Yesterday in the 6th arrondissement I did a quick about-face on my Velib when I saw some handsome firemen whiling away their time in the station by playing ping-pong and working out on mats close to the large open entryway. At dinner, Parisian friends lamented that the calendars sold door to door by firemen each [...]

For the past five years I’ve been moonlighting as a film extra in Paris. The first time I responded to an ad I saw somewhere, perhaps the American Church, specifically looking for American extras for a vernissage scene of the film L’Un Reste, L’Autre Part (the logic being that Americans buy art, they wanted our voices in [...]

One of the many social benefits of working for a large French company is le ticket restaurant, a pre-paid meal voucher you receive for every day you work. Now don’t get too excited – it’s not free by any means. However, the company does pay over half and in return they receive tax benefits. When looking [...]

Most Americans know better than to ask their friends how much money they earn or to ask how much was spent on a large ticket item like a house. It is considered uncouth for us to be so nosy. The French, on the other hand, take the subject of money to a whole new level. [...]

I am playing a real concert here in Paris at La Maroquinerie on October 14th. By “real,” I mean a place where the sound system includes more than one crappy PA system, some broken amps and a bored dick for brains sound guy, holds more than four people comfortably, has an actual stage and most importantly, PAYS [...]

Last year when I started my job with company x they paid for two weeks of intensive one on one French classes in Paris for me. The classes were good and I learned plenty but the problem with an anglophone trying to learn French in Paris is that so many people speak English it’s difficult to apply [...]