Hagondange is a very interesting town. There are 11,000 citizens and not one of them is between the ages of 21 and 30. You can walk from one end of the town to the other in 15 minutes, yet everyone drives. There are not daily fruit markets or an abundance of recycling bins. The streets are not usually filled with people. This is very different from the Europe I thought I knew.
Besides lacking young people, Hagondange also lacks things to do. There isn't a movie theater or bowling alley. There are a few pubs, but they are all filled with old men (seriously no women except the waitress. I accidentally walked into one.). There are a few restaurants, but they are usually empty. Interestingly enough there are five places to buy eyeglasses and about 12 banks.
Because there isn't much to do in Hagondange, I have resorted to visiting Metz quite often. In Metz (Mez, as the French say it) there are plenty of places to eat, movies to see, places to shop. I even stumbled across an antique shop that I plan to visit again. A few days ago I had language assistant orientation in Metz. I met the other assistants who are also placed in other small, rural towns in the area. Hopefully some of these people will turn in to my friends and travel buddies.
Despite my complaints, living in Hagondange does have its perks. It takes me four minutes to get to work. Very nice when I have a class at 8 am. There are two kebab places and a beautiful city park. Also I am 1.5 hours away from Paris, an hour away from Strasbourg and 30 minutes away from Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. C'est la vie, n'est-pas?
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