J'aime...Je n'aime pas

Since I know that you all are fascinated with all the inner workings of my mind here is a list of things that I like (j'aime) and that I don't like (je n'aime pas) about France.  If you've ever seen the movie Amelie, this post is to be read in the same way that narrator introduces each of the main characters with his or her likes and dislikes.

J'aime:  the huge cheese selection at the grocery store (I bought a delicious new Pont-L'Eveque yesterday).
Je n'aime pas: not being able to find peanut butter, or having to take out a loan to buy 300g of it if I can manage to find it on the grocery store shelves.


J'aime: being able to walk nearly everyplace I need to get to in town.
Je n'aime pas: walking to the bakery, or the bank, or the grocery only to discover that it's Wednesday (or Tuesday, or Friday...) and it's closed.


J'aime: teaching a lesson that is both challenging and fun for my students, and seeing how excited they are when they realize they're communicating in English, rather than some strange code I've made up to inconvenience them.
Je n'aime pas: having my lesson, and my concentration, interrupted when other teachers or school officials waltz in and either carry on loud conversations with each other or accuse me of messing up computer equipment that I've never touched.  I know I'm only 22, but can you at least pretend that you respect me?  And no, I'm not bitter about this at all.


J'aime bien: having my students run up to me at recess or in the hallway to give me hugs and bisous.
J'aime pas: seeing them fight among themselves, and seeing my 3 year olds in particularly tell each other that they're not friends anymore and that they're not invited to each other's houses.


J'adore: travelling and being able to practice my French with new and different people.
J'aime pas: realizing I haven't been saving much of my paycheck because of my travels, and because I want to eat something other than a stale crust of bread while I travel.


J'aime: having a kitchen where I can cook and bake whatever I want.
Je n'aime pas: worrying our Thanksgiving feast will be a failure because our oven is probably too small to cook a turkey.


J'aime bien: Getting Wednesdays off and 2 weeks breaks here and there because of the French school calendar.
Je déteste: Having to work on Thanksgiving.

I feel like this list is sufficiently long for now.

Je vous aime bien!