Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The 7th Month Itch

Well, it’s a strange thing. I have had inklings of desire to start a blog for the past 7 months. First it started as a niggle. I imagined it reeked of self-indulgence, so I lay my thoughts to one side. Then as it started to annoy me and as I began to scratch it, it made me wonder how far I will let all this pent up frustration build up until it became a puss-ridden sore. Well the festering sore finally became an open wound when I quietly passed my 7 month ‘anniversary’ here and realised that 1. I am madly, sickeningly homesick, and 2) I still pause for more than several seconds when people ask me why I came to Paris.

Why?

Why did I pack all my shit up from the other side of the world to come to this crazy, beautiful place called Paris?
Well, for one thing, it wasn’t for the friendly French people here I can assure you. Yeah, it’s the same old stereotype but I actually thought when I first came here in 2006 that they were nice – I was a tourist though and really had no idea what I was talking about. I’ve had a number of unfortunate events including having my mobile stolen, cancelled English classes, (yes, like most Anglosaxons who venture here we all end up being une professor d’anglais-that’s English Teachers for the non-francophone), It wasn’t for the not very glamorous wage, or the poky little apartments. Or the French men for that matter.

So I started thinking. Why? And why is it that I am now questioning being here at the 7 month mark? Is it like a marriage that has hit troubled waters? Have I got an itch that I just can’t scratch? Don’t get me wrong, Paris is a beautiful city, a living museum, but so are the people, the ‘Parisians’ who live inside the isle of beautiful buildings, museums and The Seine. They seem to be stuck in a time when the buildings were built.

Paris. So am I supposed to love this city because it is a beautiful city with all there is to offer or have my experiences so far been so uneven that perhaps it has coloured my experience so far? I would like to think no but I also think that the people you surround yourself with have a great impact on the experience you end up having here. Along with all these Frenchies.

So while I ponder my 7 month inch and wonder what the hell I came here for and what choice I will make –stay or go, I will sip on my 7 euro bottle of Cote de Rhone 2005 and look out of the window of my apartment I share with P and perhaps do what all Parisians secretly do…watch their neighbours.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey! So glad you started a blog! Judging by the first post you've got quite a flair for writing actually! I look forward to reading more. It's funny, I'm the same, I feel so uncomfortable now when people ask me why I came to France. Usually I just say it was C to give a short answer, or the French New Wave..but sometimes it's hard to keep the bitterness out of ones voice! Ahh wells. Good days and bad days. Bad months and good months I suppose..

islandgirl4ever2 said...

G'day.... Glad I stumbled upon your blog and welcome to Blogland... I, too, packed up my bags and sent my stuff across the atlantic to La France from Sunny So. Cal. Call it love (my hubby is French)... but I have made my home here in France, and I love it!! Hope you do, too... Hope to be reading more of you in the days to come ... I am adding you to my blogrolll...
Cheers, Leesa

NatCatInParis said...

I'm Back!!!!!