double vision

Living in France has given me what I will call French double vision – the ability to walk down the street and scan for cdc while also looking ahead to avoid walking into someone or something. I don’t usually think about this until I go home or to some other place where cdc on the sidewalk isn't common. I find myself automatically scanning the sidewalk until it clicks that I’m no longer in France.

When I’m going somewhere new in Paris, this double vision becomes triple vision. Like this weekend when I went to a friend’s apartment, for the first time, for dinner. I have to coordinate the sidewalk scan with looking ahead AND looking at street names, building numbers and the map. I’ve learned to take advantage of a crosswalk red light to peek at the map or if I can’t scan the sidewalk far enough ahead due to people or a lack of light, I’ll move to the side (to avoid getting bumped into or run over) look at the map or search for the street name/building number because in Paris they often aren’t in the same place and then continue with my double/triple vision choreography. To those of you who haven’t had the "pleasure" of walking on French city sidewalks, this might sound silly, but I guarantee that it’s necessary if you want to keep your shoes clean…