An American in Paris

Really didn’t think this would happen, would you? A second blog post within a time span of two weeks. I feel like I should win an award for most improved or something especially since I usually post something like once a year, but hey I’m trying (insert shoulder shrugging emoji here). Today I want to talk about my trip to Paris (which happened almost two months ago, but like I said I’m trying). Okay, so Paris is absolutely exquisite; from the architecture, to the food everything is thoroughly thought out and meticulously created. The attention to detail is insane. Honestly, America you need to do better because Paris is just doing everything right----- except public restrooms that is definitely an area in need of improvement. I mean when your girl has to go, she’s got to go and let me tell you it thoroughly stresses me out when public restrooms do not exist. I’m sorry that I like to stay hydrated, but the French must just have giant bladders and I am very, very jealous. Okay sorry that was a long tangent but I’m obviously still a little heated. I am about to go on another tangent because we need to talk about the most innovative, creative, and methodical aspect of Paris: their trees. Their trees are SQUARE!! Yes, you read that correctly, they trim all of their trees not only in the shape of a square but also, so that they are in a perfectly straight line. I wonder if people have to go to school to learn how to trim trees, cuz seriously not one leaf is out of place. Now, I don’t know if that is insanely impressive attention to detail or just insane. I guess you can be the judge.

Visiting Paris was the first time I had ever left the US (even though I grew up in Cali and could have basically gone to Mexico for dinner, but that’s just a little extra for me I guess) and I honestly did not really know what to expect. Funnily enough, the biggest culture shock for me was that everyone around me wasn’t speaking English. Now, obviously I know that Paris is in France and that in France they speak French, but still it just really threw me off guard. I also took French for four years throughout high school and college, so I really don’t know what I was expecting to happen.

Anyways, after this amazing

experience I’ve been thinking a lot more about traveling. There are parts of me that are glad that I waited until my 20s to travel abroad and other parts of me that ask “What the heck were you thinking!? Why have you waited this long?!” I feel like now I’m at a point in life where I can understand, retain, and remember experiences better, but at the same time this trip changed my life (sorry sooo dramatic) so why did I wait this long? I can’t say exactly how it changed me because I haven’t had enough retrospect, but I just feel different. The thing is though, who’s to say I wouldn’t have grown from traveling abroad earlier in my life? I guess that’s where people say everything happens for a reason, but I can’t help but wonder what my life would look like if small things were just slightly different.

I have always loved traveling, the airport (besides the mall, and yes, I realize how materialistic and conceded that sounds) has always been one of my favorite places to be. I always loved the idea that I was surrounded by all different kinds of people, who grew up in different places and experienced different things; they each had their own story. And that’s what traveling and experiencing other parts of the world is all about isn’t it? Not visiting the landmarks, eating the food, or buying souvenirs just to check them off the travel bucket list, but to experience how other people live, where they come from, and ultimately adding all this up and understanding how they think. Subconsciously I believe we don’t visit and experience the place, but the people native to that place, because we want to sustain a connection with people that are different than us so that we can learn why people who look like us, walk like us, speak and write like us (even if it’s in another language) are different than us.

Love,

Chloe Noel

Also just wrote this on a plane so how’s that for some melodramatic irony?