On the plane back from home today I started a list of things I learned (or re-learned) this holiday break:
- Parisian boys are fucking skinny bitches (and all look gay to my now-Americanized eye). Comparatively, I am a whale. Which leads to my NY's resolution: work out and eat celery sticks for the rest of my days.
- Paris with not a single ray of sunshine for 5 days straight is about as depressing as Buffalo, NY.
- French cars really are tiny, but not as tiny as French parking garages.
- Everyone in Paris still smokes and seems to think second-hand smoking is some sort of Californian fad with no merit whatsoever.
- The country's future is bleaker that ever, as it tries to find its niche, its "third way" between capitalism and communism. Good luck with that. My Dad told me of a survey in which a third of respondents said they believed in free market economy. Meaning two thirds did not.
- The amount of time it takes me to miss the US when I am away is now down to two days.
- It really is a small world as evidenced by a meeting with my friend Cedric yesterday. He was telling me he was going to Beirut for a wedding, and I cited the name of an acquaintance (who's family friends with my best girl friend, a French-Lebanese) whom I know is getting hitched there this weekend. Turns out they went to business school together.
- Paris really is gorgeous.
- I barely saw any dogs, and this is probably due to the mayor's crackdown on people leaving their pooch's refuse material behind. Unsurprisingly, Parisians would rather have no dog at all than be seen picking up their shits.
- Shopping in Paris is retarded, since the Euro is so incredibly high. As an example, a Lacoste shirt (a French brand, obv.) is 72 bucks in the US, 72 Euros in France. Or 30% more expensive. Dumb ECB.
- My niece and nephew are the most achingly beautiful things in the world.
- American Airlines female flight attendents don't seem to believe in hair, makeup, courtesy, or basic customer service skills.
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