Paris is known to be the city of love, of art and of fashion. But what do Parisians think about one of the biggest cities in the European Union called London? Of course, the French and the British have had many conflicts in the past, and we call each other names such as “roast beef” and “grenouille”, but the reality may be that we mutually do not know each other very well.

For example, the first thing that surprised me when I first moved to London was how Londoners were well disciplined. When you take the bus, or any type of public transport, you have to queue, and you have to wait your turn. This might seem quite normal to most of you, but actually in France there is no such thing as “queuing” (or maybe only when you’re in primary school). Parisians usually walk quickly during rush hour and don’t pay attention to the other people standing around them. It might seem rude, but Parisians can be so individualistic and focused on where they are going that they forget to respect each other.

Another thing that shocked me was the food. In Paris we usually say that the British only eat sandwiches and drink tea, but I really tried not to listen to all of these stereotypes and promised myself that I was going to eat everything here. To my disappointment, I have to say that British ‘food’ is very bad. When you go in a store to buy food, you can find a Cadbury Fingers box for only 50 pence, and a salad for £2 (I’m exaggerating a tiny bit, but you get the picture!). That seems to be a tough decision when you want to try to stay healthy.

I could go on and on about what I find interesting in London that we don’t have in Paris, but I have to stop here. All I can say is that I have learned a lot since I’ve first moved in here in October, and I really enjoy my new London life at LSE.

Cheers!

Marina x