"It Was All a Hilarious Misunderstanding"

Thanks to the help of teachers and my decent level of French, my endeavors have met only normal problems for the most part. There have, however, been certain moments when cultural differences become only too apparent. I like to think of them as problems of rhythm: even though my body adjusted to the nine-hour time difference three weeks ago, my mind is only now becoming comfortable with the French approach to time.

The subtle variation in thinking about life comes out most obviously in hours of operation. In the U.S., most stores are open from 8 or 9 till 6ish, with maybe shorter hours on the weekend or closed Sunday or Monday if it's a nicer sort of boutique. Offices are generally open from 8 to 5, and grocery stores are open all the time. This is not the case in France. To me, the outsider, there doesn't appear to be a rule at all: even something as specific as the post office or bakeries don't all keep the same hours, and they're closed more often than stores in the U.S.

I have divined a few general rules by now, though I still think of schedules on a gradient: boutiques are more likely to be open from about 10am to about 7pm (with the possibility of closure from noon to 2 for lunch); bakeries and cafés from 7am to 7pm (though they run out of baguettes around 6); and restaurants are open at lunch time and again around 6pm for dinner (though nicer restaurants won't begin serving food until 8). Things are less likely to be open on Monday. I assume nothing is going to be open on Sunday, though I have passed the occasional open restaurant or boutique in the afternoon. Open-air markets, such as I go to for fresh produce, may be in operation every morning, while smaller ones are only open on the weekend.

The other way I access French rhythm and need to adjust is by public transportation. The bus, for example, may leave a minute or two early, but never arrives more than 5 minutes late. The metro comes every 3 or so minutes during peak hours – around 9am and again around 6pm – but only every 10 minutes at 6:00am.

It seems like a simple matter of keeping track of which stores have what I need and when they are open, but even that is more complicated than it sounds: I’m really starting from scratch, so I frequently have to go to several stores to find what I want, and then I have to remember which had the thing, and remember to note the hours. It involves a whole change of mind-set, an adjustment of rhythm. I am clumsily making my way now, but the goal is, with more time, to be able to dance à la française.