Bonjour from Paris

I have only been here for two days, but I have to say that I have been impressed with the kindness of French people. Perhaps not so much kindness, but lack of meanness. One of my biggest fears before arriving was that I was going to be snubbed by every Parisian. I have realized that the most important thing is trying. Even saying "Parlez-vous anglais?" will be appreciated more than "Do you speak English". Many people told me "Oh, you have nothing to worry about, they all speak English over there", but this is far from the truth. I would say about half of the people I have encountered speak English. At the bank yesterday, the woman who helped me open an account barely spoke a word of English. When I apologized for my bad French, I made a joke about how I studied French for ten years and it's still bad. She responded by joking that her English was worse than my French, even though she had studied English for nine years.

The least friendly people I have encountered have been waiters. It's not that they do or say anything that is actually mean, things just work quite differently in France. While waiters receive some tips, they are payed hourly wages. There is no real incentive to provide outstanding service. In addition, they almost always have to play the roll of hostess and busser as well. There is no time to say "Welcome to Carrabba's, my name is Zach, I will be taking care of you today, can I start you with something to drink today?" The waiter points at your table from a far, they let you sit for awhile and then take your whole order. The waiter will not stop at your table at any point during your meal. They don't ask how things are or if they can get you anything else. It can be quite difficult to get the check at the end of a meal.

All I can think about after working at Carrabba's for the past two months, is how pissed all the customers that I served would be if they were in France. At Carrabba's people would get mad if they had to wait even a minute for a refill or to place there order. People would get upset if there silverware wasn't spotless. In France, patience is a must and the silverware and dishes are anything but spotless.