It's very common in France, as in the U.S., to see beggars sitting on the streets asking for money. You'll find them sitting at random corners and next to ATMs most commonly. I don't always give change to them, but sometimes if I have something loose in my pocket then I'll pull it out.
Today, I walked to the ATM near my place and like usual there was someone sitting next to it. The person always changes, sometimes being someone worn down looking with a large backpack to the side of them, or wreaking slightly/strongly of alcohol. This afternoon, the woman was rather homely looking and I decided to give her a euro and a twenty cent piece. She was very nice and smiled at me, said thank you, and when I turned to leave we exchanged "Bonne journée"s ("good day", a common farewell) and she said "merci" once again.
On my walk home there is a muslim woman who sits on a corner all day; I see her every time I walk by unless it's late. The first few times I didn't give her anything, but after I saw her crying one time it broke my heart a little. I've only been back from my travels a few days but I try to give her a little bit every time I see her. She's very nice and even when I don't have anything she doesn't pressure me, and I've witnessed the same thing with others. While walking back today I pulled ten cents out of my coin purse to give her and when she saw Autumn and me she greeted us so enthusiastically it shocked me. Before she even saw I was going to give her money she reached her arms out to embrace us each in a hug (which is uncommon in France) and to bisous us. I think part of it was that right before we walked up there were two guys that said something I didn't catch to her, but I know it wasn't nice. I'm going to try to give her a little something each time I see her, and maybe strike up a conversation with her. Maybe I can integrate her into my academic project even...
All this reminds me of the breakfast distributions I helped organize in Sacramento, which I've really missed going to. I'm hoping this semester I can find some sort of community service where I can work with the homeless and less fortunate again.
A song for you:
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