By Adaeze
It's been a few weeks here and I've gotten more accustomed to the various parts of my stay in Paris. Today, I've decided to show you all little pieces of my community abroad.
The Eiffel Tower: This is definitely something that makes up my community abroad because I see it every single day on my way to school and on my way back. It’s meaningful to me because it’s so beautiful and somewhat comforting to know that if I’m ever lost, I really just have to follow the sight of the Eiffel and I know from there I can find my way back to my apartment.
The Boulangerie: There are tons of boulangeries (bakeries) on every street here in Paris. However, I go to the same one every morning on my way to school. The women are so sweet and help me practice my french every morning. Some of the other workers there speak to me in English because they want to practice their English but I speak to them in French because I want to practice my French.
The Fruit Market: This store is actually very close to where I live. The people here helped me feel very much at home when I first moved in and helped me with my french every single day.
Tia!! : I knew Tia before I came to AUP, being that she’s a GW student and this girl is definitely a huge part of my community. It is wonderful to have someone from home on this trip with me because I know I’m never ever alone in Paris and having her here definitely kept my homesickness at bay.
Venice: Yes, I know, I’m studying in Paris so how can Venice be a part of my community? Well, I have cousins who live here and I’m actually in Venice writing this blog. My cousins have made Venice a lovely part of my community abroad because I don’t feel like a local here. They’re taking me to all the spots that they know and I’m not falling victim to super expensive tourist traps. The shop owners here are so lovely, and remind me of the ones in my neighborhood in Paris because they help me with my more-limited-than-french Italian. For example: An embarrassing moment yesterday when I bought gelato and said “Prego” (you’re welcome), instead of “Grazi” (thank you). Hey, in my defense, I can only learn so many languages at once!
There are definitely differences in my community here versus my community abroad. At GW and America in general, stores are open way later into the night, so if you’re hungry, you can always find something to eat. Here in Paris, most shops start shutting down around 7-8pm, unless it’s a sit down restaurant or McDonalds. By 9pm, you’d be lucky to find anywhere that’s open. It is also frowned upon to eat while walking here. I also found that people here have no problem with talking about money matters and race while in America, those subjects are tiptoed around and not talked about until there is a closer relationship. Here, people just go for it, no holds barred. The most obvious difference here is that people do not wear sweatpants anywhere unless they are very clearly exercising or going on a jog. Even wearing a sweatshirt will grant you some stares, which brings me to my final difference: they stare. You know how people can stare at you but then advert their eyes when you catch them looking at you? Not here. They stare and they keep staring. At first I thought it was me but no, they even stare at each other.
For the most part, my community here is similar to my community at home. Most people here speak English, and most of the French people around me know that I speak English so they speak English to me so that they can practice, while I speak French to them so that I can practice. Essentially, all of my conversations in Paris are spoken in two languages. Since I go to an American school, most of the students speak English, but sometimes you can hear conversations being spoken in languages other than French or English, as people at this school come from all over the world. Paris is still a city, and city people act very similar no matter where you are. Parisians walk just as fast and are perpetually in a hurry just like Washingtonians (D.C., not the state) and New Yorkers (my home state).