Cultural Assignment 4: Fete de La Musique

After being drained both physically and mentally from a combination of being sick and cussed out and told to get out of their town by several Parisians for no reason, the fete de la musique reaffirmed by desire to be here. The whole city partakes and it was nothing like I had ever seen, there were acts large and small. Everyone who doesn’t plan on participating has no choice since the streets are overrun with people. We saw a DJ ontop of a homemade stage, built on the roof. Another one was spinning from the balcony of a building, with a group of professional breakdancers, “City Ten”, doing some nifty acrobatics below in the street. Bands from all cultures were there; saw a Japanese drum circle, Native American pan flute ban, African chorus and German industrial techno to name a few. I finally started to interact with the nicer Parisians as well.

I went into a Franprix to buy a drink and while I was waiting in line the woman in front of me needed help with her cart which had become tangled with the smaller baskets. I gave her a hand and she responded with thanks and asked, “are you hairy”. I said “what?” “are you in a hurry”? she said. “I said, “kind of, my friends are all waiting for me.” She then told me I could cut her and I asked as long as she didn’t mind. She smiled and waved me on, which was extremely kind of her given the store was packed. Later while we were watching a show where the DJ was on a boat playing to almost two thousand people on the dock, a random Frenchman came up to me and asked if I was having fun, I said, “yeah, definitely.” He said, “good! I want everyone to love Paris!”

Later that night at a café after the insanity of getting back on the metro, I had the privilege to debate with a French girl who was a friend of a friend and spoke perfect English. We talked about the differences of American and Parisian men. She made me come to understand that the women have their own rules for dealing with the men, but are still trying to change it and don’t accept it as simply as part of their culture. They hate it just as much as any other girl but have developed their own ways to deal with it. It was a little disappointing when we would walk and she would get the same treatment as the girls of the course, but would respond with a sassy French line (once she said something like “what? Speak French I don’t understand what you say”) and then the men noticeably changed their demeanor. They became nice (one man gave her his entire uneaten dinner), it was as if since she wasn’t a tourist they didn’t need to harass her. I don’t think it’s fair for them to take advantage of the fact people are tourists who might not be back for some time.

The whole night just made me realize that as much as I would want it to be like it is in America, it’s not. They have their own rules and customs and there is no point in fighting it because it’s easier to just deal with it rather than be angered that’s not like home. I’ve also realized that all the negative things happen almost as soon as the sun goes down and if you plan on going out you might as well assume something is going to happen. You need to play by the rules that are practiced otherwise you will stick out and become a target. I also have become aware that some of these issues are because we are in a large city and that it would be very similar, if not the same, if we were New York, London or Barcelona. She said she would plan something to make sure I didn’t leave with a negative impression, and I really hope she contacts me because it was definitely nice to gain some perspective from a local rather than get angered because it’s not how it is in America.