J'suis Ouf!

I wasn’t going to write a blog tonight, but I thought that I’d go ahead and say something small since the last post was a bit loaded with upcoming events and because I never explained what happened with Rachel!

We’ll start with Rachel. After having called the French Embassy in the United States, she received another email from Madame MEAN. The email was very political and the mean lady attempted to reword the mean things that she had said. This time instead of insisting that Rachel accept the mean lady’s conditions she just encouraged Rachel to consider the difficulties she might face should she chose to live two hours away. In other words the nice lady at the Embassy contacted someone who gave the mean lady in St. Etienne a spanking! PRAISE JESUS!

As far as meeting with the random guy to see if he would be a good roommate, nothing happened. He couldn’t meet for some reason, so instead of rescheduling, he just ran away. Oh well! At least it wasn’t me having to run away this time!

As far as having dinner with Lauriane and her friend, IT WAS AWESOME! We started with a drink at a café near Montparnasse and then ate dinner at the greatest Crêperie in the world! No lies, this place rocked! It was Laruiane’s suggestion, so I am now and forever open to her advice on restaurants in France! She’s also the one that recommended the ice-cream shop in Lyon that has the greatest Ice-cream in the world! Needless to say, I plan on being friends with her!

Now for the story that made me write this post tonight. As I’m having dinner with Lauriane and her friend Charolotte, I am asked to share with them some of the stereotypes that Americans have concerning French people. I just shouldn’t have! Next time someone asks me this question, I plea the 5th! I of course had to mention that Americans don’t think that French women shave their armpits. This probably wasn’t the nicest thing to tell two French girls, but they weren’t offended and in all actuality, I just wanted to make sure that the stereotype is not true. They laughed and explained that Germany is where the women don’t shave and that all French women DO INDEED shave their armpits! PLEASE UNDERSTAND! FRENCH WOMEN SHAVE THEIR ARMPITS! IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED SO STOP ASKING ME THIS QUESTION! It wasn’t this stereotype that got me in trouble, but the next one that I felt the urge to mention. I told them that Americans think that French people stink. Now, it wasn’t the stereotype itself that killed me, but the explanation that I shared shortly thereafter. I told them, and I quote, “Oh it’s probably because Americans take showers once or even twice a day whereas the French usually only take showers every third day.” PLEASE TRY TO ENVISION THIS IN YOUR HEAD! These girls had eyes the size of half dollars! They could not believe, not only what I was saying, but that I actually thought it was true. After letting the shock pass, they began to laugh uncontrollably while simultaneously explaining to me that French people bathe every day. The idea of bathing once in three days was appalling to these two very clean ladies sitting in front of me. Charlotte even cared to mention that she bathes at night and Lauriane in the morning. I then apologized deeply and told them that it was something that I had learned in highschool. I’m sorry Mme. Frederiksen if you are reading this; I did tell them that I learned this in your class. I must have seriously misunderstood what you were telling us on that day! Oh là là!

Things are still going very well! I’m meeting Magali today to get things settled with the bank and then I’m off to get a cell phone! YAY! Laisser les bons temps rouler!