Becoming Parisian

Usually when I log my travels, I start with the ever-exciting day of travel. But this time, not much happened! Once I got to the airport, I met up with a few people from our group before we hopped on the flight. In seven short hours, we were already at CDG. The drive over to my housing was rather chaotic. I remember that one time we went into a roundabout, and were seriously less than 6 inches from the cars next to us on both sides. I was certain we were getting into an accident, but we didn’t. We covered in orientation the next day this very thing—French people must undergo very intense technical training before being able to drive in Paris. So, though the drivers are what Americans would consider rude and aggressive, they are able to precisely navigate their cars in very impressive ways. I see why UMich has a “no driving abroad” rule… Charles de Gaulle is not technically in Paris, and I could tell the moment we arrived in Paris proper. I didn’t expect it to be this way, but it was black and white. The buildings changed styles, the streets got more crowded, and you felt like you were actually in a city, just on two different sides of an intersection. I arrived and unpacked, before heading out to get some crêpes with a friend of mine from UMich. To get there, I had to take the Metro! It’s very easy to use! My line, 8, has only the oldest generation of trains it seems, which don’t have a light to show you where you are on the line. Therefore you have to be careful to catch which station you were at as the train stops. I had a crêpe with sausage and a couple different kinds of cheeses. For dessert, I had a Snickers® crêpe, which was délicieuse! I went back to my room and promptly crashed.

Crêpes Crêpes Crêpes! The next day was mostly spent in a hot room listening to information about the program. To save space and time, details will be omitted, with the exception of the interesting lesson on how to seem more Parisian—don’t make eye-contact with, nor smile at people, dress a little nicer than people do at home, and keep to my own business. That first point was something I brought up in my first blog, and it’s interesting to note that it came up again while here. Once orientation was finished, we all walked over to Pont Neuf, the “New Bridge,” to take our cruise down the Seine! Interestingly enough, Pont Neuf is actually the oldest bridge in Paris… On our way over, I had a conversation with one of the CEA advisors about the history of the streets of Paris, which started with remarking that the names of streets are posted on the buildings at the corners, not on street signs like how they are in the US. She told me (in French) that these signs and street names, obviously, predate the car. Medieval Parisian streets were a lot smaller and did not have plumbing. The result was stagnant air that reeked. Horse-drawn carriages also could not fit down these streets. So, much of the medieval city was taken down starting in the 1850s, and Paris as we know it was built. This was all directed by Georges-Eugène Hausmann, who was very passionate about sanitation and efficiency in Paris. The riverboat tour was really beautiful, and I got my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower on the way. We also saw the Louvre, the Musée D’Orsay, and many bridges. For example, a bridge that was built with bricks from the Bastille prison by those who wanted to step on a symbol of the monarchy, which I found quite amusing, and also a bridge dedicated to Alexander III of Russia.

What’s this weird tower thing I found? I went to dinner with some kids I met on the riverboat, where I got steak with onions and fries. Food here is such a better deal than back at home—15€ for all of that! From there, we decided to go and hang around at the Eiffel Tower at night to watch the light show. We got there exactly at 11:00, and the light show goes on for five minutes, every hour, on the hour. So, we got to see the show once at 11, and then once again when we were about to leave at 12. We ended up meeting this very nice guy, Pierre, who spoke to us about what we thought about Parisian people. He seemed very insistent that the stereotype of Parisians is that they don’t want to hear foreigners butcher their precious language. See, French has L’Académie Française, an academy responsible for maintaining the French language by setting very clear “correct” and “incorrect” modes of speaking. English has no such equivalent. Pierre fears that this mentality has potentially spread into the minds of Parisians, but he is of the mindset that it’s commendable to try to speak as much French as you can, and to not worry about its correctness. He was great to talk to!

Eiffel Tower at Night!

Today, I slept in a decent amount, and once I got myself ready for the day, I went grocery shopping. In the hostel, we each get a small bucket that goes in the fridge, where we can put the food we buy into, and then cook with in the communal kitchen on the main floor. At the grocery store, I got some noodles, salad and dressings, fruit, and some spiced meats, including sausages and kebabs. When I got back, I began to cook myself lunch. The hostel is a mix of different people from all different places. I was cooking at the same time as a girl, Mej, from Tunisia. She helped me get set up and cook my first meal here. She was super helpful, very nice to talk to, and helped me make an absolutely delicious meal! I love living in the hostel so far, it’s so diverse, and everyone is super nice. Mej and I also ate together, along with two kids from Galicia, a region in northwest Spain that I traveled to three years ago.

Our Fridge

My meal! I walked over from there to the BHVP, that library I brought up in my first post. Unfortunately, the reading room was completely full, but I managed to get my library card. I instead walked to the Pompidou Center, a very architecturally interesting building that is designed to look inside-out, where I could get this post done. Excited for my first class tonight!

Pompidou Center, the Art Museum + Library where I am right now.

À Bientôt!