and coming into third...it's Starbucks!!

...what a great place. When I found out I was moving to Paris I took the liberty of logging onto their corporate website to see if perhaps there were any located in Paris and to my delight found 5 locations. When I arrived I noted the popularity of Starbucks (as the French love the coffee this was not a suprise)...and will have you know that as of today when I again looked at the site there are now 10 locations in the Paris areas. Anyway, I digress. Those of you who frequent Starbucks, or other popular coffee chains, knows the bit of pressure that one feels when ordering, it is very important to know all the words and order in a way that you look like you know what you are doing (I always feel like I am posing as an adult)...grande, venti, non-fat, decaf, machiatto...I have pretty much got this down when ordering in English, but discovered a whole new challenge when I got here of ordering it in French. But don't you worry, I am making progress. Though it has happened only a few times, it gives me a great sense of accomplishment to order, pay, and recieve the exact drink that I want without them breaking into English because they feel sorry for me and my unskilled coffee ordering. Today was one of those good days and I ended up spending about 3 hours studying and reading there in a big comfy chair. This reminds me of something I read about recently...someone has a theory that everyone needs 3 places: work, home, and a third that you frequent and feel a comfortable in. The theory poses that Starbucks has become this 3rd place for a lot of people...and I have to agree that for me it has become that place of comfort and a little taste of "home".