You know you're becoming Parisian when...

So! I don't have much time to write because classes at the Sorbonne have started, and not gradually I might add. I'm suddenly in the middle of a slew of literature courses (the Poetics of texts and the Genre of the Fairly-Tale for starters), all of which seem very interesting, and all of which have pas mal de travail (a good amount of work). More on that later. For now, a few moments I've experienced recently, each of which has made me feel a bit more Parisian.

You know you're becoming Parisian when...
1. You magically float through metro turnstiles, while those poor newcomers shuffle through their belongings to find a ticket (you secretly have a Carte-Navigo in your bag, which has a special chip that is detected by the turnstiles)
2. You now require three different kinds of yogurt on any given day (I prefer a light, almost runny, raspberry yogurt for breakfast; a vanilla mousse/fruit confit after lunch; and a thick coffee-flavored cream after dinner...go to even the shabbiest supermarket and you will discover that the varieties are infinite)
3. You never take of your scarf. Never.
4. You find yourself saying, "Beeunhh ouaih" instead of "ummm, ouiee"
5. You pass by the Assemblée Nationale, Église st. Clotilde, numerous gardens, Invalides, and seven different pastry shops on one walk
6. You (a former vegetarian of two years) pass a Poulet Rôti and think you have died and gone to heaven, all in one whiff
7. You are stopped in the street and asked for directions (this has happened to me twice! success!)
8. You are almost happy that you feel sad, because being chipper just would not go with the gray skies and falling rust-colored leaves
9. You no longer regard smokers as unusual or smelly...in fact, you begin to regard NON-smokers as out of the ordinary
10. You no longer think of bread as a "bad carb," or even a "carb," but rather a god-given right
10b. You find very good bread at the Shopi (the equivalent of Safeway...I know what you're thinking, but Shopi bread is really quite good! You just have to know how to choose it)
11. You are propositioned daily outside the Sorbonne to join a student protest
12. You don't think that stores entirely devoted to dog furniture, clothing, and accessories are weird
13. You find that everyone you know is a foodie (your student-friends opt for gourmet cheese and a baguette instead of pizza; you read celebrity interviews in magazines only to find that the subject of the interview ranges from the star's favorite chocolate shop to where they go for prime fish; your friend is affronted when you worry that chocolate isn't good for you; your other friend comments that the eclair you just shared was "not bad: the pastry could have been flakier, and the topping was dry, but the mousse inside was OK")
14. You hop out of the metro as soon as the doors open, before the train has fully stopped
15. You become bored...Just kidding! I'm definitely not yet bored, there is way too much to explore. I'm discovering Paris by bits and pieces. I'll let you know when a few more fall into place.

Now back to homework!

Bisous,
Alice