What I miss most about America after spending a semester abroad

It is really crazy to think I’ve been living in Paris for almost two months now. On September 5th, I arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed (OK, or maybe not so much since I had just been on an 11 hour flight).

Quite a few things have changed from that day until now: I know how to navigate the bus and metro system, I changed my keyboard to international so it doesn’t take me years to write my papers with all the French accents, croissants for breakfast are becoming the usual, and people stop me on the street to ask for directions (granted, I rarely actually know where to tell them to go but the point is they think I know what I’m doing).

However, despite my newfound inner Française, there are still a few things I miss about America. Eggs a la Française aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

Having an actual campus

The whole notion of a university “campus” is something we take entirely for granted in America.

Hanging out in the Quad or on College Green after class, having all of your school friends at a few minute’s walk away, waking up 10 minutes before class because the building is right across the street from your house or dorm…

These things are just not the case in Europe (or much of the rest of the world, for that matter).

Stores open 24/7

One of the funniest (most ironic maybe) things about France is that almost everything is closed on Sundays, including a lot of pharmacies, but the boulangeries are still open. Because who cares if you get sick right – a pain au chocolat will make it all better anyway.

No matter how much of a bad rep American capitalism gets, the truth is that having stores like WaWa, CVS, Target—or as the fake French say, Targét—open so late at night is not commonplace in much of the world. Remember this the next time you go out to get gummy worms and can of soda at 2am on a Tuesday.

Ice

Not that I don’t love warm soda when it’s 95 degrees outside, but I do miss how readily available ice is in the States. It’s the small things in life, people. Rumor has it that Rumor has a secret room filled with ice, surrounded by vodka. It’s a revolution.

LTE

Although having your phone connected to the Internet 24/7 is probably a mixed blessing, being able to look up where you’re going if (when) you get lost and see who liked your latest status update (because we all know how crucial that is) while bored on the train can be nice.

Also, how else would you know what a sunset looks like or the multiple facets of a vanilla frappuccino if you can’t go on Instagram?

Customer service

The whole notion of “customer service” which we take for granted doesn’t exist in much of the world…there’s no direct translation of this word into French. If you talked to a French person about this concept, they’d probably look at you like you’re crazy (not that I’ve tried).

In the States “the customer is always right.” If the store doesn’t stock an item you’re looking for, the cashier will still be helpful and may order the item and tell you to come back another day or let you know where else you can find it.

If you aren’t quite sure what you’re looking for in a clothing store, the assistant will help you find something that fits well and that you’re happy with. They’ll spend time with you without being (or at the very least without showing) super annoyed by you.

Diners

Jukeboxes, burgers, and old fashioned thick milkshakes…American diners have so much charm and are a great place to hang out with friends.

Are you on the set of Grease? Are you on the side of the highway eating a grilled cheese at 4 am? No one will ever know. Petition to start a diner on campus, say I.