Monday, February 27, 2012
My Impressions of Paris so far
Hey all,
I've spent a good month here now and feel pretty settled in to my daily routine. Whether that's a good thing or not I don't know. Sometimes I feel the need to be a bit more spontaneous and get out and see things. Of what I have seen though, there are some things I really appreciate and some things I prefer from home.
First off, the food here is pretty great. It is a bunch of sandwiches, pastries, and breads. They really like their ham and cheese as well. One of my favorite things though is how fresh everything is here. Very few times do I ever see anything that is packaged or pre-prepared, the French really love to take their time making something worth eating. I will be much fatter when you all see me next.
The party scene so far has been a bit underwhelming. Last weekend me and my friends got turned away from a bar because we were Americans. Plus the metro stops running at around 1, so if you wanna make it back home at a decent hour you pretty much have to call it quits at 12:30. Also, the drinks are way too expensive. It's cool to go to some hole in the war European bar once or twice, but mostly we have just been getting wine and having our own house parties with the other students.
Once you stay here for a while, the tourist attractions start to loose their novelty and you feel a bit more like a citizen of the city would feel. So many Americans come here expecting it to be radically different than America in one way or another but really life here is only different in small ways. I think the most interesting thing really is getting to see the way another culture functions. They are, contrary to what you've heard, not unfriendly at all. They are just much more private than Americans are and honestly I prefer it that way.
One last thing, I went to Shakespeare and Company this weekend and lit-nerded pretty hard. For those of you who don't aren't familiar with it, Shakespeare and Co is a famous bookstore owned by Sylvia Beach in the 1920's where writers such as Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Hemingway and others would frequent during the so called "Lost Generation" period of literature. I'm a big Hemingway fan and standing in this place (which inside honestly looks more like some wizard's apothecary than a bookstore) was a really memorable occasion for me.
Anyway, tomorrow I head off to Amsterdam so next time I write I will have a whole new city to talk about.
Au revior
I've spent a good month here now and feel pretty settled in to my daily routine. Whether that's a good thing or not I don't know. Sometimes I feel the need to be a bit more spontaneous and get out and see things. Of what I have seen though, there are some things I really appreciate and some things I prefer from home.
First off, the food here is pretty great. It is a bunch of sandwiches, pastries, and breads. They really like their ham and cheese as well. One of my favorite things though is how fresh everything is here. Very few times do I ever see anything that is packaged or pre-prepared, the French really love to take their time making something worth eating. I will be much fatter when you all see me next.
The party scene so far has been a bit underwhelming. Last weekend me and my friends got turned away from a bar because we were Americans. Plus the metro stops running at around 1, so if you wanna make it back home at a decent hour you pretty much have to call it quits at 12:30. Also, the drinks are way too expensive. It's cool to go to some hole in the war European bar once or twice, but mostly we have just been getting wine and having our own house parties with the other students.
Once you stay here for a while, the tourist attractions start to loose their novelty and you feel a bit more like a citizen of the city would feel. So many Americans come here expecting it to be radically different than America in one way or another but really life here is only different in small ways. I think the most interesting thing really is getting to see the way another culture functions. They are, contrary to what you've heard, not unfriendly at all. They are just much more private than Americans are and honestly I prefer it that way.
One last thing, I went to Shakespeare and Company this weekend and lit-nerded pretty hard. For those of you who don't aren't familiar with it, Shakespeare and Co is a famous bookstore owned by Sylvia Beach in the 1920's where writers such as Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Hemingway and others would frequent during the so called "Lost Generation" period of literature. I'm a big Hemingway fan and standing in this place (which inside honestly looks more like some wizard's apothecary than a bookstore) was a really memorable occasion for me.
Anyway, tomorrow I head off to Amsterdam so next time I write I will have a whole new city to talk about.
Au revior
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
My first month in Paris
Salut everybody!
So after weeks of procrastination I have finally decided to get around to this whole blogging in Europe thing. Blah blah blah I hope you read it and find it interesting. So I moved into my own apartment about 2 weeks ago after living with friends for a while and let me tell you, I love it. I would have posted pictures but I live alone, which means that its not in a state where I would want any of you to see it. More will come, I promise.
So let's get down to what everybody cares about: the city. Paris is a city with two faces. There is a beautiful, romantic Paris that you see walking down the Champs-Elysees at night; the storefront displays at Armani and the couple dressed in black holding hands and smoking cigarettes at a bright cafe as the lights of the Eiffel Tower shine off the Seine. This Paris does in fact exist and it is breathtaking. There is, however, a Paris of packed metros where the people look like they would kill someone just to get home while the drunk hobo walks up and down the aisle begging for a euro.
The thing to remember about Paris is that it is a very old city with a very long tradition. The people here take great pride in their appearance and for the most part keep to themselves. Gone are the days of rolling out of bed in a hoodie and basketball shorts and jumping on the first bus to class. Here, it is obvious that people live life very purposefully, and that includes taking the time to get up in the morning and dress themselves for success. The weather here is extremely cold; for those of you in Texas I don't even think I can express it to you. It's just really really cold.
My university is incredible. All of my professors are very well studied and extremely professional. My favorite part of this university system is the discussion sections led by teaching assistants. I have one discussion every Wednesday on Coping with Multipolarity in US Foreign Policy and another on Thursday on Introduction to World Politics and it is incredible the perspective one gets about global affairs when discussing them with students from all over the world. I have met friends in my classes from Brazil, Turkey, and Jerusalem just to name a few places. Everyone here is very focused and the work is challenging and rewarding. More to come on my academics in the future.
Anyway, I am adjusting well and I miss everyone from back home. I wish I could bring you all here to stay with me. I will keep updating this blog with posts, pics, and videos from time to time to keep everyone updated.
À Bientôt,
Garrett
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