I miss Europe

Or more specifically, Spain and France. I had such a good time there despite getting a bit sick the last few days. Everyone we came in contact with in Spain was extremely friendly and helpful. The staff, which consisted of two or three young adults (early - mid 20s), had three different shifts at the hostel, and were awesome too. On top of running the place, they also cleaned the bathrooms and rooms everyday. I mentioned earlier that they woke us up on the morning because we didn't have an alarm clock. Raf asked one of them if the person with morning shift would forget, and he was like "no way." Even when asking for directions, people were pretty nice and helpful as well. Though Raf tried speaking Spanish to them, sometimes they would reply in English perhaps to be more helpful.

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Speaking of giving directions, last week I stopped at a gas station in Santa Clara. This lady comes up to me totally freaking out because she had been lost for three hours. She was giving me her whole sob story of how she's from Texas and nobody knows how to get to Hamilton. I was on the Alameda right next to 880S. She showed me her Yahoo! map directions.

Me: "Yes, you take 880S which is over there. Then you take 17, and that takes you right to Hamilton."

Lost (bitch) lady: "Well, why is everyone giving me different directions." (As she angrily stomps off)

Then she has the audacity to give me the dirtiest look ever and go to the next person to ask for directions. I was like OMG! Dumb biatch! I should have told her to take 880S to 280N to SF and exit Hamilton from there! Anyway!...
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I've heard from numerous people that Spanish girls are hot, and yes it is very true. If any of you decide to go, you have to hit the beach! 50% of the girls are topless. Also, Spanish girls are pretty slender too. It's rare to see obese people here! Same with France! And if we did, they were foreigners. hahah! Probably English or American.

The obesity rate in France is roughly 10% while in America/UK, it's around 50% (64% overweight/obesity in US). (Thanks, Google.) Crazy, huh? But I'm sure it's because of the portions served in America. As for the UK, maybe because they eat too much fried foods and stews, and way too much beer. I noticed a lot of the girls (and guys) had big ole beer bellies. Hahah! I think all these Jenny Craig diet places are a load of crap. All they do is serve you the same kind of food but just 1/3 of the usual portions. That's why they say you can eat chocolate, etc. What a scam. I remember hearing about how the FDA blames restaurants for obesity rates in America. But at the same time, is that really fair because no one is forcing anyone to order/eat a lot. I asked Erhan (Rafael's roommate) the other day how he felt about the food when he first came to America (he's originally from France). He said that of course, the average restaurant/fast food was not good, and the portions they serve are enough for three days. HAHA! Man, is it weird to feel "healthier" after coming back from a trip full of rich foods? Yes, because we didn't overeat. There wasn't really a time that we felt like we ate up to our throat. It was awesome to have satisfying meals day in and day out (minus my cracker days). Now that I am back in the states, it was hard for me to not feel like I was going to explode/obtain digestive problems because I found myself eating really fast here, whereas the previous two weeks, we have been eating slowly as well as one dish at a time.

Anyway, at one point in my brother's life, he was thinking about moving to Paris. I'm borrowing his book: Paris Inside Out: The Insider's Handbook to Life in Paris. I am only up to page 3, but I am already loving it. Why you ask?

Because:

· 1982 - 1999, the official French workweek was 39 hours... BUT after a long and heated public debate, the workweek was reduced to 35 hours which helped create new jobs without reducing salaries.

· French law guarantees everyone who works, five weeks of paid vacation. Les vacances (conges payes) is a cherished institution among the French and is a right, not a privilege. This is standard and non-negotiable. The French would rather sacrifice higher wages for quality of life and better benefits. (Tax rate is something like 40% but they have free healthcare and education... like free undergrad, grad, med school, etc., plus don't have to worry like we do about retirement.)

· They have something like 16+ holidays vs. our 10+ holidays.

· Did you know November 25 is called la Sainte Catherine where all the 25 year old single women are presented with funny hats and have dances held in their honor? Hahah, cool! I can celebrate this year!

Ok, that is all I've learned thus far. Ha-ha, I'm sure some people work more, but it can't be like the worst/longest work-weeks in America which lead up to 75+ hours a week (Carlo!). The most I've done is probably 60 hours/week.

I also liked that people greet each other more. In the many convenient stores we ventured into in Spain, we were greeted with a simple "Hola." (Which, I noticed, were owned by Pakistani/Indian people.) In France, people were pretty polite (and I'm sure Raf being/speaking French helped a lot). When we were in Bordeaux, we couldn't walk down the street without saying "Bonjour" to people. Also, when I got bumped in the subways in both counties, people always said "Pardon." It was strange.

This morning, I wanted to do a silly experiment. As I was on my morning run, I decided to say "Good Morning" to people just to see if they would acknowledge my existence. I mean, I'm sure I will see these people again because they are probably my neighbors or live down the street from me. 1 out of 5 people said hello back. The others didn't acknowledge my existence or just looked at me weird. Hah! I was telling my coworker about this and we were joking around that they probably thought I was going to rob them or something.

Ok, it's almost 5pm and I want to get the flock outta here.