Coming (Back) to America

After this weekend, my Paris adventure will come to a close, and I'll be back in the US. It went extremely fast—but the 3 months were none other than awesome. Before I sign-off and get back into the swing of life in Denver, I wanted to write down a few things I learned / observed / or will take away with me. So, here it goes:

1. During the work week, you always have time for lunch, a coffee, or even a cigarette break (well, almost always).
2. It’s never too warm to wear a scarf in Paris… in France… or maybe even in all of Europe.
3. Unlike the stereotype, the French truly do work hard... at least the Integer ones do!
4. Try (or attempt) to speak the local language—It was fun to try it out, though I know I had to ask a few people to "pardon my French"
5. It’s okay to have chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
6. Want to look Parisian?—Wear dark clothes and nice shoes. Oh yeah, and don't forget the scarf.
7. Avoid doing your grocery shopping on Sundays or after 9pm… otherwise you’ll go hungry (everything is closed!)
8. Limit the amount of smiling-- I'm only kidding, but I'm still not sure I ever mastered the blank stare in the metro that everyone here seems to have perfected!
9. Pas de stress—There's no need to stress. The French don’t like it any more than we do. They somehow know how to avoid it (or complain to get out of it :) )... or they just have an awesome mentality that things will always work out.
10. Paris va me manquer—whether it is the Integer Paris team, my new friends, the crepes, baguettes, my small apartment, or even the dog poop all over the sidewalks… I’m going to miss it.

Thanks for a thrill of an experience.

A+ à tous, Ben

Joan of Arc was British?

I saw this metro ad and it made me look twice. With only a visual and logo, Eurostar advertised their train service from Paris to London by using two iconic symbols of the countries they connect. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

The C-Store Grocery Store

Monop, 8 à Huit, and Franprix are all examples of these small format grocery stores that seem to blanket the neighborhoods of Paris. They don’t offer everything, but they do offer daily convenience (except Sundays when they’re closed!). I can stop by one on my way home from work versus having to plan a trip to the larger Carrefour, which is three metro stops out of my way. Being here for only three months, I don’t want to spend time grocery shopping… but then again, who does?

P.S. Priyanka… check out the pastry shop next to Monop!

A water closet of a store...

Hey Charmin team... check this out! This tiny store (pointwc.com) was tucked into the corner of a department store called Printemps. They sold everything from colored toilet paper (which you could even personalize) to toilet seats and fixtures. Besides seeing the little dog walking in a department store, the other "French" thing about it was that little stores like these seem to pop-up in France wherever there's some space. They truly try to maximize the space they have or can fit in.

Laundry... Parisian style

My washer is in the kitchen and my dryer is in the shower.

Pocket full of change

I make a lot of noise when I walk in Paris because I still haven't gotten used to the fact that a handful of coins is actually a lot of money (and shouldn't really be treated as small change!). My pockets fill with more and more change each day because I still haven't broken the habit of reaching for my billfold first. It's a little deceiving coming from the States where you don't (and can't) really buy anything with change. Using three coins in the States is likely only going to get you something out of a vending machine, while in Europe, three coins can pay for a meal, a few metro tickets, or your entrance into the Musee d'Orsay. From what I've witnessed, the French are good about paying with exact change, sticking to credit cards, or most importantly, quickly using their change-- because I sure haven't seen (or heard) any other noisy walkers like me.

Free Museum Sundays

On the first Sunday of each month, all the museums in Paris are free to the public. It's a pretty good deal, huh? That said, I took advantage of it and went to the Louvre today to fight the crowds. Good thing I had practice at McDonald's the day before... compare the size of the crowd in front of Mona Lisa to crowd in front of the McDonald's counter.