Thoughts on France (and Europe) So Far...

-At French McDonald's, they really do call a Quarter-Pounder with Cheese a Royal Cheese.

-There are not a lot of places to recycle around here, at least that I've seen.

-There are a lot of roundabouts on the roads.

-Things cost pretty much the same in Euros as they would in dollars. Unfortunately for me and my American bank account, the Euro is worth about 1.4 dollars right now.

-French people really do love wine and cheese.

-Public toilets are really hard to find, and when you do, you often have to pay to use them.

-Nobody checks your ticket when you ride the metro, and there's no turnstiles or anything preventing you from just getting on. You just pay for a ticket, stick it in this little machine that prints the time and date on it, and then keep it in your pocket until you arrive at your destination, at which point you throw it away.

-In restaurants, there is no such thing as fountain drinks or free refills. If you order a Coke, you will get a bottle of Coke and a glass to pour it in.

-You will never have to pay more for anything than its price. Tax (if there is any, which I'm not sure about) is included in prices, and tipping servers is not required (that is also worked into the price).

-French people who say, "I'm not very good at English" don't mean the same thing as American people who say that they are not very good at another language. French people mean, "I won't be able to have an entirely fluent conversation with you with a perfect accent, I will merely be able to communicate adequately." American people mean, "I only know how to say about five words in your language, and I won't be able to understand anything you say back to me."

-Everyone here seems to love Muse and Placebo.

-The "toilet" and the "bathroom" are two different places.

-When people park their cars on the street, they actually park them mostly on the sidewalk.

-I feel more American (in both good and bad ways) here than I have ever felt before in my entire life.