In Which Rayla Unintentionally Uncovers The Secret To Good French Bread

You've probably heard me all raving about French bread. And how good it is. And how superior it is. And how my bread eating has turned me into a bakery snob who will most likely die when she has to return to the US and eat disgusting processed, sliced bread. I shudder at the thought.

Obviously, I love French bread. But I found out something really awesome today, guys. Seriously. I was sitting in culture (CESF) and we were talking about décentralisation and people who work for l'État...and I discovered the secret. The secret behind good French bread.

Want to know the secret? Ha! You have to listen to my long winded story first! Here goes:

(Kelly commented on my "lovely discreet suspense." Yes, I know, I'm a horrible blog tease. Get over it.)

So...it's culture class, our second block of CESF for today, and we're all talking about décentralisation and how France has a school system that requires you to take tests to enter certain professions and stuff. And Lilly asks, "so what happens if you don't pass any of the concours? What do you do then?" And we're all like, wow that would suck...hmmmm. Then Pascal points out that, heuresement, not everyone works for the state. "Oooooooh!" So then we start throwing out ideas of things you could do that aren't controlled by the state. You could open a store for example!

And then I say it. "On peut ouvrir une boulangerie!" (You could open a bakery!) Of course I just assume that this conviction is totally right. After all, a bakery (boulangerie) is a type of store right? Well...Pascal definitely hesitated. Then....the secret of French bread, unintentionally, was revealed:

He said: "Mais, pour ouvrir une boulangerie et faire le pain, on dois avoir un diplôme."

And there was a moment of agreement, where we all nod our heads in agreement with why boulangerie isn't really a good example...and then a second later we're all like: WHAT?!?!

It's true, guys. In order to open a bakery in France, you must have a college diploma. Seriously. I was sitting there laughing with everyone else at how ridiculous it seems, because college-educated bread makers just seems a tad ridiculous and is without a doubt the funniest thing I've heard all week. Pascal told us that, yes, it's a little ridiculous, but hey..."No offense, but our bread really is better than your bread in the US."

Word, Pascal. Word.