My Year in France

912 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: European culture vs American culture

The bus is swerving around corners at uncomfortable speeds, but no one seems to notice. My bags are falling all over the place, while everyone else's are clutched calmly at their sides. I'm wearing a collered shirt with khakis, and everyone else is wearing black I'm feeling a little out of place.

As the shuttle zooms between the various terminals at Paris's Charles de Gualle Airport, I glance nervously at my watch. I have a reservation on the train to Marseille that leaves in 20 minutes. In French, I call up to the driver from the middle of the bus, 'is this stop the train station ?' No one responds. I call again, 'is this stop the train station?' A girl my age timidly shakes her head 'no.' I approach the bus driver three stops later and ask him which stop is the train station, and he responds, 'it was the last stop, Monsieur.' I asked him why he didn't indicate that fact to me, as he had heard me call out earlier, and he curtly replied, 'you didn't ask me, Monsieur.'

I missed that train, and had to go into Paris to take the next train, which got me into Marseille several hours later than planned, and into Aix-en-Provence with just enough time for the receptionist at my hotel to inform me that my room had been sold because they thought I wasn't coming. My year in France was off to a frustrating start.

Flash to mid-November, ten weeks later. After rolling out of bed in my loft, which is decorated with seventeenth century frescos, I climbed downstairs to fix my French toast in my well-equiped kitchen, complete with a view of a courtyard. I'm worried about finding time to go shopping for tonight's dinner party, what kind of wine I should pick up, and whether I should go to Florence or ...

... middle of paper ...

...ure don't look American anymore. Gone are the bluejeans and concert T-shirts. Gone are the IU sweatshirts. In are turtleneck pulls, dark slacks, and smart shoes.

I have grown accustomed to the breakneck speed French drivers maintain, and have learned to travel light. I now know to ask the bus driver first thing to signal my stop, and they are always happy to do so.

It's amazing how quickly something so different can become so familiar. For me, that is what I love about traveling-learning to understand the differences in order to discover all the similarities. Looking into that girl's eyes and seeing her complete and utter despair, I realized that my mere ten weeks had already given me the knowledge and attitude necessary to feel comfortable in this foreign place. The learning curve in the months that have followed has been exponential.

Show More
Related

  • Creation of a Sense of Place in 12 Edmondstone Street

    1753 Words  | 4 Pages

    When presenting ‘A Place in Tuscany’ the perspective changes to that of a young man. Compared to the house in Brisbane, more use is made of the conversation and there is a more sophisticated and advanced vocabulary and knowledge of the area. This gives the reader a more adult insight into the area.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Please Stop Laughing At Me By Jodee Blanco

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every school bus has a hierarchy, a caste system. The cool crowd — the kids who smoke, come to class with hickies, and get into enough trouble to be the secret envy of the honor roll students – occupies the back rows. The cheerleaders and star athletes take the middle seats. The serious students sit near the front. The nerds and the outcasts never know where they'll end up. If they're lucky, they can find an empty seat directly behind or to the right of the driver. (8)

    Read More

  • Religion’s Profound Effect on Musical Development

    3673 Words  | 8 Pages

    Daum, Gary. "Chapter 12 The Baroque Era (1600-1750)." Georgetown Prep. 1994. Georgetown University. 12 July 2005 .

    Read More

  • The French Revolution

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    The later 18th century was a time of crisis for the old regimes of Europe and their economic systems and political agitation sometimes breaking out into revolts. English Industrial Revolution vaulted Britain to the fore. France was the most powerful and the most typical of the old aristocratic absolute monarchies of Europe. (lower taxes off backs of lower classes).

    Read More

  • aboriginal medicine

    1955 Words  | 4 Pages

    Illness was treated in many ways but the main goal was to achieve a sense of balance and harmony.(p82). Applications of herbs and roots, spiritual intervention, and community wide ritual and ceremonies were all therapeutic practices.(p71). “It was the healer who held the keys to the supernatural and natural worlds and who interpreted signs, diagnosed disease and provided medicines from the grassland, woodland, and parkland pharmacopoeia.”(p18). The healers knowledge of herbs and roots and ways to administer and diagnose had been passed down from generation to generation.(p85). Healers stood as an advantage for the Aboriginal people. “Trust and a personal relationships would naturally build between the patient and the healer.”(p77). This must have ...

    Read More

  • A Comparative Analysis of Shamanistic healers in Celtic and Native American Cultures

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shamanism has always been an interest of mine, mainly in the Native American and Celtic Irish forms of medicine. Native Americans as well as Celtics have always held a certain mystique that is worthy of great exploration. From animal spirit guides that aide in healing to the shamans that are often the “go-to” men of the Native American and Celtic communities, the shamanistic tradition of medicine is one that has been admired and practiced by many that do not share the same ethnicity as theses traditional healers. Although the use of animal spirit guides is often ridiculed, as are the sacred spiritual journeys and conversations that these magnificent healers take, there are many unexplainable events that lend credence to the practices and abilities of the Shamans of the Native American culture.

