Things I Like About Life Here: PART 2

In February I posted an entry about things I like about life in Paris. I think it is high time that I post the sequel to that entry.

Tax and Tip Included:
In restaurants the tip and tax is already included into the price printed on the menu. Duh! Why on earth don’t we do that in the United States? If I walk past a restaurant and see the menu offering a burger and fires for 8.25 and I have exactly 8.25 in my pocket…I’m in! In the US if you see 8.25 for a burger and fries, you can’t go in and eat that burger unless you have at least $10 in your pocket (15% tip and 7% tax on 8.25 equals approximately $10.08). Here the restaurant pays the servers instead of leaving the severs at the mercy of the tip. If the restaurant is nice here or the service is particularly good or it’s a place you go to often, people still sometimes leave a tip of up to a euro or two. But the gesture is a way of showing your appreciation instead of something that is required.

“Bon Courage!”
Bon courage literally means ‘Good courage’ and it is a common thing to say when parting ways with someone. I really like it! It’s a way of saying, ‘Hey, fight the good fight. Hang in there. Be brave even though we all know life is hard.’

Espresso in the Morning:
I usually have a little espresso in the morning before I leave home. But there is a great morning tradition, which I sometimes take part in and that is to go down the café (which are literally on every street so it’s not hard to find one) and stand at the counter and drink your little espresso elbow to elbow with the other people doing the same. You can scan the paper or chat with the bartender or just collect your thoughts for the day. There might be some bar stools to perch on, but most people stand. The price for a coffee that is had at the counter is considerably cheaper than if you order the same cup of coffee but drink it at a table. I love the camaraderie of it all and I get to hear many well wishings of “Bonne journée! Bon courage!!”

The Crazy French Language:
I think French is a beautiful language. It’s hard to imagine that only a couple years ago I really couldn’t speak it at all and now I’m fluent. That’s not to say I don’t make mistakes! But I can live my life easily in French now. I think two of the big reasons that I learned so quickly are 1) I learned it HERE and was immersed in it and 2) I accepted the language as it came to me without always trying to translate things back into English. Still, I have recently learned two knew vocabulary words that I think are soooo funny when translated directly back into English. The first is ‘zipper’, which is called ‘une fermeture éclair’ or ‘a lightening closer’. Even better, to signal to someone that their fly is unzipped you have to say ‘ta fermeture éclair est descendue’ or literally ‘your lightening closer is descended.’ Ha! The other one I recently learned was the word for when you wake up in the morning and you have ‘sleep’ in your eyes. In French you have ‘caca d’oeil’ or literally ‘eye poop!’ Oh, those Frenchies!