Boys who wear headbands, aging, celebrations for new tramlines, and... public restrooms (for dogs)
Grenoble is a very special town. It is not too large and it is not too small... Parfait! Each day is a new surprise as I discover more things to ponder. Headbands are nice accessories... if you are a girl. In France, it seems to be acceptable for the men to wear them. Although this should not come as a surprise since French men are notorious for their sense of fashion (I mean this in the nicest way-honest!). Today, I was sitting on a tram and I noticed a guy wearing, not just a headband used to hold his hair back for sports, but this guy was wearing the sort of headband that was cool about 8-12 years ago that was just a circle of thin zig-zags. hmm....
Second thought of the hour... Grenoble has a lot of old people...or is it just France in general that has a lot... I don't know, but the last Sunday that I was here, I had the worst reality check of my life- wrinkles do exist! In the US we are sheltered from this epidemic as plastic surgery has become a social norm... I will be the first to admit that I do plan on investing in this trend. I have never seen soo many old people in one place...Yes, I am saying this and I know how odd this must sound, but I was really freaked out by this. It is no wonder that Grenoble has one of the only research plants in the world that is working to find a cure for aging (without plastic surgery!) Inconceivable! At anyrate, the senior citizens in France have priority... which they should. I was at the supermarket the other day, and of course the lines were crazy, so I waited in my usual line...the handicap line (which means if a handicap person comes along and wants to check out there, they can cut you)...normally, I have great luck here and no one comes ahead of me. This particular day, the friendly lady behind me noticed the older couple who were "oh la la-ing" about the long lines, so she invited them to cut in front of me because they have priority as she pointed to the wheelchair sign above my head. Ok this was fine, but then another older gentleman discovered this and came behind the couple. Beside this long line, was a younger man in a wheelchair... This was probably the longest amount of time spent in line to check out five items at the supermarket... I was just a little frustrated. Another nice thing that I have noticed is that even the "thuggiest" of boys give up their seats to the senior citizens on the trams and buses...it is soo nice to see this.
Random tidbit about my town: We have (excuse me had) three trams that traveled around the city until last weekend. Unfortunately, i was out of town for this exciting addition to the city, but there have been posters and signs and fliers, and anything else possible to publicize the new D line! oooo! Not only that, but Grenoble had a party, complete with aperatifs at each stop that this new D tram goes to. . . I haven't really figured out what is so exciting about this tram-it only has four stops. I would be happier if it wasn't a 5+ walk from my residence hall, but I still find the bus more convenient.
The last tidbit about my town... dogs are soo popular here that they even have their own public restrooms... special parks on the streets that are fenced off so the dogs can go to the bathroom. This is supposed to be an attempt to eliminate the surprises in the streets... which often lead to me playing hopscotch in order to avoid such unpleasant messes.
So, pretty much my town is AMAZING!
No comments:
Post a Comment