Hey, let's make a pro/con list!

I've definitely said this to my friends before. Making a difficult decision, why not write out some of the positives and negatives that you're trying to work through in your head? Will it make the decision any easier? Probably not, but at least for me, seeing something in words helps me. What follows isn't a real pro/con list; it's more of a what I miss/what I enjoy list. Enjoy.


What I miss about Canada:
Autumn - There is something special and wonderful about autumn. Some favourite parts of autumn: the smell of the air; the colours of the leaves; walking through crunchy leaves; the chilly sweater/pants/jacket weather; the weird feeling of anticipation that seems to be hanging around; Thanksgiving with it's atmosphere, family, friends, church, decorations and food; and the preparations for winter, like pulling out the winter coat, boots, and getting the winter scarves, etc. ready.
Friends - I miss: simply sitting with my friends and watching a movie; having a hot chocolate and chatting for hours, probably later than we should; laughing our heads off because of something ridiculously funny; laughing for no good reason; going for walks together; teasing them; listening to each other and talking through things so that they can become a little bit more understandable in our heads; supporting each other with a listening ear, with a hug, or just sitting there.
Family - I don't see my family that often during the school year anyway, but the distance makes it seem worse, I guess. But I miss seeing Jessica each Sunday, being able to call someone up easily (without international charges!) or video-skype without a problem. I miss the possibility of seeing them if I really want to. 
Miscellaneous - wide open spaces, front yards, back yards, bathrooms that contain both a toilet and a sink, grass, social conventions that I understand, my church family at Fellowship, the community at Redeemer, a kitchen with a stove and an oven, smiling at people while walking down the street; and streets that meet at approximately a 90 degree angle.

This is as colourful as Paris has gotten so far.

What I like about Paris:
Ease of access - the Metro is absolutely fantastic. Need to get anywhere? No problem, the metro can get you there, and you only need to wait 3 minutes for your train to come! Is it late? Nope, that would be ridiculous. 
Neighbourhood structure - everything that we need can be found within a 15-minute walking radius of our residence. Grocery store, fruit & vegetable market, clothing stores, bank, chocolate store, cafe, restaurants, phone store, you name it, it's there. 
Restaurants - Forgetting about the exchange rate, most of the restaurants in the area aren't more expensive than those in Canada. There are also a much greater variety to choose from here. I think my favourite part of the cafe/restaurant scene here is that you can sit at a table for hours and not feel like they want you to leave.
Fresh bread - there isn't really much else to say. If you've eaten fresh bread, you understand.
Wine - the price of wine is incredible. A bottle for 3-4 euros? Okay. Where can I find it? Anywhere. It's odd, actually. You can buy wine, and basically whatever kind of alcohol you want, at the grocery store. Weird. Also, when we went to IKEA we ate there, and there was beer and wine in the food line. You can get beer at McDonalds. It's a very different idea of alcohol, I guess. 
Church - I haven't been too many times, but I enjoy listening to people worship in the French language. Last week the pastor gave the Aaronic blessing at the end of the service. It's my favourite of the blessings often given and it was interesting to hear it in French.


So those are some good things about each place. If you're living in Canada right now, take another look at those trees, stop to smell the air, step on that crunchy leaf in front of you, enjoy some pancakes with maple syrup, and smile at the person walking past you on the street. They are some of the special things about Canada at this time of year. 


As for the 3 of us, I think we're going to head to the Canadian pub tomorrow night. Apparently tomorrow is Canadian Thanksgiving there and we can get pumpkin pie! Unbelievable! :D


~Lynette