#23 - Chain smokers

Couple of years ago I was doing a strategic project with a French customer. Paris is a beautiful city and French are interesting people to work with. One guy used to say that French are best when they are fried and served with ketchup.

One of my trips was unforgettable. I flew from south Europe to Charles de Gaulle airport at the evening and the next evening back to home. I never stepped outside the airport. That helped me a lot to understand Tom Hanks in the movie called The Terminal. I slept at the airport and had the meeting at the airport. 

The atmosphere of the meeting is not easy to forget. I was already used to non-smoking rules at public areas in Finland. However, France was still the promised land of chain smokers. It was quiet at the airport business center when I and Mr JT stepped into the meeting room with our customers. After couple of hours I needed to step out in order to visit restroom. It was almost impossible to see through the smoke at the corridor, because the corridor was crowded by the chain smokers. The situation was the same when the meeting was over and it was time to leave the meeting room. I could barely survive while holding my breath for a while. My suit required couple of dry-cleaning rounds after such an experience. Luckily the good old times are gone and smoking is no more in fashion.

Lessons learnt:

What does not kill you makes you stronger.

French - fried and served with ketchup.