There is much to be said about Paris itself, from the drastically changing weather to the abundance of café patron watching people walk on by admiring their clothing or admonishing those pesky tourists in their mind for being extremely annoying and overly “touristy”. Before coming to Paris I have never sat outside of a café with the intention of drinking an espresso and watching the people walk by as I talk with another person. Yesterday was the first day that I broke that record.
At the end of our journey at the Chateau Versailles and the Garden, I was tired from the amount of walking that we did the whole day. There was no doubt in my mind that I would just go straight home and eat some good food before hitting the sack. However, I changed my mind as I was in the mood for some coffee as a little pick me up because, quite frankly, I could feel myself becoming drowsy and no one wants to fall asleep on the metro. So after some internal deliberation I decided to tag along with some friends to a café to chat for a half hour before taking the metro line six.
As you may imagine, the result of journey was just as you would expect. We all ended up sitting at the tables outside and made small talk. Because of the fact that I was taking part in Paris, itself, through these actions I felt that it would only be natural to take part in the well-loved Parisian pastime of people-watching. It would turn out to be easier said than done in my case. That is, I don’t really feel comfortable sitting outside in the open while being really close to the sidewalk and seeing everyone pass me by at such a close distance. I’m afraid that I just don’t get this aspect of Parisian life, looking at the pedestrians passing by, sipping on expresso and judging. But, this may just be true for me because it’s my first time in Paris. Hopefully, I’ll be able to feel the same way as Parisians do with practice sitting at a café and people-watching.
I've been back in Chicago for a couple of days now, but I haven't dropped the people watching habits I'd formed in Paris. I find myself overtly gazing at the people around me on the L, on the street, at a party, etc. I forget that this makes Americans uncomfortable, whereas Parisians step outside of their house expecting to be looked at. I'm starting to see this as a major differences between Parisians and Americans. Parisians are attentive to how they present themselves, often to an extent which would intimidate Americans. In the states, I feel that people are less concerned with presenting themselves well. I find this to be both a negative and positive aspect of the American mentality. This puts less pressure on appearance and how one carries oneself. I find this both liberating and concerning.
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