In my methodology course last week, one student was arguing that there is no singular trait that serves to unify Europe/ the European Union. However, ask any American who's just been immersed in a group of Europeans from every corner of the EU and they'll likely disagree. Sure, maybe Europeans don't all share the same cultural heritage and history, but there is one thing that's just so distinctly European that pretty much anyone can pick out the non-Europeans from a group after just a little conscious observation. They all have an air of nonchalance, an effortless je ne sais quoi about them that makes them seem perpetually poised and almost entirely unperturbed by their surroundings.
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| Much photogenic. Many Eiffel Tower. |
This is in stark contrast to the American attitude, whereby loudness and contrast of affectation are celebrated. With that comes heightened enthusiasm and friendliness, for which I've definitely been met with some weird looks and disapproval. To Europeans who are almost universally more poised and cynical, our extraversion seems to come as a shock. One of our friends even said that I was far too excited about everything in my last blog post, and that instead, a European would say little more than "it was pretty cool" in reaction to all of the awesome things I've seen and done. So, in honor of this European distaste for the zealousness of the 'Murican spirit, I shall attempt to write this post as a vraiment cool European might, excepting the disgruntled pout since I can't really display that through text (though trust me, I'm rockin' it right now).
We saw some stuff I guess...
During welcome week, we spent a lot of time hanging out around the Seine and the Eiffel tower which is pretty standard in Paris so I don't even know why I'm bothering telling you about it. We've picnicked by the tower, had some wine by the Seine, and even done ice bucket challenges by the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre pyramids. Apparently I'm next, so I guess I'd better hurry up and get it done before all of the notable monuments of Paris have been taken as backdrops.
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| Some people I guess |
We went on a night boat ride on a bateau-mouche and that's totally played out right now but I guess it was pretty chill. Every five feet the pre-recorded tour announcer essentially said "and on the right you'll see yet another bank of large mansions you'll never be able to afford" so the whole trip was quite a wonderful reminder of the banality of middle class life. Maybe that's why Europeans are so cynical - their tours are essentially an exercise in self-appraisal and devaluation. You don't get that with our grand visions of the "American dream".
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| You, too, can pay for an hour-long tour de places out of your tax bracket! But really, it was a beautiful experience. |
Oh, also my group casually ran into François Hollande, the president of France, but apparently this is standard fare (because while I was geeking out literally none of the Europeans found that even remotely exciting.)
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| Bald spot and everything. Not even that close up. Kind of cool I suppose... |
eh, c'était pas ennuyeux...
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| Some baes on the boat |
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| Baes in the trap |
During the boat tour, we passed a whole bunch of people hanging out alongside the Seine, which is pretty standard, as well as whole groups of people dancing in semi-organized dance parties in these little inlets on the side. We saw Salsa dancing and in one and some sort of contra dancing on the next inlet down. Later that night, we ended up actually going to that very same inlet to do some salsa dancing by the Seine which was a pretty good time.
It seemed pretty spontaneously organized, some sort of community-led event that was clearly not sponsored by the city, which made it even more cool, since every every time the cops drove by someone would shut the music off and everyone would adopt this innocent look until they passed by. This happened probably 10 times throughout the night, which raises the question as to whether the police had anything better to be doing. Regardless, it still felt pretty dang badass to be dancing under the nose of the law It was chill I guess. *shrugs*
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| As seen from the river... |
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| And wham bam, we in there. Sorry for the absolute potato quality, I wasn't about to take out my nice camera |
I have a lot more I could add here but I think I'm going to save that for my next post where I might allow myself to get a little more excited, Europeans permitting ;) Also I think Europeans are either super flirty all the time or they all use winky faces in a very different way from us so that's led to some pretty awkward interpretation of texts and facebook interactions on the part of my roommate and I so if you're reading this Europeans, know that we think that usage like what I just did is really really weird to us. Much cringe. Many awkward. Plz don't thanks
I hope everyone is doing well as you all get into the swing of things in school or work! I know things are certainly picking up here but I will definitely keep you updated.
Bonne rentrée à tous!
Sally
