it's a universal system

So we're getting into the swing of things around here...slowly but surely (lentement mais surement). Matt and I have a ton to learn about the culture, language, and each other. yikes! Since our schedules line up almost exactly (with the exception of Thursday when I have ZERO classes and Matt has a 9am lab - yea he's bitter) but on our walks all the other days we have a lot of time to talk and ponder and ask questions. It's been a really interesting experience living with Matt in particular...because we could not be more opposite people (I mean if he was like in the mafia or something it'd be even more extreme, but in the realm of possibility - we could not be more different). Matt is very plan-oriented and seems more black and white where I'm more of the "whatever" person and love to live in the gray. We laugh all the time about how different our communication and learning styles are. it's been a challenge learning to live with a guy who isn't my brother and where there's no romantic interest (some of you may have been wondering) and it's tough because we're "on the same team" so to speak and yet we're not on the same page half the time! God has a sense of humor...and He's teaching me to be less in control and more willing to compromise communication strategies. Blah.

Mind you, that lesson I'm learning is with the other American that I already knew, you can only imagine what the lessons God is teaching me through french people are like!

Ok, so here are a few universal human traits I've come up with in the past couple days as I've been pondering this subject:

1) It is absolutely impossible to brush your teeth and spit only in the sink. All people, all over the world spit on the counter, the faucet and there is toothpaste all over. It's universal.

2) The world falls apart when mom's not home. Let's just say Mama Vero was gone last night and somehow: manon and charles got in a fight and manon locked charles in his room and he proceeded to pound and throw the contents of his room against the door; the entire kitchen looked like all the food was outside of the cabinets and fridge when i came down this morning; and we somehow managed to get it all picked up before Mama Vero got home :)

3) Gossip Girl. This one is embarrassing but I'm gonna write it anyway. Matt and I found out Manon knows the show Gossip Girl (dumb teen show based in NY about a bunch of rich HS kids who are acting like pathetic adults) so we've kind of sort of starting watching an episode before bed, let's just say it's a great bonding experience and Manon can practice her english!

4) Iphone. Everyone has one - they're taking over the world.

5) Laughing. This one is my favorite because I LOVE to laugh. Since I've been here I've laughed with people from America, China, Japan, France, Russia, UK, Italy, Spain, Korea and probably a few I forgot. And most of our communication has been in broken french which is hard and fun and totally amusing! It just continues to remind me of our need for relationships in this world and how rich other cultures are. There are something things we can totally learn from other cultures and some things God gave us all. Love it!

6) It is impossible for guys to NOT pee on the back of the toilet. Sorry all you guys out there, but it's called AIM! (Can you tell I was in charge of cleaning the bathrooms today? toothpaste, toilet...)



Anyway, there's a little idea of what to expect traveling abroad; don't expect for other countries to have mastered this small list of things, because at least France hasn't.

Stay tuned next week for our travel to London, Vampire Weekend concert (in London), Cov kids reunion etc etc