Trafficking & Pastis
It has now been almost 2 weeks and I am still loving every second here in Paris. There are 6 of us that make up the Paris Lofts group, and every day at least one of us has had some kind of ridiculous story about our transition to this culture…Some examples:
- Locking ourselves out of our of apartments in the middle of the night
- Meeting your new cockroach roomates
- Running out of toilet paper on Day 1 and no stores are open
- Getting stuck in the dark, getting stuck in a sauna
- Butchering French words or sitting in meetings and not understanding a single word
- Sitting with each other and not understanding a single word (British is English right?? Bollocks, Knackered, sorry what?)
- Tripping and eating pavement on the Champs Elysees (I haven’t told anyone that yet)
- Missing stops on the metra, what happens if I end up in Zone 3??
- Crossing the street and facing near death experiences
- Overdosing on coffee
- Traumatic taxi rides… Arretez!
- Getting lost in the Havas village… getting lost everywhere really.
- Eating in the canteen : /
- Eating out and feeling like we have to finish everything we order (no pressure, no doggy bags)
I could literally write a book around the stories and experiences we have shared with each other… and it would be a full blown comedy. However, that’s not what I want to focus on. I want to talk about the people who have helped make me feel like I really do belong here. All accidents and incidents aside, this group of people has made me feel at home day in and day out. I introduce to you Team Rocket – Havas Media Trafficking & Tracking. That’s right, trafficking campaigns and analyzing data, boom! Don’t be jealous.
Hidden away in the corner of the 6th floor in the Havas Village you will find the best group of people in this entire village. And then look closer and you will find one lucky American girl sitting right in the middle of this team of ~20. She looks pretty lost, and can’t speak French, but she’s giving it her best by smiling and laughing whenever someone else does : )
Honestly though, my team has been so accommodating and has truly made my time here very memorable. I have spent time with almost everyone individually and in groups, learning everything from processes, tools, client relations…. along with some quality French / Englishesque curses and some serious Counter-Strike battles. On top of time spent in the office I have been out with the team for several happy hours, enjoyed some quality Pastis, went out for some Puteaux lunches and enjoyed many many smoke/café breaks : )
Everyone is so welcoming and I ENJOY every day I am here… Enjoy. Enjoy. How does this translate to French?? Oh yeah… Jouir. Yes that’s right Jouir. Week one I sent an email to the entire team of 20+ and signed it Enjoy… Jouir. Learned later that this has a slightly different meaning here, feel free to look into that on your own time. Anyways, that definitely broke some ice and I have since made loads of friends after that! Google translate is no longer one of my friends.
