Arrival

Whenever I think about the fact that I am currently in France, the word that comes to mind in unreal. In such a surreal way, everything is so different here, from the bread to the architecture, to the French language itself. My first week in France has been a strange balance of trying to be an ultra-cheesy tourist (sorry not sorry for making the Eiffel Tower my profile pic) and trying to carry out a student life in the city. Having already checked off most of the essential Paris digs already, I'm finding myself falling in love with some of the more underground (Metro mastery in progress) aspects of Paris.

One of the big things that I have been learning about France is that it is crazy diverse. My trip to the south of France was, quite honestly, a lot closer to my expectations of Italy, featuring a colosseum style arena and old churches on every corner. Paris, while full of all of the things you traditionally think about France, also has some sharp contrasts, such as the cutting edge Pompidou art center right around the corner from the famous gothic cathedral, Notre Dame.

One of the highlights of the week was getting to learn about some of Rome’s history in Paris, including visiting some of the oldest architecture in Paris. This included an arena (turned public park), the ruins of a medieval hotel built to accommodate monks traveling to Paris, and a Roman bathhouse. Although France, like much of Europe, has the remains of ancient Roman presence, it is interesting to note that much of France tends toward the influences of the Gauls who inhabited France prior to Roman invasion. For example, the French have a general disdain for executive authorities (see French Revolution), and even opted to return Paris to its original name, as opposed to Lutèce, the Roman name of the city.

Discover France is so exciting and even though the language is hard to keep up with, I am learning so much. Life is wild guys.