Une semaine

I can breathe through my nose again!

Paris, the first week has been a struggle. At one point, I was so sick that I had to stop halfway through going down the stairs and sit down because I was so dizzy and tired. I spent the first half of the week in bed and very cross with myself for not being out and about, meeting people and doing things. I finally unravelled myself from my blanket on Wednesday to go to class – a good thing, really, because if it had been any longer I’m pretty sure my comforter would have started to fuse to my body.

Class is rad, though. It should come as no surprise that the main allure of exchange was to frolic responsibility-free in a foreign country, but the academics have actually proven to be quite interesting and engaging. Among my favourites are Gender and Queer Law, Social Inequalities in a Comparative Perspective, and History of Music and Social Change, for which I will be doing a presentation on misogyny in hip-hop.

I don’t want to bore you with how cool school is, so I’ll skip to the (relatively) more interesting bits now. After class on Friday, I stopped by a boulangerie (which are plentiful and amazing in Paris) for some weird apricot pastry (which while mysterious, was absolutely delicious) before deciding that I’d meander down to the Louvre, because you know, I can do that. Being a student in Paris has several perks, not the least of which is free entrance to all the museums and most tourist attractions. Il faut en profiter, you know. I spent a good three hours there, which if you’ve ever been to the Louvre, you will know is barely enough time to scratch the surface. I will be back, though, as it’s less than a 15 minute walk from school. If you haven’t been to the Louvre, suffice it to say it is magnificent. It’s right by the Seine River (which is beautiful by day but nothing short of stunning at night) and to access the entrance, you walk through a sort of courtyard in between the wings of the building. The building itself is exquisite, but I won’t waste too much time describing it because googling a photo would achieve the same effect much quicker. I did have a good laugh at all the tourists taking photos pinching the top of the iconic glass pyramid, which looked rather silly from my angle. Though the Louvre contains a huge collection of diverse artwork from all corners of the world, I had to pay the obligatory visit to the Mona Lisa – you know, for the snap. I would like to now take this moment to shout out to everyone who actually made it through the entirety of my obnoxiously long snapstory from that day in which I disrespected several very famous masterpieces. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, add me @ydubz so you don’t miss the next instalment.

The next day, Sophie (the other girl from UBC if you’re new to the blog) and I spent the day wandering around Paris, starting at the Museum d’Orsay. From the inside, the building looks rather small (see photo), which is utter trickery because it is actually very large and contains many rooms and floors that are not immediately visible. It, of course, is full of beautiful works of art as well, though the collections aren’t quite as expansive as the Louvre’s. We made our way to Ladurée next to sample the famous macarons – can confirm, they were divine. Even though I was still moderately sick and my taste buds were not functioning at full capacity, I could still tell how the flavours (passionfruit white chocolate and cassis dark chocolate) and texture were perfectly balanced from rich, smooth filling to light, almondy shell. Other highlights of that day include finding a Canadian bar called “The Moose” where we had very expensive beer and reasonably priced poutine, a brief stop at a hip little bar/club that seems very shady from the outside because the entrance is basically a literal hole in a wall that connects to a long dark walkway before you actually get to the building, and an adventure to the cutest little street lined with cool restaurants and much cheaper booze.

Somehow at around 1am, we ended up at the Place de la Republique, at the center of which is a giant monument that I believe represents France as a state and its values. The base was covered in hundreds of candles and flowers and signs with messages calling for peace and kindness, and several French flags were hung around the top of the pedestal where the statue stood. It was a haunting and beautiful tribute and memorial to the November terror attacks, and looking at it gave me chills. Most of the people we were with had been in Paris since September, so they were all around when it happened. One of them was in the football stadium that very night. I guess I’d avoided thinking about it too much, but seeing the monument and hearing their stories made it all too real. Apparently a Swiss girl on exchange at Sciences Po was shot, and her friend who was visiting her was killed. The girl chose to stay for her second semester regardless, “to make good memories in Paris”, said the guy who was telling the story. I suppose she’s right. I cannot even begin to imagine what it must have been like for the people here, but they had to carry on. Letting it affect them means letting evil win, right? As for me, I’m going to spend my time here meaningfully. I will see and do and experience as much as I possibly can, and make the most of the city.

Back home, life is perpetually busy. I’m involved with many activities and organizations outside of class, which means I am always on the go, stressing about something or another. I never really have time to myself, and it’s taken a toll on my relationships too – part of the reason why it didn’t work out with the last two men in my life (the other large part being the whole deal where I’m leaving the country for several months, among other things). I remember I had one single day in November where I didn’t have anything scheduled, but I wasn’t able to enjoy my day off from all the worrying about things I had to do later on. While it’s tough to be so stressed all the time, I’m only so busy because I’m fortunate enough to be doing so many things that I am passionate about and that make me happy. Being in Paris has been different. For one thing, the sheer inefficiency of everything slows me way down. Getting my visa took five times longer than it should have because it was around the holiday season, and I still haven’t received my SIM card or finished setting up my bank account. I thought I’d be lost without my phone, but aside from struggling a little with directions, it hasn’t been all that bad. It’s kind of refreshing, really, and has forced me to be present while I’m out exploring. But beyond that, living alone and having no commitments outside of school has freed up a lot of time to reflect. I think it’ll be good for me to take this time to slow down, truly relax, and enjoy myself for the sake of enjoyment. I still get a little antsy when I think I’m not being productive, but I think after some time here, I’ll get used to lazing around this beautiful city doing whatever I want just because I want to… and feel ok about that.