Reflections, End of First Week

Lessons learned after one full week of trial and error:

1.) The French double-cheek kiss is baffling. I have somehow screwed it up twice already. I could write a whole post on just this and probably will. 

2.) Romantic forays with non-Americans ought to be preceded by intense advance study complete with manuals and a decoder. I am officially bad at dating. (Maybe I was before, too? Ex-boyfriends, feel free to weigh in.)

3.) It’s going to be difficult to keep my young charges alive on the playground. Children are like dogs that still need tons of training. Most of you know that I am no good at training dogs.

4.) It is possible to consume 6 mini-ice cream bars and a half pound of cheese in a week’s time and still lose four pounds. <—This is excellent news.

5.) The best things (sometimes, like once in a lifetime) come in large Ikea bags: I just inherited an entire Catherine Malandrino wardrobe in my exact size from a woman I’ve never met. The fashion gods are smiling upon me.

6.) Relying on freelance for income is terrifying, even if you don’t have to pay rent. I’ve got (other) bills to pay, yo. <—I’m blushing at this, but it harkens back to my love for Jesse Pinkman.

7.) French people are indeed beautiful, as my New York friends insisted. I’m not sure why I had my doubts? 

8.) Demanding a toilet for one’s personal use is not untoward. Everyone ought to have his/her own toilet after they leave college. It should be mandated by the government. Everyone’s governments.

9.) There is probably not a phantom maid cleaning my hallway’s shared toilet, as I’ve been wont to imagine. 

And…

10.) Not as many Parisians speak English as one would think. I need to learn French right now.