How is Paris?

That's the question people keep asking me.   Maybe I'm a bit jaded, but living in Paris isn't terribly different than anywhere else I've lived.  There are a lot of subtle differences.  There are pluses and minuses, but nothing that makes miles better than anywhere else, nor worse.

There are some pros.  Paris itself is very pretty.  They put a lot of work into keeping it clean (despite the fact that a lot of people think it's acceptable to pee in the street when they're drunk and it's late).  They have these tiny little street sweepers that get into tiny passages and on the sidewalks.  They come by about once a week.

The view outside our window.

It's also nice living with Catherine.  We did long distance for almost three years.  It was nice getting to have our own friends, but it made it hard to save money ($420 in transportation every 8-12 weeks for 16 months total), put a lot of miles on my car (about 20000 in the year she was at Rice and another 5000 or so in the years after that), and used up most of my vacation time (my last vacation longer than 4 days was November 2009).

On the plus side though, I don't have to drive in traffic here.  I can take the Metro wherever I want in Paris and train to anywhere in France and nearby surrounding countries.  We're going to Brussels this weekend via train for $50pp each way.

 Seven years ago, Jeremy Grace told me to do this.  I've never consciously tried to do it, but I apparently have.  And now I'm in Paris.

Communication has been a mixed bag.  People are willing to try to communicate with me through hand motions, air drawings, etc.  They're always more patient than I am; I usually give up before looking up the words I need.  However, there's one thing that I just don't get: when I say, "Je ne parle pas le Français" ("I don't speak French") I am often met with more French spoken more rapidly.  Maybe they think if they keep talking, I'll suddenly reveal hidden French skills. They seem to keep their English skills hidden: when I ask a French preson, "Parlez-vous anglais?" ("Do you speak English?"), they will often say no but can magically later produce perfect sentences in English when they see how bad my French is.  Michael Watson told me that it's usually much better to ask, "Comprenez-vous anglais?" ("Do you understand English?") because they're much more likely to reveal how much they know and how much they can produce.

Cotton candy is understood to mean "happiness" in any culture.

Other forms of communication are great: my cell phone service is 20€ per month ($25-$27) and includes free unlimited calls to the US. Fiber internet is included in the rent.

Of course, if you know me, you know I have a bird.  She's here too, so I'm happy about that.  She's a bit cool to Catherine (cue Catherine describing it as hatred) since Elissa is so bonded to me, but she's getting better.

Elissa maintaining maximum distance from Catherine.

I suppose that's all for now.  At least I have another person here to take photos of me.  When I got back from Italy in December 2006, my dad said to me, "We're not really sure you were actually in Italy -- in your thousands of photos, there are none of you!"  Here's proof I'm here:

Me in front of the Élysée Palace.