American Girl in Paris – Part II

My first activity in civilization aside from my latte at Starbucks was a movie in a cinema. The documentary "Lets Make Money" featured quite a few scenes in West Africa and thus provided an interesting contrast and transition for me.

After the movie, Gary took me to Le Pain Quotidian for a very Frenchy lunch completed with salad, soup, sandwich, cheese plate and of course, a carafe of wine; and to top it off – dessert and espresso. I drank three coffee during my very first day in Paris not because I needed it, but because they are simply so delicious.

The walking tour of this romantic city began after lunch. I was glad Gary was there to be my tour guide since I was absolutely not in the mood to use a map to find my way around. A funny thing happened on the way to the métro. I was stopped by a camera crew from some people who was doing an interview on shoe fashion. Since I had no idea it'd be cold, I was sporting my Cameroonian sandal and apparently that was of interest. They asked me where I am from and why I was wearing the shoes, etc. It was really hilarious that I was getting on TV after being in Paris for less than 24 hours. I told them I just got in from the airport that morning and I had no idea it's this cold in Paris... Gary helped me out when my French was getting stuck et voilà, there is my 3 minutes of fame. I even signed a waiver and all!

We continued the stroll through Paris making our way to a great park in La Republique with an amazing view overseeing the city, then the Canal St. Martin that's featured in Amélie and of course along the River Seine. I'm quite lucky to have befriended this group of Frenchies and was able to experience Paris from a non-touristy perspective.

The next day I met up with Jerome, who is still a volunteer in Cameroon but also on vacation. Since he's also French and also had lived in Paris, I got another tour from a local. We had a lot of fun comparing life between Cameroon and France and how we will react after this grand vacation. I can already tell that after my time in Cameroon, finding people who can relate to this period of my life will be very important and perhaps challenging.

That evening, I experienced another side of Parisian culture. A football match was on - Barcelona vs. Chelsea. Sebastian and Aurelian - my hosts - had a little football gathering at the flat. I'm not a big football fan, but I am a fan of watching boys watching football. That, I tell you, is entertainment in and of itself. I've seen English football fans go mad, but seeing a bunch of French boys going nuts at the TV screen in French is a whole other hilarious story.

My layover in Paris was very low key. I didn't deviate from from where I was staying and mostly stayed within the 1st and 2nd arrondissement. Since I've been to Paris before and had done all that touristy stuff, I took it easy and did a lot of strolling around the streets and people watching. One afternoon I found a delightful café in some little alley. Don't ask me where it is because there is no way I can relocate it. It was perfect - quiet and charming. Some nice jazz music were playing and just one old couple eating their light lunch. I found a perfect place by the big open doorway for people watching. Then the lovely middle-age lady owner came and suggested a refreshing salad combine with some cheese and deli. I ordered a glass of Chardonnay with it. For the next 4 hours, I spent reading my Vogue, eating my cheese, drinking my wine and watching people coming and going. Rambunctious school ages boys would walk by and say bon appetite to me. Cute old couples would walk by as if on their way for an afternoon drink. Perky young girls would excitedly saw friends on the street, give each other bisous and catch up a bit.

I do miss life in the modern world. Later in the day, I bought some ice cream and sat at Centre Pompidou for a while. It was a gorgeous late afternoon and lots of people about; perfect for people watching. After a while, an older age guy was asking me for the time, and then started talking to me, and then obviously hitting on me. After a while it did get annoying, but I still put up with him for a good 20 minutes, half an hour. After all, the dude did play me songs on the guitar for quite a while and was not being obnoxious asking me if I am married and telling me that he loves me.

I soaked up every bit of Paris that I could for the last few hours before I took the 21:30 RER back to the airport for my flight to Taiwan. I love Paris a lot more this second time around and the fact Parisians understood my French for the most part, and didn't look at me as if I came from Mars instilled quite a bit of confidence. I quite welcome the opportunity to spend some time in France after Cameroon to absorb more of the French culture while polishing up my French. We shall see how life unfolds and if such opportunities present themselves.

American Girl in Paris – Part I

Due to flight schedule to reunite with my family in Taipei, I ended up with a three-day layover in Paris. I know, life is tough. Thanks to my French connection, Gary arranged for me to stay with his friends in the center of Paris for the two nights that I was passing through. When he said the center of Paris, I thought it would simply be Paris proper. But center is quite literally the center. His friends live in a fabulous top floor flat in the 1st arrondissement next to the métro station Les Halles.

Since the flight arrives at some absurd hour of 6am, I told Gary that I'll just find my own way into Paris and I'll call him to meet up when I arrive. I took my time going through customs, picking up the luggage, and finally bought a RER métro ticket into Paris. I was really nervous and greatly overwhelmed when I was on the train. While looking out of the window, I was unknowingly digging my nail into my hand with nervous force. I didn't realize I was doing this until I looked down on my hand and saw fingernail print all over the hand from my thumb.

The buildings overwhelmed me, all the white people, and my heart would jump a bit when a train would pass from the opposite direction – I forget it does that. When I got off the train, the busy Parisians were rushing to work. Since it's a busy station, people were coming and going from all directions. I was walking at turtle speed and with a big bag on the back, I was quite like a turtle. Relieved to get out of the busy station, and then I was hit by a bigger shock – the shopping mall connected to the station; shiny marble floors, merchandises galore, etc. Since the time was still early, there were only a few people meandering about the space.

After a few unsuccessful try of finding a reloadable SIM card for my phone, I saw a Starbucks and it was quite like seeing a refuge. I decided to go in and order my Grande Skim Caramel Macchiato before thinking of the next step. Once I sat down, with latte in hand, I decided to try calling from the Cameroonian MTN phone. Miraculously, it worked and Gary said he would come find me. Just as I was trying to digest all the strangeness, I get a call from a villager. I didn't answer at first out of sheer weirdness, but then he called again. I answered, and he wanted to drop off some proposal for me to look at, and I had to explain that I am in France but that he can drop it off at the Bank and I'll look at it upon my return. That few minutes of conversation took the idea strange and weird to a whole other level. The mixture of the two worlds was too much.

After meeting up with Gary for a while, we stepped out into the streets and I was faced with another shock. WHY IS IT SO COLD IN PARIS IN MAY?! I was absolutely not prepared and was sporting my sandal and light jacket. On top of the cold, I was still freaking out by the modern world. Thankfully Gary had also spent time in Cameroon and therefore did not look at me as though I was crazy when I commented on all the clean people and such! The transition into the "real world", albeit temporarily, was certainly made easier with someone who "gets it".