One year ago today, a friend met me in Paris for his first trip to the City of Lights. In giving him the grand tour and my verbal overview about navigating the city both literally and figuratively, I realized that other first-time voyagers to Paris or France might enjoy benefiting from the cultural observations of someone who lived there for three years.
Every time I visit Paris, I am struck speechless by its architectural splendor, bemused by its cultural quirkiness, and impressed by the inimitable flair with which Parisians do just about everything. Whether it is a confident French girl sashaying down the street in fitted jeans and a simple white tank top with a scarf that seems to float suspended in the air around her, the way a fruit vendor splits a peach in half to show you the bright juicy pulp within, the feeling of lightness you get the first time you see the Eiffel Tower twinkle at night, or the olfactory overload experienced when entering a smelly cheese shop, there's no place like Paris in the world.
When you visit Paris, I hope you will fall in love with Paris the way that I have. You will, of course, experience very annoying moments having to do with cultural misunderstandings or bureaucracy, but I hope you won't let it get you down. You may occasionally think you are being treated rudely, but you are not - I challenge you to put yourself in the stylish, polished shoes of French society at large who have to withstand the incessant onslaught of non-French-speaking Americans who don't understand nor respect the French language or cultural norms. Patience runs thin in these situations, especially for the many service professionals who keep the Paris tourism industry in business and the millions of visitors per year happy on their holidays.
So if you are treated with a welcoming smile, a kind look, and assistance when in need, reward it with politeness and your best smile back and take it like the cultural gift that it is. If you are treated with a gruff attitude, ask yourself – what would I do if dozens of people from Romania barreled into my life every week, not speaking my language and not understanding my customs, foregoing on the polite small talk that Americans customarily use to oil interactions before asking you to give them or tell them something? Your patience might wear thin, too.
If you regularly remind yourself that you are in their country and that you are the one who doesn't always understand what is happening, you will get more pleasure out of your visit. I started a little game with myself several years ago – the more I believe I'm being perceived as just another annoying tourist, the more I try to be accommodating and see if I can get a smile out of him or her. It's especially fun going through Customs. Just don't get yourself arrested!
Originally posted July 2008 and modified from its original form.
© Copyright 2009. Soak Up Living. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Soak Up Living in Freedom
I grew up knowing that death had almost touched my family before death had ever touched my family. My dad was seriously wounded in Vietnam before I was born. From a young age, my little sister and I knew he had been hurt in something called a "war," although we didn't have the contextual understanding to know what a war was. We just knew that my dad had lost his legs there and that we were all happy that he came back alive.
Many of his fellow soldiers were not so blessed. It wasn't until I moved to Washington, D.C. at the age of 18 and saw the Vietnam Wall and Arlington Cemetary that I truly understood how many soldiers had given up their lives and ongoing health upon their returns to protect our independence and freedom. And I remain to this day in awe of the incredible selflessness underlying that level of sacrifice. Knowing that countless soldiers voluntarily risk their lives daily to protect us makes me want to continue striving to be the kind of American whose freedom is worth protecting.
Anyone with a heart believes that war is a terrible thing. But I was given a slightly different perspective by my father, someone who had barely lived through one. Before I could walk, I was riding in parades on the 4th of July and Veteran's Day. I smiled and waved back at all the people beaming on the sidelines waving the pretty red, white and blue flags before I even came close to understanding their symbolism and significance. I grew up listening to my West Point dad talk about "duty, honor and country" and the importance of serving our great nation. For 37 years, I have watched my dad live and breathe his passion for serving our great country through civic service, political roles and grass-roots assistance to other veterans.
I still think war is a terrible thing. But it's also easy to forget that war is often a necessary outcome when good is not allowed to prevail through diplomatic relations or when nations protecting the "greater good" are forced to intervene to prevent those representing the "greater bad" from accomplishing it.
My dad's die-hard patriotism, my grandfathers' military service, the ongoing military service of my cousins (and the sacrifices made by their families) and my observations on the wars I've observed from afar as an adult have taught me that there is value to war. There is value to the collective, organized engagement of strong nations in battles against injustice. The value of war, or at least the threat of war, is that it reaches deep down into the hearts of patriotic men and women everywhere and calls them to serve our country, protect our freedoms and thwart the occurence of the "greater bad." And soldiers who experience that calling, as my father did back in the 60s and as my cousins continue to do in a world plagued by the kinds of heinous threats we face today, do it gladly.
These men and women who protect us wake up every day with a deep desire to protect our independence and freedoms. And I know I represent all patriotic Americans when I thank them for their service - for risking their lives and making personal sacrifices to keep us safe and protect America's independence. My father was one of those soldiers. And he has told me on numerous occasions that he would do it all again. And that makes me so unbelievably proud to be an American.
Happy Independence Day, America! Although Independence Day technically celebrates our independence from British rule on July 2, 1776, it also celebrates the patriotic spirit of America and the freedoms we continue to enjoy today. I hope Americans everywhere today will soak up living in the freedom that centuries of soldiers have earned for us with their selfless sacrifices.
Many of his fellow soldiers were not so blessed. It wasn't until I moved to Washington, D.C. at the age of 18 and saw the Vietnam Wall and Arlington Cemetary that I truly understood how many soldiers had given up their lives and ongoing health upon their returns to protect our independence and freedom. And I remain to this day in awe of the incredible selflessness underlying that level of sacrifice. Knowing that countless soldiers voluntarily risk their lives daily to protect us makes me want to continue striving to be the kind of American whose freedom is worth protecting.
Anyone with a heart believes that war is a terrible thing. But I was given a slightly different perspective by my father, someone who had barely lived through one. Before I could walk, I was riding in parades on the 4th of July and Veteran's Day. I smiled and waved back at all the people beaming on the sidelines waving the pretty red, white and blue flags before I even came close to understanding their symbolism and significance. I grew up listening to my West Point dad talk about "duty, honor and country" and the importance of serving our great nation. For 37 years, I have watched my dad live and breathe his passion for serving our great country through civic service, political roles and grass-roots assistance to other veterans.
I still think war is a terrible thing. But it's also easy to forget that war is often a necessary outcome when good is not allowed to prevail through diplomatic relations or when nations protecting the "greater good" are forced to intervene to prevent those representing the "greater bad" from accomplishing it.
My dad's die-hard patriotism, my grandfathers' military service, the ongoing military service of my cousins (and the sacrifices made by their families) and my observations on the wars I've observed from afar as an adult have taught me that there is value to war. There is value to the collective, organized engagement of strong nations in battles against injustice. The value of war, or at least the threat of war, is that it reaches deep down into the hearts of patriotic men and women everywhere and calls them to serve our country, protect our freedoms and thwart the occurence of the "greater bad." And soldiers who experience that calling, as my father did back in the 60s and as my cousins continue to do in a world plagued by the kinds of heinous threats we face today, do it gladly.
These men and women who protect us wake up every day with a deep desire to protect our independence and freedoms. And I know I represent all patriotic Americans when I thank them for their service - for risking their lives and making personal sacrifices to keep us safe and protect America's independence. My father was one of those soldiers. And he has told me on numerous occasions that he would do it all again. And that makes me so unbelievably proud to be an American.
Happy Independence Day, America! Although Independence Day technically celebrates our independence from British rule on July 2, 1776, it also celebrates the patriotic spirit of America and the freedoms we continue to enjoy today. I hope Americans everywhere today will soak up living in the freedom that centuries of soldiers have earned for us with their selfless sacrifices.
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