UK.iMaZiR

Happy Birthday!!

I live in London since one year! I first went to London the 15th of October 2006, to work in the city. Then, a lot of things happened and I changed a lot. I think it is a good time for a questions and answers debriefing. Here are the questions people (English and/or French) ask me when they realize that I live in London since one year:

Q: Do you have a perfect accent when you speak English today?
A: I improved a lot since I am in London. But, I still have a slight French accent when I speak English. French people struggle to notice it, but English people can tell. When I first came to London, I believed that after 3 months I would have a perfect accent. I was wrong, in fact it is very difficult to get the English accent. I can lure a French when I speak English, but not an English.

Q: If you can bring one thing from Paris, and put it in London, what would you take?
A: Paris Plage.

Q: If you can bring one thing from London, and put it in Paris, what would you take?
A: The Thames festival. My perfect city would host Paris Plage and the London Thames festival

Q: Do you prefer London or Paris?
A: I like both. I prefer Paris for its food restaurants but I prefer London night life.

Q: Where are your best places in London and Paris?
A: Paris: Quartier Latin. London: South Bank.

Q: What do you hate in London?
A: The prices. Everything is ridiculously expensive, from your rent to your meal.

Q: What do you hate in Paris?
A: I hate Chatelet tube station. Full of scum.

Q: What makes you laugh in London?
A: The tube shape. It is very difficult to stand next to the doors when the tube is packed, you have to curve your body! Maybe that’s why they say “Stand Clear of the Doors”…

Q: And in Paris?
A: Gad El Maleh

Anyway. My life in London is more dynamic than in Paris and I feel more informed than ever on a lot of subjects because of the conferences we are in London and that don’t exist in Paris. Everything that comes from the US in Europe first goes to London.