[Paris] Talking in public

I have a small physical defect which occasionally requires treatment. When my usual home treatment doesn’t work, I am forced to get a perscription in the states. This happened earlier this week. At home, I give my doctor a call, she calls in my perscription, and I pick it up – very simple. Since this is a civilized country with a medical system (unlike the US), I hoped I could get the treatment over the counter. I asked Juliette to take me to a pharmacy and act as my translator. The pharmasist was sorry but, I did in fact need a doctor’s perscription for my usual treatment. However, because this is a civilized country where the pharmacutical industry is not running the government, there is an herbal remedy they recommend I try before seeing a doctor. Well, it worked, and I am cured.

J&G just bought their apartment earlier this year. Since I am pondering the idea myself, and I already know how it works in the US but not in France, I asked Juliette about it. Get this, kids: in France you do not put any money down. You spend 5 percent on the realtor and a whopping 10 percent on the title change – this is the money you have to produce up front. The bank loan is for the total purchase price of the apartment. If you change your mind after you make an offer (for example because the unit has structual problems and its value is far less than what you offered), well, you lose the 15 percent. You can imagine that this can be quite a lot of money to lose!

A young man started talking to me on the street this afternoon. He seemed harmless enough, so I did not ignore him. First, he asked (in Spanish) if I was Spanish. I thought I looked French, darn it! Then, adding insult to injury (kidding), he asked if I was Austrialian! Actually, I think he misread my accent.

Here’s another cultural observation: most French people don’t understand the way we use the words “offer” and “invite”. They use them often when speaking English, but they use “offer” to mean “give” as in a gift and “invite” assumes the subject’s treat. On the other hand, there are lots of French words that I may know the definition of but not completely comprehend the use of, the most basic I can think of right now is “excusez-moi” which is a much more serious thing to say than the English “excuse me” as far as I can tell.

To complete the story of the earlier paragraph, I decided not to let the young man buy me a beer/coffee today or at some undefined future date. I just didn’t think we had a future together considering that he could not guess my nationality. :-)

I don’t want to mention it too soon and jinx it, but I can read the signs on the Metro now and easedrop on basic conversations. The world is nice and quiet when you don’t understand what anyone is saying. I think I have clung to it for longer than necessary. Now I hear all the pointless things that everyone is saying, and I sort of wish they would be quiet. Do you think it is possible to get everyone to agree not to talk in public?

That was going to be my transition to more description of the weekend in Switzerland, but I’m afraid, once again, it will have to wait for another day. I have "promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep"....