So I've decided that instead of exporting infested agriculture to the US, the French need to export bisous. What are bisous you ask? Qu'est-ce que c'est? Why they are the little kisses that French people give each other when ever they see one of their friends, meet a friend of a friend, or just feel that a handshake doesn't suffice. And I'm not talking about those fake air kisses that Hollywood types feel the need to give each other so that they can look more "European" I'm talking about cheek to cheek kisses. Even the guys give them to one another! I mean, guys in America really need to loosen up and not be so insecure about their sexuality. Lighten up guys, Bis! I'm telling you, if everytime you saw a friend or a peer or someone you kinda know and you gave them a kiss on both cheeks (2 in the south, 3 in Languedoc, 2 in Paris, except when saying goodbye, and then I believe it is 4), the world would be a happier place and we could quite possibly have less war. Just a theory I've been developing. But seriously, I love hugs and everything, and they are wonderful, but I have to say I'm starting to think that "bising" (as we americans call it here) is kinda the way to go. I don't know, I could be wrong. So, those of you who I will see in the States in a few months, don't freak out if I lean to give you a kiss on the cheek, it just might be the new wave.
Conclusion de jour: Kisses on the cheek can help world peace.

I had the rare opportunity this weekend to see another country attempt an election. It turns out, unbeknownst to me, that the French are very secretive when it comes to voting. I was asked to try and get French voters to take a survey which, in my opinion, was typically French, ie long and bureaucratic, and the last question asked the voters to mark which person they voted for and you would have thought that you had asked them to give me their last remaining kidney. The survey was completely annoynomous and it was for a class, but several of the French looked at us as though we had asked them some horrible, demeaning question that they could never answer because G-d would come down from heaven and smite them. So during that whole fiasco, I decided to go to the bathroom which meant walking through the polling station. As I was walking through I decided to take a little peek as to how the French do this whole voting thing. So, they go into their little booth, just like we do, and mark their vote on a ballot, which they then put in a little cute orange envelope that says "Republique Francaise" (as though they could forget). They then walk over to someone who has a huge glass see through box, hand them their envolope, their identity card, and their voting card, which let's whoever the official is know that they have the right to vote in this particular election. This card gets stamped with the date (so you can't vote more than twice?) then they look at this list they have and ask the person to sign. Then they converse with everyone about the weather, the train, whatever fits their French fancy, and go along their merry way and tell me that they don't have time to take my excessively long survey. I really don't blame them for not taking the survey, I really didn't want to give it, but it still would have been nice if they had taken a little time to say, "no, i'm terribly sorry, I simply don't have time" instead of "no, really, I'm "tres presse", quickly shaking their head, looking perturbed about it all.
So, that was my experience with the French election system. Oh, my favorite thing was someone who took my survey, said he hated everything that the current mayor has done, then proceeded to tell me that he had voted for the mayor. A the hypocrisy of politics.
Conclusion of the day: Don't ask the French who they voted for and be kind to the students asking you to take a survey, they probably don't want to be their anyway.