So I arrived in Paris at about 7 in the morning last Sunday — I know, I know, this post is rather late, but the struggle of jetlag is real, though I think I am slowly coming out of it. I have been here over three days now and have to say that I have already fallen in love with the city. It is as beautiful and remarkable as I was expecting, perhaps even more so. It seems as though on every street there is something unique and inspiring, and turning on any corner you’re met with something grand. Truly, already, I can see why people deem Paris the most beautiful city in the world.

So what has France been like in general so far? Well, when I arrived I was greeted by the all too familiar sight of overcast cloudiness and the cool dampness of mist that I thought I had left behind in the Bay Area. Indeed, the weather has been a bit strange in Paris these past few days, though maybe it’s simply the norm. People back home — you think Bay Area weather is unpredictable and bipolar, but Paris is much more so. Within a day I’ll feel uncomfortably warm, then the clouds come in with a breeze and it’s suddenly very chilly, then the sun will come out again, then it’ll rain lightly. And the humid summer heat hasn’t even arrived yet.

It’s strange but very cool to realize you’re in a country quite unlike what you’re used to in the US, and the most pointed difference is obviously the language. It is not until you come to a country that only speaks French that you realize how insufficient your college French 3-level French truly is. People here speak fast, and you kind of just have to make do or go with it, se debrouiller as they say. My taxi guy asked me something about my luggage, and I just sort of smiled and nodded, and he put my luggage in the trunk so that probably did the trick. The main thing that has been happening however, is that I’ll attempt saying something to people (cashiers, waiters, etc) in French and they’ll respond in English! I must give myself away instantly with my halting, broken French, but at least I am making the effort, and therefore haven’t received any nasty or rude responses as everyone seems to be worried about.

Indeed, one of the biggest stereotypes people seem to have about the French is their rudeness, particularly to foreigners. Now, it may be that I’m staying in a pretty touristy area where people have become used to it, but I’ve actually found the opposite to be true more often than not — waiters have been very patient and friendly, and when English is used with you, it’s to be helpful to you rather than out of exasperation or anything. I read in a book that’s required for my French culture class that the French are not fond of smiling and generally don’t in public or to strangers. I think that idea has been rather overblown as well — all it did was to intimidate me with an image of everyone walking around with frowns on their faces, but that’s hardly the case, or not more than anywhere else.

Fashion has been another misconception, I think. I was pretty stressed prior to the trip about what kind of clothes to wear, as so many sites and books warned about the do’s and dont’s of fashion which was taken very seriously here. While certainly there are some differences in the way people dress here to in the US, I’m not finding the differences that large. Contrary to what I learned, I’ve seen woman in shorts (granted, they were young and may have been tourists, but they may still have been French!). I’ve seen people in sneakers, and I’ve seen pretty casual outfits.

So far I’ve just been walking around the area of my lodgings in the 5th arrondisement, and have been to some cafes and restaurants. Yesterday the class went on a field trip to the river Seine where we were able to see many beautiful sights and monuments by boat — there are plenty of pictures of that in my flickr gallery. I also got my month long metro pass yesterday, so I hope to start seeing more of the city soon! More to come.