated. I'm sure the problem was all me, but I’m not sorry to be done with it, that’s for sure. I also can’t wait to come home to the land of boneless skinless chicken thighs, a useful item in frequent rotation in my American kitchen but unseen in my French one! 
2. Fishy smells. The French adore seafood and have open mountains of fresh mussels and counters of fresh fish in the back of every grocery store. This is great, but even the largest grocery stores greet shoppers with a fishy odor the moment you walk through the doors.
3. Loud engines. I mentioned in the last post that loud diesel car and motorbike engines were constant and became very familiar. They also became very annoying, especially at 1 a.m.!
4. Monday (and other) closures. A decent proportion of businesses in France are not open on Mondays. We struggled to get used to this, and we frequently found ourselves caught out when we couldn’t buy something, go to the bank, or what have you, on a Monday…after already waiting through the weekend! And that’s not to mention the frequent “fermetures exceptionnelles” (special closings), when we’d arrive somewhere to find a little card in the window saying they were closed for an hour, or a day, or a week!
5. The customer is always wrong. In many ways, the French are on to something in how most people prize leisure time and family time above work, in contrast to America’s workaholic culture that too often puts relationships and wellbeing after jobs. But yikes, the downside was how frequently we felt like we were annoying or inconveniencing folks when trying to make a simple purchase or accomplish a task! Don’t get me wrong, most folks were lovely, but there’s certainly a different set of cultural expectations for customer service. 

And here’s a random top ten list of things we’re excited to return to:

1. Family, church, friends, and colleagues – of course!!
2. Our big backyard, porch, and plenty of outdoor space where the boys can play, hooray!
3. Having the Atlantic back where it belongs, to the east. We never quite got used to the notion that the Atlantic Ocean was west of us…
4. Appliances of convenience like a larger washing machine, a clothes dryer, a dishwasher, and various kitchen appliances. 
5. Extended hours of business so we can procure groceries past 7 p.m. or stop by the bank on a Monday, what luxury! In some ways, once we got used to the limited business hours, it was rather nice; you’re forced to have family time in the evenings and weekends. But I think I prefer convenience…
6. Lancaster life. We’re definitely looking forward to visiting favorite places like Central Market, Fulton Theater, Lapp Valley Farm, Conestoga House, and Long’s Park. 
7. Certain foods. While overall I preferred the available food in France, we’ve been missing certain things like corn on the cob and black beans, neither of which we have had in a year.
8. Shopping carts that work. Every shopping cart I encountered this past year had all four wheels on a swivel. Ridiculous. I mean, if I have to insert a euro for the privilege of using the crazy thing, the least it could do is steer sensibly, right? I never knew I’d one day want to weep with gladness in a WalMart parking lot over the sight of shopping carts with their precious fixed back wheels...
9. The ease of using English. How awesome it will be to competently take care of business and chat with people without sounding like cavemen and/or getting utterly confused!
10. Easy access to meds and basic pharmacy items. Medicines in France, even basics like ibuprofen or eye drops, have to be bought at a proper pharmacy and require interaction with a pharmacist. Pharmacists were always helpful, but of course talking about meds and illnesses is a little tricky in a foreign language. I usually found it intimidating and wished I could just look over options and prices on a shelf and make a choice without a line of people behind me. Plus costs were usually three to five times higher than at home (crazy costly), which was a bummer.