L.A. in Paris

So there are some good things about L.A., like the art culture. And even here in Paris it's getting attention with the new exhibit at the Centre Pompidou titled "Los Angeles 1955-1985: Birth of an Artistic Capital." I haven't had a chance to view it yet, but it's been getting a lot of publicity and praise, and it's definitely on my must do list. Why do I bring this up? Well I was reading Christopher Knight's review of the exhibit on the L.A. Times website, and I just loved his opening paragraph. It is so on target:

"say the words 'L.A. art' and most people will give you one of two responses. A blank stare, which conveys the conventional wisdom lurking inside Woody Allen's stale joke about California culture being mostly found in yogurt. Or, a puzzled look, which telegraphs a common tendency to shrink Los Angeles into Hollywood, followed by a snotty refusal even to consider movies and TV as products of artists' sensibilities."

Well, I found it amusing. And I just realized another thing I miss... frozen yogurt, which is definitely an L.A./California phenomenon. In Europe they would never consider anything except the full-fat stuff: real ice cream or even better gelato, which I'm not going to lie is horribly fantastic.

Moi, un optimiste?

We all know I’m somewhat of a cynic. You might call it pessimism, but I like to believe it’s more a fondness for wit and sarcasm. Either way, I think being in Paris has made me start to see things not only as half-empty, but also half-full… can you believe it?! I bet not. But no really, today was a testimony to this self-realization.

We had our (almost) mid-semester meeting with the USC advisor today to discuss the group’s concerns, emotions, experiences, etc. in Paris. I was so surprised by how many complaints the other students had! While everyone enjoys Paris overall, for the very first time I felt like the most optimistic person in the room! Really my only complaint so far is my super boring Sorbonne grammar course and that’s only because it’s a bad professor.

The general concerns though were not feeling safe at night, having a hard time meeting people, not understanding why Parisians aren’t openly friendly all the time, etc. In my opinion, these are characteristics of any big city and I don’t find it very distressing. Maybe my personality is just better suited for the city, but I don’t think the people here any colder than New Yorkers, I find it equally difficult to meet people in America, and I think I actually feel safer in Paris than in L.A.

I guess I was just really surprised by how naive the others appeared to be about city life. We’ve all lived in L.A. for at least three years, granted in a somewhat sheltered, college environment, but even so you would think one would acquire some knowledge of street smarts. It’s not like I’ve ever truly lived in a city (other than USC) but for whatever reason I’ve never been very ignorant about urban life. To be safe you have to be aware and careful; if you’re wandering the streets alone at 4 a.m. you’re not necessarily asking for trouble, but more likely to find it. You also can’t expect city people to make friends with every person they pass on the street, especially foreigners.

I think another reason I’m feeling more open-minded and optimistic is that I came to Paris expecting to face challenges. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to live in a foreign country, and so I really haven’t encountered any great surprises. Maybe that’s the cynic in me, but it seems to work: fewer expectations equal fewer disappointments. Or, a more optimistic and prolific way of saying it would be through the words of Picasso: “Je ne cherche pas, je trouve” (I don’t search, I find).

But seriously, overall I’m really enjoying France. I’m just trying to take it one day at a time, make the most of it all, and not stress over things I won’t care about or remember when I return home, like school work (that’s assuming I maintain my GPA, otherwise I will be forever reminded) … mais, tout la même, c’est la vie, je suis à Paris et je veux passer un semestre amusant!

And that said, I must go now to meet some friends at a bar (I definitely go out more often and enjoy it more than I ever did back home, so that’s also an exciting change, n’est-ce pas ?)

Knitting on the metro

I brought a knitting project I was working on before I left but I haven't touched it. I probably should work on it since it's a scarf and I would get more use out of it here then in L.A., but I just haven't been in the right mood or situation to knit. I don't watch a lot of television here and that's when I would do most of my knitting back home.

I did see someone knitting on the metro for the first time yesterday. I wouldn't want to knit on the metro just because it's so dirty, I wouldn't be on there long enough to get into it, and other than this one person you never see anyone doing things like that. But it was interesting because for needle-point protectors she was using a wine cork with two wholes drilled in it. So French!

L.A. ne me manque pas.

Walking home last night from the metro I think I noticed the moon for the first time here. It was just a sliver peaking through the fog but when I saw it I realized I had yet to pay attention to the moon here. And it’s pretty silly, but it made me think how this is the same moon everyone’s seeing in California (except at a different time), and I realized that I guess I’m really not that far away.

We’ve definitely had conversations about what people miss from back home, I’ve realized that unlike the others here who miss things like restaurants or the beach or areas of L.A., I don’t really miss any places, only people (and dogs…). Except I do miss real Japanese food. I’ve found some pretty good yakitori here, but I miss all the special things we have at home… and I’m hesitant to try sushi here because I know it couldn’t compare. It’s also really odd to go to a Japanese restaurant where the staff is speaking French.

Another random thing is that being in Paris has made me realize how much I want to live in Northern California. Part of that could be because there are three people in the program from the Bay Area who talk about it a lot, but it’s also because being here has just confirmed how much I don’t really like L.A. I see even more now how specific the culture and attitude of L.A. is, and I don’t want to be around that forever. But I’m also realizing that I could never live permanently anywhere too far from my family. As much as I love it here, or even New York, it’s just not the same when you’re far from the people you care about.

And I’ve also decided I never want to drive again… wishful thinking I know. But at least if I lived somewhere like Berkeley or San Francisco I could walk more than I do in L.A., which would be never if you didn’t count walking to class.