My Life Isn't Exciting Enough to Update More Often
And thus begins a series that Lindsey has inspired me to write, entitled The Best and Worst of France. We're going about this subject in slightly different manners, and I've chosen to pick an aspect of France and explain (i.e. rail on) the best and the worst of it. Pay no attention to their respective lengths, please.
Best and Worst #1: Things on the sidewalks
The worst:
France (well, Paris at least) has professional pooper-scoopers. This isn’t a worst. This is a best. Or rather, it would be a best if they actually did their jobs (they must take frequent strikes, just like the TGV people). Instead, you always have to watching where you’re walking to avoid walking smack into the piles of nastiness all over the sidewalks. I think I’ve figured out why no one in France acknowledges each other: no smiles to strangers, no nods hello. They’re too busy watching the sidewalk, making sure they don’t set their designer boots and flats into such loveliness. I was walking home from the park the other day, and my mind was wandering, trying to plan how to avoid contact with French for the rest of the day, when I stepped right in one. Even more frustrating was the fact that I knew that particular pile was there because I had passed it on my way to school every day for several days. But, being a dog owner, I just sighed and looked around for some grass to try to clean my shoe up with so Mme would let me come back into the house. And that’s when I realized: no grass. Right.
And if that wasn’t unappetizing enough (by the way, I really hope you aren’t eating right now, I should have put a warning at the heading of this post), it rains a lot here. So you have these piles of nastiness on the street for several days. They dry, then it rains and they spread, and they dry, and then it rains and they spread, and then they dry, and then it rains and rains and rains. What’s more disgusting than poo all over the sidewalk? Twice-reconstituted moldy puddles of poo all over the sidewalk.
The best:
Snails. You have to watch out not to squish them too, but they’re cute and much more pleasant to encounter. Unless you step on them and crack their shells (Lindsey).
I forgot to bring a picture of the cute little critter outside my house today. Coming tomorrow.