Intuition

To me, one of the biggest obstacles facing Americans living in France is intuition. Our American intuition. The system of logic that applies state side. None of this works here. Finally, after 7 months, I'm noticing that sentences that start with "Well, it seems like..." "Wouldn't you think..." "At home..." or "It'd make sense if..." are always ALWAYS wrong. Never assume. Just reverse every plan and preconception. Why did this take so long to deeply understand?

Now that I know, it's finally turning around. Last week, I really needed to mail a package. After getting home from work at 5:45, packing and wrapping it, the clock must have read nearly 7. My inner American thought, "No, post offices will be closed by the time I walk there with this heavy box." Maybe it was the still-sunny evening, but something else chimed "No, it may be open. They close at lunch for a few hours and stay open later." And with this scared-to-believe-in optimism, I power walked to La Poste. And wouldn't you know, it was still open!

On the other hand, I just found out that our water pipes empty directly outside our appartment. The kitchen sink goes onto the upper terrace. The shower goes onto the street. That doesn't make any sense.