Goodbye, Paris

1 day left! Tomorrow I’ll be up bright and early to take my 3 hour long final exam for grammar. Afterwards, I will enjoy good food and drink with my wonderful friends before departing Sunday morning.

For my final Paris blog post, I decided to make a short list of some things that I’ve learned during my stay. Here goes:

1) I will never be Parisian, no matter how well I speak French.

2) The metro stop Chatelet-Les Halles smells bad because of the mushrooms growing in the walls.

3) The French Paradox should not refer to the fact that French people can eat as much wine/cheese/butter as they want without gaining weight, but rather to the way they never sweat, yet smell always terrible.

4) The cheapest beer you can get in a bar is still 5 euro. Roughly $6.36.

5) Few things are funnier than watching Europeans play American football.

6) It’s possible (and not even problematic) to live life without a cell phone.

7) Purchasing a ticket to a club ahead of time does not guarantee entry into said club. Yelling, “Your Mom works at Monoprix!” on the way out further decreases your chances of entry.

8) You can buy a fine tasting bottle of wine for 3 euro.

9) Most frequently uttered phrase in this country (to me, at least): “Ehh…non, ce n’est pas possible.”

10) Riding the metro for four months will significantly improve your balance.

11) Gaydar in Europe is like Netflix and Pandora: It simply doesn’t work.

12) Military police: scary guns, silly hats.

13) An awful weekend can easily be fixed with wine, cheese and bread along the Seine.

14) Saying goodbye to the people you lived with for the past four months suck-suck-suckity-suck-sucks.

15) You don’t have to love Parisians, but you must love the city.

That’s all, folks! See you in a couple days, New York.