    Read More

  • The French Revolution

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    The French Revolution evokes many different emotions and controversial issues in that some believe it was worth the cost and some don't. There is no doubt that the French Revolution did have major significance in history. Not only did the French gain their independence, but an industrial revolution also took place. One of the main issues of the Revolution was it's human costs. Two writers, the first, Peter Kropotkin who was a Russian prince, and the other Simon Schama, a history professor, both had very opposing views on whether the wars fought by France during the Revolution were worth it's human costs. Krapotkin believed that the French Revolution was the main turning point for not only France but for most other countries as well. On the other hand, Schama viewed the French Revolution as unproductive and excessively violent.

    Read More

  • France in the 1800s

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    France during the 1800s was a dangerous war ground filled with distrust and greed for power. Political disputes, bloodshed, prejudice, and more tore France apart. In 1871, the Franco-Prussian war resulted in France being defeated and humiliated. The war France thought it easily could win resulted in France’s Third Republic ceding their provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany, the victor (Krieger p.171). Soon after France’s defeat in war, the people of Paris formed a radical group called the “Commune.” The Commune rejected the new conservative government to be established and started a revolt in Paris. This led to a two month siege of Paris by government troops, who brutally crushed all in opposition to the new government (France, 1800-1900A.D.). This bloody suppression only intensified the citizens’ bitter hatred for the French government. In addition, in 1894, the Dreyfus Affair left the French feeling tremendously betrayed. Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer, was pronounced guilty of selling military secrets to the Germans and condemned to the rest of his life in prison. Though Dreyfus was completely innocent, anti-Semites and other military officers prevented Dreyfus from being vindicated until 1906 (Krieger p. 172). The clear injustice and prejudice in the Dreyfus Affair revealed the widespread anti-Semitism and deepened political divisions in France. These major events and numerous others damaged France’s appearance to the world as well as their national pride. France’s painful scars and deep divisions could only be healed by a unifying factor, the new expression of art: impressionism.

    Read More

  • Gene Therapy

    543 Words  | 2 Pages

    Panno, J. (2005). Gene therapy: Treating disease by repairing genes. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc.

    Read More

  • What Is Natural Medicine Argumentative Essay

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    I intend to help readers question their healing practices and the state of today’s formal medicine—to influence thought, education of the reality and exploration of the natural medicine realm.

    Read More

  • Chasing Dreams: A Journey from Guadalajara to America

    1147 Words  | 3 Pages

    Just like my mother had said, starting over was not an easy task, the first few months were not easy, I felt extreme homesickness, I was experiencing for the first time being almost fully independent, and I had to learn how to solve problems on my own, for example commuting in a unfamiliar city. However, there was not a second when I regretted this experience, on the contrary, this opened my appetite to more traveling, due to the fact that I meet so much new people, saw that there was more to life, than what I was used to seeing every day, and most importantly I learned about myself. I firmly believe that in order to fully know yourself, you need to experience different cultures. For example, In Washington due to the cold weather, I had no other option but to stay in doors, as a result, I discovered my passion for painting, something I otherwise would had not learned about myself if I stayed in Mexico. Not only this but making art helped me during the hardest periods of my life; it helped me understand that I could transform whatever bad thing was happening, in to something beautiful.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative Essay: A Trip To The US

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first change that I noticed when I was on my flight was the varities of new languages, especially English. Although, I knew how to speak English and had quite a bit of understanding about it, I was still amused by the American accent and realized that it would take me a while to become fluent in it. To some people, learning new languages can be extremely difficult and that was one of my problems when it came to adjusting to the American

    Read More

  • The Ethics of Gene Therapy: Balancing the Risks

    2583 Words  | 6 Pages

    High profile adverse events resulting in disproportionate media attention have prevented a greater difficulty for the field, with the death of Jesse Gelsinger in a trial of gene therapy for ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency undermining public trust of clinical research in the US. There is a danger that the gene therapy field may have become too risk-averse in response to these adverse events, and that this could manifest as fewer trials that take longer to commence. In the context of a research environment that is increasingly turning to the developing world for the expedient conduct of clinical trials, it is imper...

    Read More

  • Gene And Genetic Therapy: The Future Of Gene Therapy

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Future of Gene Therapy. Biotechnol Healthc. 2005 Jun; 2(3): 52-54, 56-60. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3564347/

    Read More

  • Trip to New York City

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    Getting prepared and ready to explore something new is just minor compared to the actual adventure for a senior anticipating the departure of their school trip. I was a member along with 30 other classmates of the co-curricular group called Business Professionals of America, a club organized through our school. Our teachers, club officers, and all of the members had been planning and fundraising for our trip to New York City for months. The excitement grew more and more as each day got closer to take off. All of us were anixious to see The Empire State Building, "Ground Zero," a Broadway play, and the spectacular views of gorgeous ocean sunsets. We had all been told and were aware of the different surroundings of the environment, or culture we would be experiencing when we arrived. Different cultures are common throughout the world, even in different places around the United States. Going on a trip to explore New York City really made the differences in cultures aware to me.

    Read More

More about My Year in France

Open Document