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.

I think the French love McDonald's.

Yes, I went to McDonald's. I did it. But in my defense, I was doing the "French" thing by joining some of my teammates Q and Mel for lunch. I guess it's the thing to do on Fridays at Integer... and it seems like it's the thing to do for everyone else in France too! I'm not sure my picture does it justice, but it was the most crowded MacDo's (as the French call it) that I've ever seen. It took a little while to get our food, but the Chicken McNuggets still tasted just as good.

The second picture is from another McDonald's I saw later that night where you could actually order from a kiosk instead of waiting in line... hopefully that sped up the process for those guys because the line from where I was standing was pretty long. And no, I didn't have McDonald's for a second time in one day--- though maybe I'll have it next Friday.

6 Euros for a pint of beer?

Beer is expensive in Paris-- at least at the bar, so I decided to look at the small grocery store near my place this past weekend. They actually had a decent selection, though it was still expensive. Take a look at how Heineken "does the math" for potential keg or 'fût' buyers. The signage tells them how many servings are included (20 glasses or 'demis') and how long the beer stays fresh in your fridge (30 days)-- maybe hoping to help them find some value in the high cost and decide whether or not they wanted to buy that much beer. The signage even replaces one full facing-- the store/brand must have thought it was important enough to educate the consumer to move product.

Lastly, notice that some of the kegs even have an 'indicateur de froid' or 'cold indicator' letting you know when the beer inside is at a good temp to drink-- did they get that idea from Coors?!

Brainstorm over lunch...

...with crème brûlée for dessert. Why not? It's France. I might just have to schedule another brainstorm at work next week.

Who knew Denver was also a dinosaur?

I've been here just over a week now, so I've had the chance to meet some of the locals. When the conversation turns into talking about where I live in the States, the minute I mention Denver, all the Frenchies start singing this song about a dinosaur. I found out that there's this cartoon about the last dinosaur on earth, who's actually named Denver. Check out his cool hot pink 80s sunglasses... the song may also get stuck in your head!

My first trip to the supermarché

Since almost all stores are closed on Sundays in France, I was told it'd be a good idea to get my grocery shopping done on Saturday. Taking that advice, I went to Carrefour (probably the French equivalent to Super Target or Walmart, but on a smaller scale). Getting off the metro, there was no mistaking where the store was because a mass of people all carrying a rolling grocery tote/caddy seemed to head in the same direction-- directly to the Carrefour entrance.

In the store, it was rather chaotic, but beyond that, things were well organized, there were plenty of choices of brands (three full aisles of

cheese, two full aisles of yogurt!), and a lot of in-store marketing

signage and tools--maybe even more than we see in some stores in the States.

Grabbing a rolling caddy myself, I wandered through the store and started shopping. After saying "Pardon / Excusez-moi" a few too many times, I finally got used to weaving in and out of the crowded aisles, and was on my way!

This Carrefour was rather new, and it had some neat technology updates to help with the shopper and the staff. The first thing I noticed was the electronic price tags. All items stocked on the shelf could easily be read by the shopper and could easily be changed by the store if there was a price change or promotion. It also, I'm sure, saves tons of paper because I'm so used to seeing the millions of yellow 'low price' tags plastered near every product at King Soopers!

The second thing I noticed was that a lot of shoppers had scanning devices, similar to the size of a TV remote control that they were using to scan every item they placed in their cart. Later on, I realized that there was a station at the front of the store called Rapid'Ticket, where shoppers could sign up to use the device to scan all items they put it in their cart. The even cooler thing is that when they were ready to check out, they simply went to a special cashier line (which was also a lot shorter than the regular line on a busy Saturday) and they got their bill within seconds. Also, since everyone seems to bring their own bags or rolling carts, they didn't even have to unpack their items-- they could simply just charge their card, get their receipt, and they were on their way. I'll have to try it next time I go.

My Paris Initiation

I landed in Paris! Running on adrenaline, I hopped into a taxi to meet my landlord to gain access to my soon-to-be apartment. As the taxi took me into the city, I caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tour and started thinking that I should begin my day with a hot croissant (and possibly even some champagne) to kick-off the exchange. And it didn't end with croissants... I think everyone wants to immediately indulge in a crepe, the cheese, the wine, or stroll down the block to smell freshly baked pastries before they officially say they've been welcomed to Paris. After a few minutes of daydreaming, the taxi arrived at the apartment. As I got out of the car hoping to smell the freshly baked bread from a boulangerie down the street, I got treated to something else. It wasn't a cloud of cigarette smoke, or even a waft an old Frenchman's B.O., but it was the smell of a freshly deposited pile of dog poo. Making it even better, the person who was giving me the keys to the place witnessed it all, and said with a little laugh, "Bienvenue a Paris-- I think you've just been initiated!"

It's official... I'm heading to Paris!

My bags are packed (almost), and I'll be in France by Friday morning. I can't stop smiling knowing that I'll be living and working at Integer Paris by the end of the week. Stay tuned to my blog where I'll be posting photos, videos, observations, and hopefully few funny stories about my experience abroad.

Just a few things I checked off my list today...

• Ate a big bowl of chips & salsa (I'm gonna miss it)
• Got Mom set up on Skype (earned some pts. for that!)
• Said a few "see ya laters" to friends and co-workers
• Signed up for Verizon's iPhone 4 for when I return
  
• Packed a French dictionary
• Packed my camera
• Set up this blog to record an awesome experience!