Couple More Things

A couple more things about yesterday that I forgot:

First, after ordering my crocque monsieur (in French, of course), the next people in line were American tourists, who asked, after taking 5 minutes (for which the vendor basically yelled at them for), "Uno sandwich, seel vous plait?" Uno? Wow - the server had a field day - making fun of them mercilessly in French without the tourists having any idea what they were saying. I encountered experiences like this all day - and made me feel much better about my French-speaking abilities because I can at least order food, granted with an American accent - but it's convincing enough.

Second, I was sitting under the Tour Eiffel (really overrated, actually) catching some rest when a homeless man (who didn't really look homeless, per se) asked me for a smoke. I said no, but then we talked some more and it turns out he was very nice and genuine, a recent immigrant from Romania who knows good English but speaks no French, yet is looking for a job in Paris. I gave him some helpful hints that he really had no idea about (obvious things - like going to a homeless shelter or asking around for job opportunities), making me realize: I really may have made a significant difference in this guy's life! Also makes you wonder, as he asked me how much I was paying for hostels and whatnot (to which I replied not too much) and was shocked with how astronomically high it was, "wow, I am so incredibly lucky to have the support and the finances to do an awesome thing like this." And a lot of guilt too. A very valuable experience - and quite the setting for it!