Chez Moi: Things I missed about America/Things I will miss about France

Bonjour mes amis! I am now chez moi, after my flight yesterday.  It went pretty smoothly, a few bumps in the road, but pas mal.  My host mom bought me two baguettes in the morning to take home.  They were the first baguettes sold that day!  I wasn't sure if I would be able to carry the baguettes through customs, so I decided to but them in one of my bags.  They got a little mangled.....

Greg's caption for this photo: Welcome to America, now speak English.

Ah well, they tasted good!  After stopping by Duckloe Bros to say hi to Daddy and Aunt  Barbara, I finally arrived home! I got to pick where we went for dinner, and I decided to opt for the good old American Diner!  I remember when we took our French Exchange students to one a few years ago, they said, "oh zis is just like in ze films!". 

 Pizza Burger and Onion Rings. Om nom nom.

Greg got cherry pancakes.

So now for the "things I missed/will miss" lists
First, my America list:
-the clothes dryer
because all my socks are crunchy from air drying.  First world problems, I know.
-5 guys burgers and fries
for obvious reasons

-My Babson professors
the French university professors are there to dispense their knowledge to their students, not to get to know them or connect with them. 
-Driving
I love to drive!
-Peanut Butter and Peanut related candies
My host mom would shudder every time I mentioned peanut butter. 
-Sweatpants
I can wear comfy(or ugly) pants outside of the house! Yay!
-My closet
You must be thinking, "Oh Allison, you were in the fashion capital of the world!  How could you miss your own closet??"  Well, as I didn't want to completely kill my bank account, I couldn't buy everything.  Also I had a limited amount of space to bring things home.  I got kind of sick of wearing black and grey all the time.
-Cooking
I am so excited to get in the kitchen and try to recreate my macarons and Roman Cooking class!
-The Dollar
The exchange rate was rough.  Thank goodness I wasn't in London where it was worse!  The exchange rate got a bit better once Hollande was elected president of France and once the Greek elections didn't work out....

And Things I will miss about France:
Boulangeries:
What??? You mean there aren't great bakeries on every corner? And baguettes and croissants are expensive???  What kind of crazy country is this??

My Host Family:
If I had bad host family, I would not have enjoyed my semester abroad.  The Chappedlaines were so kind and welcoming, and helped me with my French and to feel at home in a foreign country.  My friends on the JYF program were joking that we will never have it so easy again.  Our meals are made for us (and Madame was such a good cook!), our laundry is done, the dishes are done, and our rooms are cleaned.  I don't even get all that at home! 
The Metro:
Although I do miss driving, I will miss the convenience of the metro.  It is so well organized and reliable.  However sometimes, it does smell like stale pee.  Ew.
The Seine:
It's a muddy and gross river, but I love it all the same.
Speaking French:
-saying "bah oui!"
-saying "hop-la!"
-saying "oh la la la!"
I will just have to find people to practice with.

Always having a new Museum/Expo/Place to visit:
There is always something to do in Paris! I visited a lot of museums and expositions during my semester, but there are still a lot more I didn't get to see! 
Sitting in a Cafe for as long as I want:
I love sitting in a cafe on the sidewalk watching the world go by...
Being in France:
When I was going through the customs in CDG, the officer asked me "Ca va?" (How are you/how is it going?) and I replied in French that I was good, running a little late, but not too bad.  He said, "Oh vous parlez bien Francais!" (well duh, I've been here for a few months).  We chatted for a moment as he looked at my visa and my passport and I said I would miss France, "J'adore la France".  Then he said, "Bah, il faut que vous rentriez!" (Well, then you need to come back!)  I assured him I would. 
I hope you all enjoyed this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it!  My summer project will be scrap booking the blog.  Then I will get to relive all of it again! 
Grands Bisous,
Allison