PARIS I

 Since the beginning of my stay abroad in Paris, I have been trying to get into contact with a lot of French or even Parisian people to improve my French and understand the culture of my guest country better. Meeting new people turned out to be more difficult than I expected, because all the French students were under a lot of pressure to get good grades and therefore were at the library most of the time. They had no intention to socialize a stranger and show him around their city. By coincidence I met a Danish student who already studied and lived in Paris for longer than me. Since he has been living in Paris for some years, he had a few Parisian and French friends, which I had the chance to meet too. So we all went out together. It became clear that we were not that different when it came to jokes, entertainment and also talking about serious international topics. Even though they also had to study a lot and work hard, we met many times and had a lot of fun together. During classes, all students were focused and concentrated on the teaching subjects. As soon as a class was over, they headed straight to the library or the next class. When I managed to meet them outside of the day-to-day routine of university life, it was almost the only way to get to know them better without having the feeling of preventing them from studying.

During my exchange, I also met many Erasmus students from different countries. I spent most of my time with those students, who had similar classes like me and who were speaking the same foreign language like me: namely English. In the beginning when entering the university building, we did not talk to each other and were not really in contact, but this changed when we had to search for the same classroom. This was the moment where we realized that we were taking the same classes. From the first moment on, we got along well, because our interests and sense of humor matched. Even though they were older than I am, and we communicated in English and sometimes in French, we quickly developed a good relationship and saw each other frequently, also outside of university. There were no difficulties or barriers we had to overcome or cultural differences that would make it difficult to spend time together. In addition to that, I did not experience many situations in which people were that different that it would have taken me a lot of strength or need for personal change in order to adapt to them. Except of going out clubbing. It was and still is very difficult for foreign people to get into a nightclub in Paris. Even if you speak French perfectly, as soon as they notice that you are not a Parisian, they will not let you in that easily. Consequently, the easiest way to get in is to be in company of French people and let them do the talking. Then you maybe have a chance to visit a nightclub in Paris.

However, the culture in France is similar to the culture in Austria, and even stereotypical French behavior, like not communicating directly or being rude and harsh were not as intense as I had expected before I left. Actually, I had many good experiences, and certainly not more bad ones than I have had back in Austria. Therefore, I did not experience situations or got to know people who were unfamiliar at the beginning and became familiar over time. I automatically did not spend time with people I did not get along with, and so there was no need for such strange people to become familiar to me.

Concluding, starting out in a new city is always difficult, but it was a very nice experience to get to know so many different people in such a short time. I would suggest everyone to take part in an exchange program and make international friends, expand their network and be part of a different culture. 

Linus Weber, December 2021