Greetings Family, Friends, and Random Guests who have
stumbled onto my blog,
Alas, it has been a while since my last post. At least I’m predictable, right? BUT the main reason for this delay is my inspiration for this installment.
That is (drumroll please….) a full time job! Yes, that’s right.
I am now a fully productive and contributing member of French
society. Or as close as one can
come to that with mediocre French language skills…
So, this new and exciting job is with a company that gives
tours of Paris geared toward Anglophones via bike, walking, and Segway. It’s called Fat Tire Bike Tours
(shameless plug for the new employer or helpful information about what I’m doing? I’ll let you
decide). I’m not a tour
guide, but I work in the office getting the paperwork and tickets ready for the
tours, as well as helping people make reservations and check in before
their tours leave. I’d love to be
a guide, but you have to be able to "ghost ride" two bikes at the same time when
necessary and, let’s face it, I’ve just never been that coordinated.
Nevertheless, I really enjoy this opportunity. Since it caters to Anglophones from
around the world, it also employs Anglophones from around the world. There are a lot of Americans working
there (especially from Texas. The
founder is a Texan). There are
also quite a few Aussies, English, Irish, Kiwis (did you know that’s what
people from New Zealand call themselves?
I had no idea), and Canadians. There is also an interesting assortment of mutts. Some of my colleagues are half French/half
American, Irish but grew up in South Africa, German but grew up in Australia with EU passports,
etc. Thus, the place is always
interesting and even though we all speak English, the various phrases
and expressions people use are a lot of fun.
One of my favorite non-American English phrases: “It’s The
Dream.” As in, “man this job
is so awesome… it’s The Dream.”
It’s simple, but I really like that one. That falafel was The Dream. That ice cream was The Dream. I'll stop there.
I think the main reason I enjoy working at Fat Tire is its dynamic environment. My
colleagues are all energetic and outgoing people, chosen by this company because
they make you feel comfortable and their enthusiasm
for Paris is infectious. On top of
that, the energy from our customers is amazing. Consider how excited you are when you’re on vacation
discovering a beautiful city that you’ve always wanted to visit. You’re in an exceptionally good mood,
right? Now there are hundreds of
you, and I get to work with you every day. It’s pretty cool.
I’m relieved that I get to speak English when I work
because, ya know, I’m pretty good in that language. It’s also a great place to make friends. Like I mentioned, all my colleagues
speak English, so that takes the first social hurdle out of the way. However, I’m a little afraid that my
French skills are going to deteriorate.
I don’t have many occasions to speak French in the office. Occasionally concierges from Paris
hotels call us to either make or confirm reservations for their clients. The funniest thing about these calls is
that the concierges insist on speaking French to us on the phone, but then we
hear them speak to their guests in English while we’re waiting. Ah well. I’ve become more comfortable speaking French on the phone,
though, so that’s progress. I’ve
also had a couple concierges tell me that I have a charming accent when I speak
French. (Though they might have
been trying to squeeze their clients onto a last-minute tour of the Eiffel Tower…)
So far the job also comes with a lot of perks. For example, on my first day of work I
showed up and completed some paperwork with the HR manager. Promptly following this step, I went on
a bike tour of Paris so I would be familiar with the route. After that I went home. So… I got paid to go on a tour! That happened about half a dozen times! I’ve been on the Day Bike, Night Bike,
Segway, Bike Tour of Versailles, VIP (ooh la la!) Tour of Versailles… I might
even be forgetting some. And I got
paid to do this! I’m also proud to
say I might know more about Paris, its buildings, and its history than Paul
does! Muahaha. The picture below is from our VIP tour of Versailles... these rooms aren't included in the standard tours of the chateau. This is one of the rooms where Louis XIV, XV, and XVI used to hang out with their "inner circles." Oh my.
That being said, all jobs have their drawbacks. They aren’t too serious with this gig,
but they exist. Since it’s in the
tourism industry, we all have to work nights and weekends. The managers are sympathetic, though,
and I almost always have two days off in a row so I have a “weekend.” This personalized weekend usually
includes either Saturday or Sunday so I can spend time with Paul, which is wonderful. Also, the night shifts go quite late, since
our Night Bike tour gets in around 11:30pm. Once the group gets back we chat with them a bit, help them
find the metro or catch a cab, and once they leave we bring all of
their bikes inside the office. The night tour ranges from 20-50 people right now, broken into smaller, more personalized groups, and the numbers are increasing as the season ramps up. Thus, we have quite a few bikes to move. I'm hoping to gain some muscle by the end of the season! We generally finish up somewhere between midnight and 12:45, but I have an
amazingly short commute, so I don’t mind.
I forgot to mention that – the office is about a 12-minute
walk from our apartment. I think
if I hit the lights it’s a six-minute bike ride. Not bad, eh?
Also, it’s helped me become more comfortable riding my bike in Paris. This is great, especially given Paul’s enthusiasm for biking. We’re planning to bike out to
Versailles on one of our days off.
I forget how many kilometers that is (nobody here speaks in miles), but
it should be a good beginner’s challenge.
