1. Paris either smells like fresh pastries, urine or both!!!
I have yet to step in the dog poo Paris is notorious for. I guess I haven't been fortunate enough for that yet (Please see point number 5). However, no one warned me about the amount of times I would witness a grown man pulling out his privates and peeing in the street like no one is watching. Having seen this on my way home from a party or bar on a Friday night, there is evidence that this is a far more regular occurrence than just the times I have been there to actually see it.
Walking to the metro for my Wednesday morning classes, bakeries barely open, You can smell the aroma of fresh bread or pain au chocolat (chocolatine)!!! Now that is exactly what you want to be greeted with in early hours of the day...but then...all of a sudden...that inviting and very tempting odor turns into...whaff...the nasty smell of human biological waste! Almost 3 months in, I have developed a fear of sitting at the metro station since I am often greeted with that contemptuous scent in the seating area.
2. Flipping words around.
This is probably not something any English speaking North American would know but to all you francophiles and friends out there in Quebec, there is a type of slang that exists in Paris that involves flipping the syllables in words, creating new ones that mean exactly the same thing.
Now don't get me wrong, This is an interesting example of how language evolves. As it has been explained to me, this was once used as a code language in the Parisian Suburbs so that no one else would understand. This is now a widely accepted, often used way of communicating.
Louche= Chelou
Lourd=Relou
Femme=Meuf
3. Affordable decent gyms are hard to find
We've all had to sign contracts and agreements on our gym memberships. It seems that in North america, you still have the alternative to the grueling 12 month contracts. In France, signing up for a gym for anything less than a year could cost as much as your food bill. The sad truth is, most of the gyms here can't compete with the caliber of gyms found in Canada and generally cost quite a bit more. Nutritional supplements including women's multivitamins also cost 2 or 3 times what it would cost in North america...
4. Having an oven in the kitchen is not standard
The apartments are so small that often, the oven portion of the kitchen is omitted. In fact, I have seen family residences without ovens...very annoying if you like baking. Those microwaves with built in ovens certainly don't compensate(common thing in Europe in case you have never seen one).
5. Stepping in dog poo is believed to give you good fortunate.
(That one is pretty self explanatory.)
I have yet to step in the dog poo Paris is notorious for. I guess I haven't been fortunate enough for that yet (Please see point number 5). However, no one warned me about the amount of times I would witness a grown man pulling out his privates and peeing in the street like no one is watching. Having seen this on my way home from a party or bar on a Friday night, there is evidence that this is a far more regular occurrence than just the times I have been there to actually see it.
Walking to the metro for my Wednesday morning classes, bakeries barely open, You can smell the aroma of fresh bread or pain au chocolat (chocolatine)!!! Now that is exactly what you want to be greeted with in early hours of the day...but then...all of a sudden...that inviting and very tempting odor turns into...whaff...the nasty smell of human biological waste! Almost 3 months in, I have developed a fear of sitting at the metro station since I am often greeted with that contemptuous scent in the seating area.
2. Flipping words around.
This is probably not something any English speaking North American would know but to all you francophiles and friends out there in Quebec, there is a type of slang that exists in Paris that involves flipping the syllables in words, creating new ones that mean exactly the same thing.
Now don't get me wrong, This is an interesting example of how language evolves. As it has been explained to me, this was once used as a code language in the Parisian Suburbs so that no one else would understand. This is now a widely accepted, often used way of communicating.
Louche= Chelou
Lourd=Relou
Femme=Meuf
3. Affordable decent gyms are hard to find
We've all had to sign contracts and agreements on our gym memberships. It seems that in North america, you still have the alternative to the grueling 12 month contracts. In France, signing up for a gym for anything less than a year could cost as much as your food bill. The sad truth is, most of the gyms here can't compete with the caliber of gyms found in Canada and generally cost quite a bit more. Nutritional supplements including women's multivitamins also cost 2 or 3 times what it would cost in North america...
4. Having an oven in the kitchen is not standard
The apartments are so small that often, the oven portion of the kitchen is omitted. In fact, I have seen family residences without ovens...very annoying if you like baking. Those microwaves with built in ovens certainly don't compensate(common thing in Europe in case you have never seen one).
5. Stepping in dog poo is believed to give you good fortunate.
(That one is pretty self explanatory.)
