Look and Move Along

Like Germans, Frenchmen have their own quirks regarding clothes, fashion, and the such as well as stores, where things are sold, opening hours, and the such. And it's always fun to make all sorts of observations about their habits.

• I'm sleeping, you're eating: Here in France, dinner/supper time is much, much later than I'm used to, but lunches are, likewise, normally longer. Lunch here in France is often from 12-ish to 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon. Accordingly, many restaurants close by three and don't re-open normally until 7. This is in contrast to most other countries I've visited in recent memory, but a part of it also arises from lunch being a much larger meal here than dinner. In any event, if I want to go out to a non-fast food place to eat, my options are a bit limited unless I wait until late in the evening, the time when I'm normally in using my computer, playing video games, or otherwise. It's not like Spain, though, where dinner usually starts at 9 in the evening... so that's a plus.
• Metal galore: While some Germans, it seemed, had an affinity for piercings galore, the French also do, though it seems like more French men have piercings than German men. The ears and eyebrows seem rather popular. But I don't think I've seen anyone here with particularly wild hairstyles... seems a bit like the French prefer to blend in a bit more.
• Clothing makes the Frenchman: The sense of style here in France (and also in Germany) is quite a bit different from in the US. Trousers/pants, for example, rarely ride low, scarves are very popular accessories, and darker colors seem to be the norm, particularly with jackets. Also, I've very rarely, at least in France, seen any of the rather... daring things many younger women in the US seem to be fond of as of late. While clothing, in general, seems to be a bit slimmer and closer-fitting, it's very rarely revealing.
• Sorry, no smokes here: In Germany, cigarettes were available everywhere- vending machines, convenience stores, grocery stores, and the such. In France, however, that's not the case! You can only purchase cigarettes and tobacco products at a tobacconist (tabac). Tobacconists are very much like newsstands in Germany, as they often sell things such as lottery tickets, post cards, magazines, candies, newspapers, and important things called timbres fiscaux, stamps which are used to pay taxes, fines, fees for French bureaucracy, and the such. But that still doesn't seem to stop people here from smoking (a lot), even though cigarettes are about 50% more expensive than in Germany... (must avoid rant)

So, yeah, that's about it for the "observations of France" part of this post.

In interesting news, I think I may have found a more permanent place to live! It's not open until next week (the 6th), but I'll see if I can sign the rent agreement tomorrow or at some point this week. It's about average price-wise and more expensive (in all) than what I had in Germany, but the fact that it'd be my own place in the city center is all worth it. So, fingers are crossed...

Also, hopefully at the end of the break, I'll be able to get the paperwork for validating my visa going. Due to the schools being closed until the 2nd, I'm unable to check my mail, so I'm hoping that the OFII paperwork's waiting for me. As well as the last paperwork to close out my stay in Germany...

And, with that, have a good weekend.