Me v. Moi

Who am I? Where am I?

I've thought a lot about the French me (moi) and the American me.

On the outside, I'm the same in both locations. My clothes are basically the same, as is my hair, makeup, etc. I add a coat or a scarf in Paris, flip flops in Manhattan Beach. It was raining yesterday and I wore flip flops -- it's logical -- my feet will get wet anyway.

I eat a little bit differently in France. It's mainly because of availability. Different food is available in each location and I take advantage of the local cuisine. Little green lentils in Paris, ground turkey in the US.

My daily routine is quite a bit different. In Paris, my day centers around running errands, exercise (daily, if possible), study, cultural activities and friends.

In the US, running errands in a car makes this activity almost effortless. I exercise, but don't study too much. Cultural activities are almost nil except for movies, which are hard to call "culture". Family visits take up a lot of time and then there's grooming.

In France, I avoid getting a haircut, a facial or a manicure/pedicure. There are several reasons for this, including the language barrier and cleanliness issues. So, I avoid all grooming by outside salons unless absolutely necessary. This saves me a lot of time and money.

TV in France is pretty bad, so I read a lot more books in France. Probably a book a week. Our bookshelves are overflowing, even though I've been reading my Kindle since April.

"Me" plays tennis on hard courts. "Moi" plays on red clay. This time of year, the clay courts are covered.

"Me" goes to the Spectrum and watches TV while I work out. "Moi" walks or runs around the Luxembourg Gardens, no iPOD to keep me company because there's so much to see.

"Me" buys flowers at the Hermosa Beach farmer's market on Fridays. "Moi" buys flowers at the "Monceau Fleurs" on rue Vaugirard. After much research, these are the best local flower places.

"Moi" takes the sheets to a French laundry and they come back crisp and ironed. "Me" has Elma, who irons everything including my gym clothes.

Last year on New Year's Eve, we took the 82 bus to rue Cler and bought fresh oysters for our celebration. It was cold, almost snowing outside. This year, I bought lobster and swordfish, hopefully it will be good.

The most important thing is that I'm happy in both places. There's no adjustment needed, the switch from "Me" to "Moi" happens effortlessly.