Vending Machines and the European Work Ethic...

So at church on Sunday, I heard the pastor refer to this as the "Holiday Season" and it kind of weirded me out. I'm so used to thinking of Thanksgiving and Christmas as the Holiday season, that to hear that term in relation to the summer is extremely odd to me.

Apparently any "white collar" sort of job has August as a mandatory holiday. Not sure how true this is, but I'm sure it's not too far from the truth. And I hear that the work day is much shorter. Most things are closed on Sunday. The city truly feels like it's resting.

I think all these things are great and I wish that Americans could learn the value of down time, of truly resting.

However, the dark side to this phenomenon appears in subtle, somewhat frustrating ways to me. Store hours do not mean what they do in the states. I may get frustrated that Baja Fresh closes a minute or two early, but over here it can be a few hours.

Recently, I was somewhere that closed at 5:00 and was told I needed to leave. I wouldn't have cared except it was 3:30. They were going home early.

The post office on campus has hours that list it open from 12-6:30pm. I've been there at 1. Not open. I've been there at 4. Not open. I don't know when it is open, but I've heard a legend about someone sending something from there one time.

However, the vending machines have proved the most challenging opponent. I don't usually get cravings for food, but when you're eating habits have changed, you start to crave things. At least I do. M&Ms have achieved an even higher respect from me. I was searching for the vending machine that I have seen in our dorm one night at 12:30. Not too late, right? I was having trouble tracking it down and asked the receptionist at our dorm. "Closed for the night" was what he told me. Who closes a vending machine?

The vending machines in the metro also joined the conspiracy. The next day, upon arriving at the Cite Universite stop, I got out and my friend decided to get a bag of M&Ms. Tom and I scrounged through our change to find enough for the machine. M&M packs here are slightly larger than a snack pack and cost at lease 1.20 euro. Anyway, the vending machine had a large-ish pack (large-ish being a relative term) for 2 euro. A deal. After going through the ordeal of tracking down the change, my friend made her selection. Produit non available (or something really close to that) flashed on the screen. The candy was there. I could see it. It was there mocking us. The machine just would not dispense it. Granted, could be a malfunction machine, but I prefer to think that the machine closed for the night.

Again, I like the slightly slower pace here in Paris, but it's the odd little things that just go to show American I am. And I'm proud to live in a country where I can get M&Ms when I want them.

Consider yourself cultured.

BC