By BARRY YANG
The French do really operate on a more relaxed pace than Americans.
My host dad gets 9 weeks of paid vacation a year and my host mom gets 18 weeks. This sense of relaxation is extended in many areas of French life. The waiter takes his/her time bringing you the bill, the cashiers rarely have the codes of fruits and vegetables memorized so you spend some time waiting for them to look up the numbers, and the dinners last a minimum of 2 hours. While at times this lack of a sense of expediency gets annoying, especially when time is short, I have grown to enjoy operating at a slower pace and taking the time to soak everything in. For example, our first week of official class was canceled and no one told us beforehand. We essentially had our whole week freed up to do whatever we wanted. This occasional French dillydally-ing is something I could get very use to.
With the unexpected reprieve, my girlfriend and I took advantage of the time to plan our weekend trip to Paris. My host family was extremely helpful and offered us maps, guidebooks, and great tips for things to eat and see. We found some really cheap bus tickets that came out to only $30 roundtrip. Although the ride was close to 6 hours per way, we took advantage of the time to sleep and rest.
We arrived in Paris at 6:00 AM Friday morning and got to see Notre Dame and the Louvre before the waves of tourists. It was an incredibly sunny day and the sunrise hitting the stain glass church windows was a beautiful sight. We spent the rest of the day just wondering and walking around Paris. We did not really plan anything specific because when nothing is planned anything can happen. We ended up in the middle of a French protest (bucket list item check), wandered through the streets of Chinatown, and found a tiny French restaurant that had some of the best cheese and potatoes I have ever had.
Paris differed from Lyon in many ways. There are a ton more people in Paris, and a surprisingly large amount of immigrants. Due to recent events, security is also incredibly high and we had to pass through metal detectors and baggage checks at every tourist attraction and train/bus station. The Eiffel Tower was especially poignant. The tower itself is completely barricaded and one must pass through security to enter. Arm military guards also patrol the entire park space. Besides the heightened security, the capital is also much dirtier and brusk than Lyon. People are a little less friendly, and there is a definite want of that “small town charm.”
Barry Yang studied abroad in Lyon, France, in Spring 2017: http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/france/Pages/default.aspx
