France is funny.
It’s more foreign than I thought it would be.
I spent a month in Rwanda; I knew that would be foreign. I expected it. There was no real surprise or difference in Rwanda. I’ve spent a day in Brussels before, and a week in Madrid when I was 14. Brussels was too short of a time period to fully the foreign feeling. In Madrid I was too young to recognize I suppose, or it was too long ago to now recall, the foreignness.
But Europe definitely has a foreign feel. France at least.
Buildings here, mostly residential, look and feel sort of dilapidated and dirty; with crumbling edges and distasteful Brutalist style architecture. It’s sort of the feel you would almost stereotype to Russia. Of course the ancient buildings in the old sections of cities are beautiful and I did expect them to look rustic. It just seems there’s a lower level of maintenance accepted here.
I guess I had some delusional expectation of there to be not much difference, or I just forgot about the potential difference there could be in the little things. Like the availability of resources…
Water is expensive. Toilet bowls here carry a very low level of water during their idle state, creating quite thunderous acoustics. This was jarring at first. Most showers I’ve encountered have no showerhead fixture at the top (so you shower hose-style), and have no shower curtain.
Expensive electricity renders most places darker than they would be in America, and renders host mothers quite frugal.
I’ve encountered more pink toilet paper than I ever have in the States. Most toilets are separate from sinks/bathrooms too.
I like it a lot here though. I’ve been able to do a lot in these past 10 days. I explored Paris, worked the harvest in Champagne with my friends who operate a champagne vineyard, swam around the calanques of La Ciota, and AirBnB’d in Nice. Certainly excited for what else the semester has in store.