The Paris poo problem

Round 2 of my study abroad experience has officially started and I've already been on a roller coaster of emotions. The first thing I had to do when I got here was finish my exposé (it's like a structured oral presentation) and I had to present it the day after I arrived in Paris. Well, I presented it and I'm pretty sure I did well because my professor said it was "excellent" and wanted to have my presentation notes afterwards! So that was a pretty high high for me the day after I got back.

As for the lows, well, needless to say, I miss home a lot already. I miss being warm in my house and I miss Christmas and I miss my family and my boyfriend. And for some reason I've been craving homemade chicken noodle soup... like the kind Mom makes every now and then when I beg her to. Maybe I can get the recipe and attempt it myself. We'll see...

Another high: in this one class I have, which is about comparing French decision making styles to Anglo styles, we talked about poo in Paris! And I'm not ashamed to admit, it was a high for me because it was a pretty interesting topic, ha ha! The actual subject of the hour was comparing how the French see public responsibility to how the Anglophone world sees it. Our class came to the conclusion that the French take more personal liberties than the Anglo world, meaning they're less likely to follow laws or even enforce them. Our example was about walking dogs on the streets, and how Londoners tend to leave no traces of animal waste whereas Parisians don't bother too much at all with picking up the poo. I've actually seen this first hand and honestly, there is quite a bit of poo on the sidewalks. The city does a decent job of cleaning most of it off, but let's just say I keep my eyes on the ground in front of me when walking around outside, especially if I have nice shoes on!

Here's the article example we had in class, and keep in mind it's from 1995, so the figures aren't accurate anymore, but it's still pretty funny:

Article about the Paris poo problem

Plus, I got a paper back in that class that I did well on... another high for my mini-roller coaster!

And another high: I'm going to Dublin this weekend! I promise I'll take lots of pictures... :)

So I've had a low low, but lots of highs to make up for it. I remember talking to a professor at Georgia Tech just before I came to Paris to start the program, and she told me that once you get through Christmas, it's easier from there. I'll probably feel settled in about another week or so, but for now I'm just excited about Ireland!!

Bisous XOXO