Speaking of which... I'm becoming rather fond of my passport. We are new friends... have only been in each other's lives for about a year... but recently, we've been spending all kinds of time together. Like wow. All of a sudden I've been in a couple continents... I've been BACK to places I'd never thought I'd get to even once in my lifetime. And all of this information is contained inside a bitty little packet of pages (that i may or may not thoroughly enjoy paging through :))
You may find it weird that I'm dwelling on my passport, when in all actuality I should be detailing the sites and sounds of Paris (FYI we did the Eiffel Tower twice, the arc d' triomphe, notre dame, the outside of the louvre, some fun touristy shopping, good eating, girl bonding, etc)... but really I find it a hard place to describe. On the one hand, I was pleasantly surprised by the city... and on the other, I feel like there is so much more to explore there. Additionally I was really sick the entire weekend and barely had enough energy to walk around, let alone frolic and play - as i'm prone to doing.
The most eye opening thing about Paris was how I felt when I got home (or rather, back to Bognor). For me, France was the first foreign country I've been to this semester that "I haven't been to before." I've seen a lot of new things, yes. But France is the first new country. And I really didn't find it all that different. Paris actually reminded me of a conglomeration of London and Rome (which is probably blasphemous or something).
Anyway, like I was saying... when I got back from Paris, I realized that I had very low expectations for it from the beginning. There's quite a stereotype that the French (or Parisians in particular) aren't the friendliest of folk. A few people I've talked to didn't agree... but on the whole, most people (including me) are rather wary of going to Paris (with no knowledge of French and basically a giant "im an american" stamp plastered to their forehead).
I found that nearly every French person (whether random person on the metro or shop owner or restauranteer) was very friendly. And I got to thinking, hmm maybe I should go back home and tell everyone how nice the French are. But then I realized... well all those people I talked to... I didn't really believe them when they told me about their experiences, so why would anyone believe me?
In this round about way, I'm trying to say, that it all comes down to personal experience. Everywhere I go I remember the sites and sounds and languages... but I really remember the people that I met, and the attitudes they had. No matter how many pictures of England, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, or France I show my friends... they won't quite get the feel of a place. So, while it's obviously good to abolish stereotypes... I think I'm going to spend more time encouraging others to explore their own worlds... and figure out what misconceptions they have that need to be broken down.
That's why it's hard for me to talk about specific places. While Paris was wonderful and beautiful and all of us girls agreed we want to go back someday with a man in tow, I don't have many details.
All I can say is get out there... explore... figure this stuff out for yourself. cuz its so much better to live life first hand!
I am just so thankful that I have this opportunity to see the world... that more than once I've stepped out of a metro station platform and looked around and sighed in disbelief "I can't believe I'm here." It's still kind of mind boggling. I've seen the eiffel tower? what? parliament? the coliseum? the vatican? the acropolis? the pyramids?
whoa. God is good.
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