My pleasure! I’m sure it will come back and if you’re in Paris you should be fine even if it doesn’t. :) Enjoy France (in spite of what the world says, we’re not all jerks, I swear!).

Just in case it’s your first time in France : say “bonjour” when entering a store/ restaurant or when passing someone in an elevator or a staircase. Say “s’il vous plaît” and “merci” every time you ask for or get something respectively. This will save you a lot of nasty stares and displeased reactions. Actually that’s one of the reasons French people have a mean / rude reputation…we are VERY keen on politeness and when someone fails to respect these basic rules, we consider them rude and act rude in return (this analysis is not mine, it’s from a foreigner who lived in France for several years but, as a native french, I think it makes a lot of sense to explain the french mindset)

Lol, that must have been really fun ! Are you sure it wasn’t “putain de cOnnard” (I.e. f*cking *sshole) though? That sure does sound French !

The equivalent to tabernacle may be " Bordel" (brothel) but I’m not sure (I’m French and we never use tabernacle). Overall our swears tend to lean towards sexuality more than religion e.g. “putain de bordel de merde ça me casse les couilles” (i.e. shitty brothel’s whore, this breaks my balls).

Thanks for sharing your experience, I’ll keep that in mind!

Omg you’re making me freak out. I had to quit academia a year and a half ago (after 7 years of postdocs) and, after a bad experience in the private sector (techy start up bitch who was just plain insane), I’ve been struggling for 10 months to find a new path and a job…and I’m still nowhere near finding something I’m afraid.