This week has been such a turning point for my Paris experience!
I've mentioned before that one cultural difference between the French and Americans is that French people are generally more introverted. They don't talk to strangers on the metro, they don't like to share personal information, groups of friends stick together and it is hard for foreigners to become friends with Parisians. Somehow I have managed to break that barrier with two different sets of friends!
The first group is a French guy named Yann and his friend Dom. Brittany and I met Yann when we were out one night. They really hit it off and exchanged phone numbers. She started hanging out with him and on Monday took me to meet him and his friend. We went to an American bar that has music quizzes on Monday nights. They wanted to bring us so we could help them win (all the music is American). We had a great time and made it to the semi-final round! We are going back next Monday to hang out with them again and we also have more plans with them this weekend.
The second group is Mathis, my host brother, and his friends. He invited Madeline and me out last night to go to a bar/club called Afterwork. The club was right on the Champs Elysees down the street from the Arc de Triomphe. It was a really chic place and I've seriously never seen so many good looking people together in one room in my life! There was a dress code for men (must be wearing a collar) and luckily my friends and I dressed up in cute dresses because we fit right in. On Thursdays at the club it is only 15 euros for open champagne bar and buffet/snack food from 7 to 9, so even though the place was swanky it didn't break our bank accounts. At 9 it turned into a dance club and regular bar, so even more people came and it was packed by 10. The night turned out to be so much fun. All of my host brother's friends were really nice and Katy, Madeline and I had a great time drinking champagne and dancing for hours. It is still hard for me to believe that we were clubbing on the Champs-Elysees! Mathis invited us out again and I am so excited to start going out with them. It is also nice because I know that Mathis is a good guy and that he'll always look out for us. Last night him and his friend walked us home. Colette is so happy that we've become friends.
It took a month, but I've finally started meeting French people and getting groups of friends outside of IES. One great thing about hanging out with the locals is that we get to speak French all night! It is great practice and it is really fun. With my IES friends it is hard to speak French because we automatically revert back to speaking English. When I'm with a group of young Parisians it becomes comfortable to speak French and we are able to talk about common interests, popular things and funny stories. I end up learning new words and phrases every time. It is a nice change from the academic language used at school. I love having French friends!!
I've mentioned before that one cultural difference between the French and Americans is that French people are generally more introverted. They don't talk to strangers on the metro, they don't like to share personal information, groups of friends stick together and it is hard for foreigners to become friends with Parisians. Somehow I have managed to break that barrier with two different sets of friends!
The first group is a French guy named Yann and his friend Dom. Brittany and I met Yann when we were out one night. They really hit it off and exchanged phone numbers. She started hanging out with him and on Monday took me to meet him and his friend. We went to an American bar that has music quizzes on Monday nights. They wanted to bring us so we could help them win (all the music is American). We had a great time and made it to the semi-final round! We are going back next Monday to hang out with them again and we also have more plans with them this weekend.
The second group is Mathis, my host brother, and his friends. He invited Madeline and me out last night to go to a bar/club called Afterwork. The club was right on the Champs Elysees down the street from the Arc de Triomphe. It was a really chic place and I've seriously never seen so many good looking people together in one room in my life! There was a dress code for men (must be wearing a collar) and luckily my friends and I dressed up in cute dresses because we fit right in. On Thursdays at the club it is only 15 euros for open champagne bar and buffet/snack food from 7 to 9, so even though the place was swanky it didn't break our bank accounts. At 9 it turned into a dance club and regular bar, so even more people came and it was packed by 10. The night turned out to be so much fun. All of my host brother's friends were really nice and Katy, Madeline and I had a great time drinking champagne and dancing for hours. It is still hard for me to believe that we were clubbing on the Champs-Elysees! Mathis invited us out again and I am so excited to start going out with them. It is also nice because I know that Mathis is a good guy and that he'll always look out for us. Last night him and his friend walked us home. Colette is so happy that we've become friends.
It took a month, but I've finally started meeting French people and getting groups of friends outside of IES. One great thing about hanging out with the locals is that we get to speak French all night! It is great practice and it is really fun. With my IES friends it is hard to speak French because we automatically revert back to speaking English. When I'm with a group of young Parisians it becomes comfortable to speak French and we are able to talk about common interests, popular things and funny stories. I end up learning new words and phrases every time. It is a nice change from the academic language used at school. I love having French friends!!
No comments:
Post a Comment