Hey everyone, my name is Amelia Strauss and I’m a Junior political science major from New York studying in Paris at Sciences Po for the semester. When I first arrived in Paris at the very end of August it was the first time in my life I felt like I had entered a truly foreign space that I was supposed to call home. So many things were different:
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#Illuminati
1) The Architecture. Before coming to Paris I expected to be taken a back by the world famous Louvre and the shops along Champs Elysées. What no one told me, however, was that each tiny rue and alley way is lined with instagram-worthy buildings with intricate facades, large windows, and balconies perfect for watching the day go by.
- 2) The cafés. Before I came to Paris I pictured myself finding a little French version of Unicorn or Kafein where I would sit with my laptop while people around me spoke in French while sipping their coffee and smoking cigarettes. While the cigarette part of my prophecy came true, I learned very quickly that most cafés are for eating and leisure, not work – they don’t even have free wifi! I’ve come to appreciate this though and now when I go to a café, it’s to sit with a friend and have a coffee as we watch the people go by with my laptop out of sight and out of mind.
- 3) The other café. Coffee. My very first day in France I landed at Charles de Gaulle airport at 7am so of course the first thing I did was go to a café to eat my first French croissant and have a coffee. I learned that if I ordered a coffee, I would get an espresso – to get a real coffee I’d have to order a café Americaine! If my accent doesn’t tip people off that I’m American my order will…
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The first of many Croque Monsieurs
- 4) The Food. While you might be hard pressed to find a good vegetable dish here, artisan baguettes made inside the boulangerie are less than a euro and can be found every couple blocks. Want some cheese to go with that? You can pop into any carrefoure (one of the grocery chains here) and by a small wheel of brie, goat, or legèr for 2 euros or less.
- 5) The Fashion. Obviously Paris is known for being a fashion capital of the world and walking down the streets you can never forget it. Every day when I go to school, on the tiny crowded street outside of the main building it’s like a fashion show. Rain or shine, you definitely will not spot a pair of sweatpants here (unless its my American roommates and I heading to the carrefoure for the aforementioned cheese).
Now these things that once felt unfamiliar have become a part of my Paris.