Tag: You know you live in Paris when…
You know you live in Paris when… BHV Marais and the vocabulary of complaint
There’s no greater sign of your acculturation in Paris than seizing the right moment to râler (grouse, gripe, grumble) during an in-store complaint, while avoiding the emotional pitfalls and using the proper vocabulary.
You know you live in Paris when … Gazelle Horns
He arrives bearing gifts. There’s a box of camembert since he knows that you like cheese. He’s also brought a plastic container of eight cornes de gazelle (gazelle horns).
You know you live in Paris when… you have une prostate
Mistaking the gender of a noun as personal as your prostate is more than linguistic, it touches on your very sense of self.
You know you live in Paris when… You don’t
You don't live in Paris anymore. You now live at the center of a nameless territory with a radius of one kilometer, legally circumscribed by coronavirus confinement. If you were to give that territory a name, it would be your own.
You know you live in Paris when…: French Combat Rations
At home in Paris, in a neighborhood with an extraordinary array of food shops, bakeries and restaurants, the author opens a box of French combat rations and sets out on a mission of three square meals.
You know you live in Paris when a striker …
... texts you at 10pm
Him: Good news, I’m on strike tomorrow.
You: Good news for whom?
Him: Us. I can come by in the afternoon.
You: But I’m not on strike.
You know you live in Paris when…: Le Clarence
... it’s Fashion Week and you’ve tired of the pretense and now just want to stop and smell the Haut-Brion while attending the cookbook launch party for Christophe Pelé, chef at Le Clarence...
You know you live in Paris when…: Canal Saint Martin
You know you live in Paris when you, Guillaume and Ahmed have made plans to meet for a drink along the canal at 7:30 and you end up working late and it's 9'oclock and raining when...
You know you live in Paris when… : The B52s
... you're on the metro platform after seeing your new therapist and find yourself in your own private Idaho trying to pick up the pieces as you wonder how your life would have been different had you...