I have so much to write about it's insane. This post will be super long: just fyi to anyone who doesn't have a lot of time to read.
First: This morning I had a mini-panic attack. I know that you'll be worried and stuff mom but honestly I think it was because I was so lonely and so confused about where to eat and all of that nonsense. I firmly believe that I am an independent person, but being alone in a country is entirely different than being alone at home or something like that. I just felt like I had no one to talk to that was close to me and the only person I had said any words to (in person) was the receptionist at the hotel. I had also fallen into a habit of sleeping all day and not eating. I would eat breakfast (a very very small breakfast) and then sleep until dinner when I would walk to the market to get a sandwich. That is not a healthy or satisfying way to go about things but honestly I just didn't feel good. Today when I woke up I knew something was wrong so I ate breakfast...everything was way too heavy/sweet so I felt nauseated (this was all exacerbated by the fact that I drank an entire bottle of wine last night) and that always freaks me out. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't and I started freaking myself out and I worked myself into a frenzy. I know that all this is boring, but this has been my day so far. So finally around 11 AM (France time) I decided that all I needed to do was eat and I walked to McDonald's. I know that I will be scoffed at for eating McDonald's in France but when I'm in the midst of a panic attack I want something familiar, fast, and something that doesn't require much communication. At McDonald's I had 1 chicken nugget and about 3 french fries before I felt so sick I couldn't eat anymore. However, by the time I had returned to the hotel I felt much better. I think I was just lightheaded from not eating and that's what brought on the attack. ANYWAY. My mind ended up being SUPER distracted by the idea of having to navigate to the home of Mme Dugan. I got on the RER headed to Paris, got off at Magenta, navigated to the orange line (or line 5) headed towards Place d'italie, got off at Gare de l'est, and finally after 5 minutes of trying to hail taxis and realizing that there was a line for them I was on my way. When I arrived I immediately thought "wow, this is a lot like Bardstown Road in Louisville". The street is full of eclectic shops and bars and things of that nature. Anyway, after a bit more trouble of actually locating the apartment where I was supposed to be I came upstairs with Mme Dugan and she showed me around. When we were talking I presented her with my presents and she chuckled and proceeded to show me about 8 other picture books she has from Tennessee, but when I gave her the whiskey she kissed me on both cheeks and jumped around in the air. She said that in France you can't find actual Tennessee whiskey. She said that a lot of whiskeys say that they are from Tennessee, but actually they're made in various places around France. I was very surprised at her reaction to the whiskey. Oh! Another funny thing about that. Her son is younger than my brother (he was born in '93) and she said "Oh Damien is going to go crazy over this whiskey, he loves it." SO WEIRD. I mean, whose kids know and love alcohol at that age? I mean, I think it's awesome, but still. Weird.
Second: When Mme Dugan was showing me her Tennessee books someone had brought her a recipe book with a bunch of southern things in it. I was flipping through and came upon "Oven-fried green tomatoes" and stopped and told her how good they are. She said that she was unsure of a few things. She didn't know what an egg white was, I think she thought it was with the shell. Also, she didn't know what bread crumbs were. WHAT?! I was so confused. I believe that bread crumbs are a staple of southern cooking, and the fact that she didn't even know what they were was astounding. So I tried to explain it to her...I said it's like if you have a loaf of bread and you crumple it into tiny pieces and coat meat, or in this case tomatoes, with it. She was still confused so I told her I'd help her if she was interested in making dinner with me. I bet she would be shocked at the things I would churn out.
Third: I lied about the tennis shoes thing. I didn't think I was lying, but I was. I guess I was just in a part of France where a lot of people wear tennis shoes because here there is literally no one. Everyone is wearing sandals. I mean, everyone. Even dudes. And they wear super girly sandals, which I chuckle at every time I see. I think I stick out here, but honestly I'm okay with it. I can try all I want to fit in and not be "that American" but honestly I realize now that it doesn't matter. A lot of people here speak english and french so even if I can't communicate fully with them, I can at least get my point across. The point here is to learn, not to know exactly what I'm getting into before I get into it. I'm proud to say that I can now fully navigate the French train system, I can get a taxi (I'm telling you it's way different than getting a cab in America), I can pay in Euros, I can order at McDonald's in French (IF any of you have ever seen Pulp Fiction, John Travolta wasn't lying. They actually call one of their hamburgers here a Royale Cheese), and I can carry on a conversation in French with my hostess.
If you are wondering whether or not you should travel in Europe alone, I would not recommend it. I know that a lot people backpack around places and things like that but if you're actually living in a city and having to figure things out all on your own it's really frustrating, scary, and lonely. I think that's probably why I had the panic attack this morning. There's no lonely like the lonely of being stuck in a country where your native language isn't being spoken.
My roommate has arrived!!! Let's get this party started!
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