The Balm of Cultural Congruency

Holy Crepe, in my work backyard

Having recently spent almost a couple months in Paris, I have had the chance to reflect in much more depth on the trials and tribulations (and joys to be fair) of my expat life in the US.

There are many cultural and linguistic adventures and challenges; I will probably write about those at some point. But today's blog is an ode to something great that is happening at work, under my (very happy) nose, in my backyard so to speak.

Much of what I miss the most about France does not have to do with high culture, it has to do with daily life habits and customs. I miss the way that waiters do not interrupt conversations that people have at  restaurants (no cheerful "are you still working on this???" abruptly severing a conversation thread with your spouse, friend, whoever...two major cultural faux-pas rolled up in one annoying moment: (i) the labeling of  eating as "working" and (ii) the ill-timed intrusion into a potentially intimate human exchange). I miss the way that desserts in French supermarkets are enticing, plentiful and very appealing; seriously, here is a link if you don't believe me:

http://www.auchandirect.fr/frontoffice/index/rayon/famille/15039/rayon/19273/ssrayon/-1

and, then, I love the food kiosks that sell, for instance, crepes, right in the street. In a nutshell: I miss a lot about food/eating.

So, I am taking the briefest interlude to be grateful at the universe for converging a food truck trend on our very own work backyard at Washington University School of Medicine, where Scott Avenue in our medical campus has become a cornucopia of daily food trucking offerings. I celebrate this trend, even if I know that it does have roots in economic hardship.

Yes, I celebrate this trend because it is culturally congruent. It feels like home. Case in point:  home is welcoming the US food trucks apparently:


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/world/europe/food-trucks-add-american-flavor-to-paris.html?pagewanted=all

Till Later,

Anne