I have to give the cleaning ladies a lot of credit around here--they're made of tough stuff!
Today I went to Macdo (Macdonald's to you Americans) and was sitting quietly enjoying my coffee, flan nature (an awesome pastry that is reminiscent of cheesecake) and reading my book, when I was suddenly surrounded by "horrible teenagers." They were all eating McFlurries and making a general racket, when a cleaning lady stormed up to them. Apparently one of them had made a mess in the bathroom that she had just cleaned--so she made them go back and clean it!
Culture clarification: Macdo over here is actually nice. They have this thing called a McCafe where you can get cheap pastries and coffee (just like in a salon du thé). Not the best quality, but hey, I'm cool with cheap and still tasty! Macaroons are still a euro a piece for the small ones...sheesh!
Anyway, I guess what surprised me the most about the scenario is that the kids actually went back with the cleaning lady and did what she told them to do...granted it might have just been mopping the floor and throwing out some paper towels, but still! In America, I'm pretty sure the kid would have just bad-mouthed her and left to avoid further confrontation.
À bientôt!
Life as a Teaching Assistant in France
