1. You got used to explaining that this isn't where you went to school.
2. You were a jaded commuter by the age of 12.
3. You know how to tie a scarf, which is important because a courant d'air might incapacitate you for life.
4. Life wasn't worth living if you didn't have a K-Way.
5. If you were super French, you wore a lot of Jacadi.
6. Year 9, means nothing to you but CPE is just as confusing.
7. Six words: owls, cabbages, knees, rocks, lice, and toys.
8. It took you years to learn how to write cursive on multi-lined paper.
9. A piece of buttered baguette with a bar of chocolate was a totally acceptable mid-morning snack.
10. Watching Grange Hill meant you couldn't help but wonder what normal school was like.
11. You always ran to see the cantine menu on a Monday morning.
12. It was a place of wonder, where you could have couscous and lamb tagine for lunch.
13. And the first thing you did at lunch was check whether you had the highest number on your glass.
14. In maternelle you were taught songs about stringing up the aristocracy.
15. You grew up believing that Joan of Arc and Napoleon were heroes.
16. Walking down Bute Street almost felt like being in France.
17. At least one of your friends had a chauffeur.
18. 1 September was bigger than 1 January.
19. Cartable envy was very real.
20. Because you worked so hard all week, Wednesdays meant a half-day for everyone.
21. You got used to walking past the bodyguards of minor royals and diplomats.
22. "Meet in the cour for récré after the cantine, yeah?" was a totally acceptable way of speaking.
23. A three-hour P.E. lesson usually meant one hour on a coach, one hour getting changed, and one hour of sport.
24. Sometimes you got to play exotic foreign games, like netball or hockey.
25. Everyone's relatives lived in a different time zone.
26. You know at least three swearwords in Arabic.
27. You ended up making more Lebanese friends than French ones.
28. In fact, you didn't meet your first 100% English friend until you went to university.
29. And you never forgot your teachers' words as you were ushered out of school to run around Hyde Park's Round Pond 100 times.
