These things called les soldes

     I know I know, I've fallen into the typical "I don't blog after the first 3 weeks after being abroad" trap. I swear it will stop. The truth is, now that school has started, Bordeaux life has become a little more routine and a little less new. Then again, I'm living in FRANCE, everything is still more interesting and exciting.
     And really, when you are in France, and you live in the city that has the longest shopping street in Europe, what is more exciting than les soldes? For those of you who don't know, it is mandated by French law to have 2 sale periods a year-one in June/July and one in January/February. So basically, instead of having ridiculous sales just before Christmas like we do in the States, France has it for two different seasons and the stores go WILD.
     Things at H&M that I paid $15 USD for were 5€, makeup was 1€, shoes were selling for -70%. It was ridiculous. It was a nice little welcome gift from France that les soldes started two weeks after I got here--and are still going.
     I came to France without a warm winter jacket and heeled boots. Those were the two things I needed to get, but of course, I walked away with more.

    Ok mom, don't freak out. I added everything up and figured out what I spent and saved. Here is the breakdown of my best steals:
-59.99€ boots, got them for 29.99€
-30€ sweater from H&M, got it for 5€
-50€ sweater from Zara, got it for 19€
    Overall, to buy everything I bought, I would have spent 367.98€, but I spent 162.98€. I'm going to say that was pretty nice.
   Les soldes treated me very well and now that la braderie is over too, I think I am done with shopping for the rest of my trip. Although I never found that winter coat, c'est pas grave, I found my boots...and some other things.

To end, here are some of the weird habits from the last few weeks:
-They put eggs on EVERYTHING- pizza, crêpes, sandwiches
-In lecture hall, it is the seats that collapse and the desks are stationary.
-Medicines are in dissolvable form. Asprin, stomach calmer--everything.
-Pretty much every toilet is a dual-flush toilet; the US should follow their lead
-Another thing the US should do: real, working shutters for all the windows. Not only does it keep the room much darker, but it is also energy efficient because it blocks in all the heat.