Fighting the endless battle...

Today I have spent most of the day in bed. After 7 days of working out in the elements during a freakishly cold week in October I have been a little worse for wear. I am Australian, I am not used to daily temperatures of 3-8°c when its not even winter and apparently the worst is still to come. Great. I don't remember it being this cold when I lived in London, or maybe I was just a little more prepared for it then.

With the temperature dropping it has also been interesting seeing the change in people out and about. Working as a Tour Guide I get to see on a daily basis the best and worst of what Paris has to offer. The cold weather definitely brings out the worst in people. I seem to get abused on a daily basis now by angry Parisians doing their best to live up the the generalisations that world has about them. I am constantly defending them to my tourists, saying they aren't normally rude, its just the weather. However as I sit here and ponder over the last almost 5 months I have lived in this city and my experiences, things aren't looking overly promising in their favour.

My love for this city has nothing to do with the Parisians. As a matter of fact, if it had anything to do with them I probably would have left a long time ago. When I need to remind myself of why I moved here in the first place, I spend a day wandering around the city. It is about the beauty of this place, being able to walk around in a city with such a rich & extensive history on a daily basis is truly a blessing. 

Living in Paris is not easy, it is a daily battle that you have to be willing to fight. I find there are days when I just want to give up and head back home to the simple life, but I have to remind myself that the most rewarding things in life are often the things we have to fight the hardest for, so I stay and persist.

There are many things about this city that I will never understand, including why firemen are first responders when you call for an ambulance. I have had to deal with them twice this week and I have never felt so frustrated in my life! Yes I understand the theory behind it, that in such a busy city it is easier to have just the one emergency response team, but they seem to have no idea!! Add to this the fact that I am an experienced health professional being held back by my inability to grasp this language and you have a recipe for anger and frustration!!

It also appears to be strike season here in Paris, I have come across 3 in the past 2 weeks. That is something else I will never understand about the French, their need to strike when they have some of the most amazing work conditions in the world. Sigh. Probably best to not even try.

A protest in Montparnasse

I have yet to break into a French clique yet either, but I am persisting  I have an awesome group of expat friends, but as a result my French is suffering. Everyone tells me that I need to find a job where I speak more French and get myself a French boyfriend, both of which are definitely easier said than done. 

So I just do all I can do, take each day as it comes. Get out there and continue to fight the fight. For those of you that read my blog that dream of living in Paris. I still encourage you to chase your dreams, just don't expect it to be easy and those of you that live here, how do you survive?! What do you do to keep the love for this city alive?! I am interested to know!