My First Month

As of tomorrow, I will have been living in the City of Light for a whole month, and what a month it has been! I thought I would do a post on what I have discovered so far whilst in Paris. I've also included some completely irrelevant photos just to jazz it up a bit.

Stained glass windows at Notre Dame

• French men are incredibly starey. On the metro, in shops, at work, everywhere. I am beginning to perfect the art of being able to hold a stare with the help of one of the security guards at work, as every time I talk to him it's as if I can physically feel his eyes boring into me. This is fine, until I realise that the turnstile isn't opening because I'm trying to tap my badge whilst looking in a totally different direction, looking like an utter loser.

• The AZERTY keyboard is the most ridiculous thing. To go from using my computer at work and then my laptop at home is so difficult! I'm starting to get the hang of the French keyboard, but it just seems so backwards. All the letters feel like they're in the wrong place, I mean you have to press AltGr to use the @ symbol. AltGr!

The Sacre Coeur

• EVERYTHING is so expensive. Apart from wine. I've discovered my wine of choice, and it only costs €1,46 from Carrefour and it is amazing. Everything else on the other hand is just extortionate. I think part of the problem is that in my head £1=€1, which it's not, but when a basket with only 4 items in comes to €7 something...ufff!

• I am losing the ability to speak English properly. I think I've started to speak English like the French do, using words such as "actually" and "yeah, really" all the time. "I am actually just getting on the metro" and "you're doing what, this evening?" um sorry what?
• I am doing my very best to learn some slang so I can be "down with the kids". I've somehow managed to make some French friends who are great fun, but I will exploit every opportunity I can to learn some Verlan, which is a form of French slang which I find hilarious. Basically Verlan is formed by switching around the syllables in a word. So Metro becomes tromet, français becomes céfran and merci becomes cimer etc. I think I will know I have truly made it in Paris when I can tell a keum (a guy) that I'm going to take the tromet to get to a féca (a cafe) with a straight face.
• Parisians are not as rude as everyone says. Honestly. There's a thing here where you have to say hello to everyone when you get into a lift and then wish them a good day when you leave. I think that's really cute! Nearly everyone is helpful if you're lost and if you pop into a shop, the sales assistants will often start polite small talk.

Gare de St. Lazare. Just down the road from the best department stores ever

• Shopping is not the same. Everyone goes mad for the sales but their sale prices are like our normal prices, only with the clothes that nobody wants. I never thought I'd say it, but I genuinely miss Primark, knowing that if you ever need a £1 vest you can get one.
• Paris lives up to its stereotypes. It smells, people will openly kiss ANYWHERE, tongues and all, and if you get on a metro at Trocadéro, I can guarantee that a garçon wearing a black and white stripey top will serenade the whole carriage with a typically French tune on an accordion and maybe even a boom box if you're lucky.

There are no houses here. None.

So that pretty much sums up my first month here in Paris, I am completely in love with this city despite its faults!

à la prochain!

Sophie