Dear Paris
What a unique experience this has been! The city, the culture, the people, the fashion, the food, and so much more have contributed to an unforgettable experience! As a first-time traveler to Europe, this city and experience will be hard to top in my future travels.
Before coming to Paris, I expected what you often see in movies: people in berets, cafés on every corner, and designer fashion stores everywhere you go. Boy, was I wrong!
Paris is so much more than the typical movie stereotypes we see in films, read in books, and hear of online. It’s an entirely different culture and experience from America, and I won’t forget what I’ve learned and who I’ve become in my travels here.
I’ve taken the time to discover so much that I wouldn’t have found anywhere else, than by being thrown into a part of the city and left to explore on my own.
When I first arrived, I was jet-lagged, of course, but I was getting ready for my first taste of French and European culture. Entering the hotel made me realize that the real estate and properties are smaller than in America, but it was somewhat expected. What struck me at first was all of the food I’ve tried. For dinner, we stopped at Bistro 32. The food was served quickly and with fresh ingredients without processing, and I certainly felt fuller than usual after every meal.
The culture of Paris is far different from America in terms of how Parisians live life. In the USA, we live life fast, get our coffees filled to the brim with ice in a plastic cup, eat pre-packaged and processed foods, and have an overly consuming work-to-life balance.
As in Paris, they live life like nobody is ever rushing them. Every corner I would turn and metro stop I would walk out of, there were cafes and restaurants filled with patrons enjoying an espresso cafe, or a freshly made meal with only the purest ingredients.
At lunch, some brasseries and bistros shut down between the hours of 2 pm and 6 pm for a well-deserved lunch break. This allows the city and employees to slow down and enjoy a lunch of their own.
Paris is a city of not just cars like we use in America, but also traveling on foot and by metro. By taking public transportation and walking 20,000 steps a day, I’ve realized the beauty and the mindfulness of everyday life I have yet to achieve in America. In Paris, you see Parisians walking down every street, on the train, not rushing to get from one place to another. People enjoy their time and that is their concern than being on time.
After meeting our group the next day, we ventured out into the city, explored Notre Dame Cathedral, and had classic Paris crepes for dinner. Our journey was just beginning, and I was all in. As the days went on, they flew by. The Hemingway walking tour taught us about the places Ernest Hemingway wrote and resided during his time. The Seine river cruise was a beautiful trip filled with history and architecture as we floated along in Paris. Following that, we visited the Luxembourg Gardens, which were a place of peace and beauty. We did a walking tour of the American revolutionaries, where we learned about those who made a difference in French history and saw sights where these impactful individuals resided or stayed. The Louvre museum was filled with many different types of art pieces that influenced different cultures, not just in France but in other countries. The museum of liberation was quite a different but historical experience that dove into how France adapted. Through war, Nazi takeover, and developed into the nation we know today. The Père cemetery tour taught us about important individuals who rest in a famous place and made an impact on French culture. The Black American culture walking tour taught us so much about how black history was seen in France and came to be. Individuals like Josephine Baker contributed to black women’s appearance in French culture and came from a different “origin” than the French described. The Musée d’Orsay showed us how French artwork developed and changed over the years. From pieces that were unacceptable to pieces that thrived in the late 1900s.
The farewell dinner was our big goodbye from the group with whom I shared all of these experiences. It was quite sad saying goodbye because I grew very close to some of my group members through this experience. While exploring the city and the culture, I didn’t expect to find an amazing group of individuals and friends with whom I experienced the city. We walked to an old apartment where Hemingway resided to say our goodbyes. After that, we reagrouped and met some friends at the Eiffel Tower to watch it sparkle one last time. At that moment, I knew this experience was over. But it had changed me into a more culturally aware individual and has taught me to slow down and enjoy a nice cappuccino when life is passing me by. Living like the Parisians may not be as easy as it appears. But I will never forget what I learned from this experience and how it shaped me into a more culturally aware individual.
