The "Pour" and the "Contre", Part I

I took a class during the Fall, "Guided Conversation in French".  One of the best parts of the class was being in the same room with a lot of other people like me.  They were all Anglophones (the students were from the US and the UK) who live in Paris, struggling to perfect their french language capability.

Our homework was in the form of a reading assignment.  The idea was to read the article, learn any new vocabulary and come prepared to discuss the topic with the others.  There was a wide range of topics; some of which were interesting to me and some that weren't.  In any case, I learned something every week and got to speak with others about complicated concepts, opinions and ideas.

At first, even though we knew many of the others, we weren't very friendly.  We were focused and I think everyone was trying to put his/her best foot forward.  It was also a bit competitive in terms of speaking time.  The most aggressive person got the most speaking time.  Just like life.

Many of the "conversations" had no reply, no discussion, it was just a round table of opinions.  But, one day, while thinking about the week's subject, I started to jot down the "pour" (for) and the "contre" (against) life in Paris.

When my time came to speak, I pulled out the list, declared I'd made a list.  Everyone snickered.  Too light, not enough verb tenses.

I will share a few of these "for" and "against" ideas in the next few posts.  Let me know what you think.

A few "pours"

Monoprix -- the great store that has both food and clothes, makeup and household items -- the french version, but better, of Target

Windows at Christmas-time -- the french shopkeepers really dress their windows during the holidays

La Poste -- the post office.  The french post office is a bank in addition to a post office so they have plenty of people to help you.  In my neighborhood, there is no line, there are people to help me and they are polite

A few "contres"

Food is more expensive -- both in restaurants and in the markets, wine is cheaper (pour)

Bureaucracy -- a mild form of torture when you try to get something done

Most stores are closed on Sunday

The lists grow every day.  More to come.