Paris se aaya mera dost...

An old school friend of mine has come on a trip to Pune after completing his studies in Paris. Caught up with him at ESquare in the evening.

He recollected his experiences at his school in France and gave me a vivid description of the lifestyle of French people. Some excerpts from our conversation :

Me: How is the working environment in France ?
Him: Very different and energetic. People are more relaxed... and are in a hurry to complete their weekly quota of 35 working-hours so that they can leave early on Fridays and enjoy the weekend.

Me: Do they actually track 35 working-hours ?
Him: They don't need to ! Everytime you swipe the access card and enter your office, the system shows you how many hours you spent IN office !

Me: Nice system, wish we could install one such system here ! Atleast, it will make people self-conscious of the amount of time they spend in office !
...

Me: Whats the cost of living in France like ?
Him: It depends if you are above 26 or below 26 !

Me: (Surprised) When did 26 come into picture ? In India people always talk of in terms of below 18 and above 18 ?
Him: In France, you get a lot of concessions/discount if you are below 26. The logic being that if you are below 26, most probably either you are a student or you are looking for employment.

Me: (Speechless... Can't help but admire the legislation makers of France)
...

Me: So did you get time to freak out in France ?
Him: Unfortunately not - Its the irony of student life. When you have time, you don't have money and when you have money, you do not have time !

Me: Hmmm... Such is life ! But you might have atleast visited one fashion show !
Him: I never felt the need... just take a stroll down the streets of Paris and you will witness a good LIVE fashion show !