Bise-Bise! (kiss-kiss!)

Since I have been here, I have kept a journal and one topic that I have written about most is differences in culture and observations I have found and made. I am going to dedicate an entry to each one as I find time to post. :)

 Public Displays of Affection

I have known about a cultural traditon known as "bise-bise"  (or kiss-kiss) from when I visited France a couple years ago, where when you meet someone (whether you know them or not) you usually lean in and give a kiss on each cheek as a form of salutation. In fact, the number of times that you go back and forth from cheek to cheek varies by region in France. For example, in Lille, a city in  the north near Belgium, you give only one kiss on the cheek, whereas in Paris one on each (two total) is customary and the further south and more rural (or so I've heard) the number can get up to four or six. However, I didn't realize children did it too, or that it was done in less formal situations. When I arrived at my host family's house, one of the daughters who is nine, ran up to me, stood on her tip-toes and leaned in expectantly. I was a little confused at first, but my American instinct lead me to give her a hug (a gesture very common for greeting friends in the States but almost never done here unless you are very close to the person) but it was afterwards when she gave me a funny look that I realized she was expecting a "bise." Although I am certainly getting more used to it (as one can imagine it takes a while to greet a group having to kiss everyone in saluatation before an event or dinner can get underway) it is still admittedly a little wierd to kiss people, especially men that I am meeting for the first time.

Also, the French are much more liberal in terms of showing affection. Kissing (...etc.) is acceptable on the metro, in the middle of a crowded sidewalk, or even in line at the boulangerie (bread bakery) if the line is going slow (it seems like people sometimes start kissing to pass time in line). In some ways its sweet to see two people that seem so fallen for one another that they can't help but embrace...etc., etc. in the most public of places as they seem lost in their own world of lust, but at the same time I feel like I am witnessing an aspect of their private life that not only do I not care to know about it, but that should be kept between them in a more private location. The French recognize this cultural difference between them and Americans and they often make fun of how we are relatively much more conservative and uptight. 

Pictures from orientation week

Below, you'll find some pictures taken around Paris during our first week here (more recent ones to come later-promise!)

Opera Grenier (National Opera) where we saw a beautiful ballet-opera consisting of three ballets.

Luxembourg Gardens (Le jardin de Luxembourg) a popular place to eat lunch and people watch near my university. I'm looking forward for all the flowers to planted here for spring! (Latin Quarter, 4th arrondissment)

Sacre Coeur (Monmartre, 18th arrondissment) Ma ny people beleive this church to be as old as Notre Dame, when in fact it was built in the 1900s. Many French people do not like it because the artichecture does not represent the time period or style. One can notice the church is actually a mix of Byzantine, Classic, Middle Ages, and some Gothic style pieces as well.

Houses from the Middle Ages (13-15 centuries) in Le Maris, 1st arrondissment. 

Le Prophet (sculpture) in le Jardin de Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens, Latin Quarter 4th arrondissment)

Last remaining and oldest vineyard in Paris (in Monmatre 18th arrondissement) 

Seine River, Paris

 

Wait...I am in Paris?!

Yikes! So much seems to have happened in the nearly two weeks that I have in Paris! I apologize that I didn’t update earlier, but now that I am at my host family’s house I finally have a decent internet connection. Below are some thoughts/reflections on my first week :

Reflecting upon my first week, the emotions I experienced the night before and the day that I left the United States still can be recalled very vividly. An intense mixture of anxiety and curiosity for unknowns to come, I was excited for sure, but also sad knowing I would be leaving friends, family and familiarities that I love (and not to mention the English language) behind. After I was accepted to the Paris study-abroad program at Elon, it didn’t really “sink in” per se that I was actually going to Paris.  I  was certainly looking forward to my spring semester, but I also remember it being hard to be super excited about an experience that I truly knew nothing about. Even when I went to the (intimidating) French consulate in Boston for my visa, or when I started packing or even when my dad dropped me off at the airport that Saturday afternoon (January 31)- I don’t think I had realized all that was in store. To be honest, the whole revelation of “oh my gosh I am going/I am in Paris” didn’t really happen when I landed or when I met my study abroad group at the hostel, or even when we went out to eat lunch at a Parisian pizza café. Maybe its cliché, or maybe it’s because the Eiffel Tower is possibly the most recognized Parisian or even French monument, but the moment that I finally realized that all that packing, paper work, and planning I had done to get here-finally- seemed to come to fruition when I found myself gazing up and admiring the grandeur of the Eiffel Tower my very first night in Paris. I was instantly brought back to the very first night that my dad and I were in Paris (during my first-ever trip to Europe when I was 15) and when we had gone to the Eiffel Tower-on both occasions I had almost wished I wasn’t as impressed with it as I was (as not all the French share the same level of admiration for the Eiffel tower than the many tourists that come every year to see it, and I didn’t want to be put in that stereotyped category).

Even during our orientation week when I met the other students (a few each from UNCW, UNC-CH, ECU, Marist, UC-Santa Barbara and Elon) we all agreed that we felt like we were on a school trip or at some sort of camp-not that we were going to be studying and living here for four months. Our week was full of guided history tours, grammar review for the French language and oral placement exam at the Sorbonne (even more intimidating than the consulate).

Last Sunday I was transferred to my host family’s house. Creating a routine, starting classes and living in a house rather than the FIAP-Jean Monet (although very clean and had nice amenities-it was still a hostel) has made the idea and the actuality of this experience a little more real-but even now, I feel that I am still digesting everything-sensory observations, the language and culture, and still, the fact that I am here for an entire semester.

I am so very grateful for this opportunity to study abroad with the North Carolina Consortium Paris Program at La Sorbonne and for receiving such a generous travel grant from the Leadership Office. I look forward to reporting my experiences and travels in this journal during my semester in Paris. I am anticipating much personal growth and I know I will be learning life learn lessons that I will for sure bring back to Elon-and to my various leadership roles on campus next fall.

More to come later as I upload my journal entries, but as the French would say, “Au-revoir!” for now.