Cultural Narrative 1 - Everyday Interactions

It’s extremely surprising to me how similar the United States is to Europe. However, as John Travolta says in Pulp Fiction, “it’s the little things.” I haven’t seen a single ice cube in any drink or felt air conditioning in any building. I guess they understand how much energy those things waste and don’t mind the extra bit of heat to help conserve resources. I also find it really funny to hear music from the states inside grocery stores, bars, taxis and blasting from people’s iPods. I feel like more people have iPhones here than in the states as well. One of the biggest differences, from Boulder at least, is the incredible metro system.

I know one of the biggest dangers in Paris is pick-pockets, but I have felt extremely safe riding the metro. I still haven’t seen a single person even attempt to steal from someone else, but maybe they are just that good. It’s also incredibly easy to get from one side of town to the other, even if the metro map looks like a pile of colored spaghetti. Beggars have also gone above and beyond a simple sign saying I need money. They go from car to car giving their speech, asking for money and then leaving to the next one. It was really sad to see a father holding his baby while asking for money at the same time. I was also fortunate enough to have an accordion player perform during one metro ride; the music definitely made the ride more entertaining and enjoyable. Art in Paris seems to spill out of the museums and into the streets; Paris is a beautiful place in all aspects from metro rides to vandalized walls.

The advertising in Paris is a lot more simplistic and easier to understand. An ad here usually has one main focus- a girl, an image, a title- and then states all the pertinent info-price, location, time. There is little within an ad that aims to mislead a consumer; the ads here are upfront with everything and don’t try and trick anyone. I also enjoy the graffiti found all over the city. Like all art, some of it is great and some of it is garbage, but I feel there is more of the former here. It seems as if every metro car, store front and exposed wall has been hit with paint. The façade of a building up my street has an incredible scene depicting nothing but colored abstract forms, but it brings a certain enjoyable brightness to an otherwise boring wall. I feel like the people here like art a lot more than they like tourists.

Almost every person I’ve interacted with so far has been very kind and helpful. However, as with anything all it takes is a few rotten apples to spoil the bunch. Wednesday night a few of us went to Café Oz- an Australian Bar off of Rue de Rivoli. It was pretty fun and there weren’t any problems, except after going out for some fresh air I tried to simply walk in as I had done originally. The extremely large bouncer stopped me and asked me “is this your place? What do you think your doing just walking in?” I said no and started talking to him, but after a few minutes he turned out to be a nice guy. He had simply wanted the courtesy of a hello, and I even introduced myself. His name was George and I guess I could understand being walked past by everyone would get tiring after a while, even if it’s his job to just watch the door. Later that night I walked back in and greeted him fully and he smiled and said “of course, I know you. Thanks.” I don’t think it matters what country you’re in, people want to be treated with respect as a person rather than someone just doing a job. No one is here to simply serve everyone else.