Portrait of a Fat Tire Employee

I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason brining something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them, and we help them in return. Well I don't know if I believe that's true, but I know I'm who I am today because I knew you... Because I knew you, I have been changed for good. - Wicked

So not only have I learned an incredible amount this summer, I found a new Parisian family. It started with the spring guides who gave me words of wisdom that I have only now begun to understand. Then continued with my training class (FTBT-TC208) who laughed with me, drank with me (when we could afford it), and supported me through an unbelievably challenging summer. Finally, it ended with the new fall class - they have so much to look forward to, and they will change more than they ever can possibly realize.

But when I think about all of us, I wonder if there is a common thread. Among the guides? Among the office staff? So here is my conclusion: We are outgoing, intelligent, sophisticated adventurers. We are tall (or short), boy (girl), strong (out of shape), loud (quiet?), Texans (Californians, Mississippi-ites, Alabamians?), Aggies (Longhorns, Red Raiders... Auburn, Ole Miss, UNC, Stanford), and Francophiles (franco-what?). We read too much, talk too loud, and party too late. We are sleep-deprived caffeine addicts. We miss home, but home is with each other. We make French history jokes. We wear DOW-JONES rally caps. We are unequivocally green. We are liberal (or conservative). We smoke hookah, get in fights, drink wine at 2pm, and stuff ourselves with cheese. We argue with each other. (We secretly hate all Australians.) We laugh, cry, and ride bicycles. We are animated... dry... nerdy... sarcastic... and over-the-top.

In short, there is no stereotype, there is no perfect tour guide. We have the southern gentlemen and the caustic New Yorker. We fix bikes (or break them). But we are all in it together. Everyday is a new day in Paris. Everyday is the best day of my life.