DEAR READERS,
Sorry about the LOOOONG break from my blog. Okay, two reasons. I have had many freeking vistors for the month of October and November, and plus I was 'losing' my audience...meaning I write and write to explain more than I should have to to 'stay in touch' persay. ANYHOOOO...WOW soooo much to write about where should I start???
It seems before my visitors 'kept me in check', I was dangerously close to 'turning french'. MEANING in simple english I was too serious.
AH...'serious'...all relative. I have adapted to life here in good ol' france by being a micro manager to the 10th degree. My OCD is fully cured, or maybe just fully functioning with many outlets due to it's usage for a freakish level of 'self management' which is practically unrelateable. Les francais translate someone 'smart' as someone who is 'clever'. Being 'clever' is actually pretty offensive if you consider that clever means being quick on your feet and responsive, not actual 'intelligence'...ANYWAYS, being clever is valued in la cusine because you have to 'not think' and just learn through muscle memory and quick reaction and response under stress and pressure.
The whole basis of the education I am recieving is a derivative of some sort of accelerated apprenticeship...old school style.
It seems before my visitors 'kept me in check', I was dangerously close to 'turning french'. MEANING in simple english I was too serious.
AH...'serious'...all relative. I have adapted to life here in good ol' france by being a micro manager to the 10th degree. My OCD is fully cured, or maybe just fully functioning with many outlets due to it's usage for a freakish level of 'self management' which is practically unrelateable. Les francais translate someone 'smart' as someone who is 'clever'. Being 'clever' is actually pretty offensive if you consider that clever means being quick on your feet and responsive, not actual 'intelligence'...ANYWAYS, being clever is valued in la cusine because you have to 'not think' and just learn through muscle memory and quick reaction and response under stress and pressure.
The whole basis of the education I am recieving is a derivative of some sort of accelerated apprenticeship...old school style.
consider this, the french motto: "liberte, egalite, fraternite." in an old world socialist country, these three words in a combination mean something totally different then the equivalent phrase in American english. liberty from monarchy, equality via socialism and 'fraternity'. Fraternity... meaning 'brotherhood'. I am guessing the still strong unions and the mentality there of have a lot to do with a tradition and history of guilds by craftsmen. It is not equality through "equal rights' and freedom from 'old world' social caste systems which would be the basis for "equal rights" and "freedom" in the american mottos.
In america, the entrepreneural spirit is what greases the motion of the people. People are ambitious for the future, think and plan ahead. Mentally creative and satisfying but physically totally 'out of sorts'. Successful Americans can gauge and metally push and go into overdrive, and are experts in procrastination and binging to 'get things' done. Example? Sleep deprevation then binge sleeping on weekends. All real physical discomforts have been virtually taken of by cheap modern methods...
Like Einstein says, time is truely relative...my perception of time here has totally changed. In America, time is like a little slot, you can sense it. it is the most dependable abstract concept, totally solid in its presence. it is compartmentalizable, almost tangible. one BLOCK of time, one hour...etc. You can gauge it, measure it and even exploit it measure increments of mental output, like a metranome and a piano. THEN also strange is that you have time for 'hobbies'...to experiment with yourself, make time to get to know you...which makes it a 3rd pt perspective research on yourself. When time is solid, personal comforts are not an issue, there is a lot of time for entertainment and hobbies. FOOD is a hobby, mental and physical health is a hobby...it does not seem like it BUT IT IS!...I see now that Americans are always smiling in Paris, they are the happiest people...I have stopped smiling and laughing since I have been living here but I whatever I have traded for 'being an expert on fun', I have gained by learning to be an expert on 'pleasure' and knowing that great things cannot be rushed, anything good takes time.
