Friendly Parisians

Before coming to Paris every other person I spoke with told me BEWARE of the sassy Parisians. In contrast to popular belief my cultural encounters so far have all been very positive and pleasant. Upon walking into cafés, groceries stores, museums and other various shops I make an effort to greet the clerks politely with a smile and the best French I can manage. After a warm greeting I then warily ask, “parlez-vous anglais,” surprisingly I have been getting great reactions. I think that the Parisian people appreciate a little effort. I realize there is a tension here because the people I am speaking about are somewhat obligated to be nice to me because I am often buying something from them, BUT I had another encounter with a French woman that debunks the sassy Parisian stereotype.

After along day of walking and wandering the city I was happy to arrive at the Luxembourger Gardens to do a little reading. Only after a few minutes of finding a bench and nestled in to read Alias Olympia a Parisian woman came over and sat on my bench next to me. She looked over and we shared a moment of eye contact and a warm smile. She began to speak to me in French, talking about the heat of the day. I smiled bashfully and responded “petits peu francais’’. The woman smiled and translated for me the best she could. I had closed my book during this encounter and I noticed her eyes lingering over the cover of the book, then a gigantic smile came over her face as she said ‘‘oh Victorine Meurent !’’ She had read the book, and expressed that she loved it. We were able to exchange simple details about my reason for being in Paris and that she has lived in Paris her entire life. After we could not communicate any more we smiled and went back to our separate readings. We continued to sit in the shade on the bench for another hour or so. I so badly wished I could speak with her to discuss the book and learn about her life in Paris but the language barrier made this desire unobtainable. While this made me upset there was still a pleasant satisfaction in sharing her company and a common interest.