La vie quotidienne

It has occurred to me that the things that have become trivial to me may still be interesting to people back home, so it's high time I started writing about them. I did a similar post in Korea only toward the end, so maybe if I start early I can really be more thorough and informative.
First thing that I'll talk about is food. Now, obviously French food is supposedly very delicious and healthy etc., but I find the kinds of foods that match that stereotype are only found in expensive restaurants. I've come with a mission of living as cheaply as possible, in order to save money for travel and hopefully even have some left when I go home. This means rather than eating out, I try to make most of my meals myself, but that in itself can be an interesting experience.


That of course isn't to say that I never eat out, just not very often. Most of the times that I do buy food, it's a snack. Which of course brings me to crêpes. The crepes here are not quite what you get at the state fair or such back home. There are two kinds: sucré, or sweet, and salé, savoury. I've only tried the sweet, but I've had a few different very tasty varieties. My favourites so far are lemon sugar and maple syrup, both way tastier than you'd think.


Then of course there's the grocery shopping I have to do in order to eat, which is an adventure in and of itself. The large grocery store that I usually go to is called Monoprix, and there are a few locations a couple tram stops from my dorm. This is where I go when I need a lot or need things besides food, as it's also a sort of department store. It is absolutely insane. It's not open on sundays, closes by 8:30 at night, and no matter when I go I always seem to wait at least 20 minutes in line to check out. I like the nice selection, and I usually get things like eggs, milk, cheese, and juice. I try to get a variety so I'm not eating the same thing every day, but it's not always easy. I usually stop at various bakeries to get a baguette, which are very cheap but really don't last more than a day. This usually means I eat some in the afternoon with cheese or nutella, have a few slices with dinner, and turn any leftovers into french toast or eat it with jam for breakfast. Besides that I'll stop at some of the smaller markets if I just need a few things or for the fresher fruit and veggies.

I'll be posting more entries like this, so keep an eye out for ma "vie quotidienne"!