Anyway, I have arrived, safe and sound, back in New York. My head is still swimming with the events of the last 12 days. It was definitely a completely new experience for me, in a city I know well, which is interesting in a lot of ways. As I mentioned briefly before, we approached speaking French very differently this time around. When we were students, going out in the city and speaking French with Parisians often seems like a sort of test or gauge of how well you're assimilating, how much you're learning, etc. Though it shouldn't be, it can get stressful. During this visit, we just sort of went for it, speaking the language without getting too hung up on grammar, noun and adjective agreement. And, probably unsurprisingly, it wasn't badly received. People actually told us we spoke well (this might have something to do with being a pair of 23 year old girls, but I choose to believe it's our grasp of the French language). Either way, it felt great - like I could at least keep up socially and I actually understood a lot of the conversations I found myself in. Also, being a bit older than I was while studying in Paris, the kinds of people I ended up speaking to were different, more mature (mostly), and had more interesting paths and life stories to tell.
I'm now chronicling all these people in little portraits before they leave my mind - it's a fun way to extend the trip, at least mentally, for a little while longer.
Speaking of portraits, all of my posts from Paris have now been made a little brighter with photos! I've also added some of me and Maeve below, and, if you'd like to look at all the pictures I took in one place, you can click here.
It's bittersweet, but I'm glad to be back on home soil (and to have a cell phone I can use again). I'm convinced - travel is the best gift you can give yourself.
Xo.
No comments:
Post a Comment