Keegan Kennedy
Provider: AIFS
Paris, France
2024 Fall

I’m settling into Paris well; the city already feels like home to me. There is life on every corner and on top of every cobblestone. The metros, cars, busses, trains, and pedestrians are the lifeblood of Parisien(ne) culture. It is truly an expensive city, meaning I can sneeze and spend money. I would say Parisians are kind people, just impatient, they aren’t going to work with you to figure out your problem, but they sympathize with you. My classes are 3 hours at a time so the whole weeks content is in one session, that is a little overwhelming, but it means I only have classes Wednesday through Friday so, I’m able to familiarize myself with French culture on the weekends.

Here I am in Copenhagen on a long weekend on the Nyhavn. This is where the main port was in ye olde days because it was near the Kongens Nytorv where the market was and the ships could sell their goods quickly. Now it is a tourist trap with the colorful houses and cafes.

I take 2 metro lines to school in the morning, and it usually takes me about 30 minutes, no more rolling out of bed at Whitehouse and sleuthing down to the Rhetoric Center. Nobody talks on the metro; it is strictly a mind your own business environment. At the stations there are sometimes people playing music looking for tips, but so are pickpockets so you must be vigilant. On some newer metro lines, they even announce “Attention, pickpockets sont présent à bord” followed by it repeated in Italian, German, and always the  English “Beware of Pickpockets” last. Parisians do not enjoy speaking English since they had to take it in school and many have not practiced it since, especially since Brexit many French are trying to learn other European languages like German to not speak English.

I live with a retired doctor, she gives us a meal once a week and she cooks really well, the only downside is that the French eat dinner late, like 8 or 9pm and by then I’m hungry. My favorite dish so far has been something she’s made, Tartiflette, which is potatoes, ham, cream, and a whole wheel of cheese melted on top, it is typically eaten after skiing. Everyone uses 24h time so I must do math to figure out the time. Plus, when people say 94 cents at the grocery store it’s literally translated as four twenties fourteen and it doesn’t sound like an actual price and when that happens, I pay with my card. My neighborhood is nice with shops all around for quick things, and anything specific is usually only a 15-minute walk. I would go to cafes more often if they weren’t 5€ for a little coffee. My apartment is behind hers and has its own kitchen which is nice, and the windows have nice views all around. My room is nice with a bookshelf, a dresser and lots of little trinkets and paintings that are my host grandma’s things.

No Parisians wear shorts. Shorts were most of the pants that I packed so I had to look for more and I found some jeans at a Sunday market and had to buy a couple of pairs at H&M. Parisians also seem allergic to color in their clothes, if I wear anything that isn’t black or white everyone immediately knows I’m an American.

This is a photo of a snack at a Café opposite L’Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) enjoying a drink with some cheese and some sliced baguette.

This was an event at the Paris Archives that I stumbled on one day while walking around. They had crafts, books, and music!

Here is the Musée d’Orsay, an art museum built inside of an old train station, just across the river from the Louvre (and better than the Louvre too).

At night, every hour on the hour the Eiffel tower sparkles and looks like a nice light show.

Here I’m at the foot of Montmartre with the Basilique Sacré Coeur in the background. (Do you notice the American in the shorts?)