As soon as I step off the plane into the Charles de Gualle Airport my eyes would go crazy trying to take in everything. The obvious thing I would notice first is that mostly everyone will be speaking French. I’ve never been to a place before where English wasn’t the official language. My ears would have to get adjusted to hearing French all the time! I would also notice how people interact with each other; their mannerisms, tone of voice, and speaking volume. One important thing (well at least to me) I would take note of is the way French people dress. France is the fashion capital of the world so I’m interested to see what they will be wearing and how different it will be from American fashion!
Even outside the airport my eyes would still be going back in forth trying to absorb everything in this new culture I’m in. I would take in the architecture of the buildings and the actual streets of Paris (I was told France has a lot of cobblestone streets). I know I would definitely notice how much smaller the vehicles are compared to ours, and how French people drive. I imagine Paris is much like New York City, so I expect to hear lots of honking of horns and traffic on the streets. I would have to get used to how the French drive on the other side of the road too! Another thing I would take note of is the different diversities in the city of Paris. I expect to see lots of different types of people, from Africans to Muslims to other Europeans, similar to New York. There are so many things I would notice that’s its pretty difficult to think of something I wouldn’t notice. Usually the things I don’t notice are also the most obvious. I probably wouldn’t notice the weather. I also wouldn’t notice the time change. I might slip up and call my family and forget that France is six hours ahead. I have some idea of what to expect on my first day in France but I’m anxious to get there and see for myself!
-Jevelle Britton
I'll be keen to see if you were right about what things popped for you first Jevelle - might be a good thing to follow up on in another post. We'll probably see some cobblestones somewhere on the way to the hostel but if not I know for sure at least one street between the hostel and the metro has a few - in a couple days you'll have seen gobs - one of my favorite things in France altho also one of the things that makes all the walking a little hard to get used to at first! Keep that NYC image in mind - so much of the culture here is wrapped up in the big city aspect - a _French_ big city but still a big city :) that being said I think there are a lot of things about Paris that make it not feel super big at times when you're in certain neighborhoods or when you see some of the personal interaction... that's another thing which would be great to follow up on!
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