Profitons-nous !

Profiter : tirer avantage, profit

     I think it's fascinating how the French verb profiter has a different connotation than the English word profit.  In circumstances when the word profit is used in the States, money is almost always involved.  But for Parisians, profiter is used when people take advantage of what the city has to offer.  Especially when we are blessed with beautiful weather like we've had this week! It isn't uncommon to hear my host mom telling me to profitez bien when the sun is shining up above.

     This makes me wonder if I am actually taking advantage of Paris or if I am just letting myself disappear into its splendor.  A part of me wants to wake up at the crack of dawn and carpe diem the shit out of every day because I know I will be on a flight before I know it.  At the same time, it is super exhausting to seize the day when I have work to do for the Alliance Française, Chantal, or Bob.  It's like: how can I possibly fit all of this into a day without dying of sleep deprivation? I know that in order to feel like a functioning human being I need to get enough sleep, that's just the way it is.  But at the same time, I'm a night person, I prefer going out at night and sleeping in the morning, which is not always doable...

   Sunday night, a few of us had a homework and movie night, which meant that I didn't return home until late.  As I was walking back home I heard my mom saying, Magdalena what on Earth are you doing out of bed at 12:30 am on a school night?! However, I found it refreshing to be roaming the streets of Paris late at night.  There is a quietness that takes over.  It is funny because back in Chicago, I wouldn't dare go for a walk on my own after 8 pm--it's way too sketch. But in Paris, the only danger I would find in my neighborhood is the occasional black cat or my neighbor walking their dog.  Anyway, going back to my story: it was very lucky that I was coming back home when I did, because I happened to come across this very interesting piece of street art. 

"You should start living..." whether the person who did this intended to or not, I had a revelation when I saw this. I realized that I was not living (or profitant) in the way that I wanted to when I first got here.  Donc, I pledge to do at least one thing spontaneous or adventurous thing that is out of my comfort zone every day that I'm here.  Even if it's something as simple as talking to that eye-candy in the AF café or talking to a stranger on the métro.