What is time in Paris? Some see it as a distant concept. Others see it as a suggestion. There are also those who do not know what it is at all. During my first month in Paris, I have learned that timeliness looks different for each resident of this metropolis.
Take my apartment building for example. I am currently in week five of living here, and my toilet and electrical socket are still damaged from when I first moved in. Luckily, my key and shower were fixed, but even those issues took a couple weeks to be resolved. What is considered an urgent matter in an apartment building? I can tell you it is definitely not hot water which was lacking in the entire building during my first two weeks in Paris.
Now, where timeliness does really flourish is the metro system. As a New Yorker, I am familiar with the dreaded 20-minute wait times for trains. What’s worse is running down the stairs as you watch the train leaving the station in front of your very eyes. There goes any chance of being early to your intended destination. Paris, however, has happily surprised me with their underground transit system. Trains usually run every 3 to 6 minutes, which results in typically waiting for no longer than 4 minutes. Parisians might be leisurely walkers on the street, but they are very time efficient on the metro. My commute to class is about 40 minutes each way, so knowing that time exists on the train is very helpful for my daily routine.
Finally, where I have found that time really differs from place to place is at restaurants. I have been to restaurants where it takes 20 minutes to receive the check at the end of the meal, and others where the food is served before you finish your first piece of bread.
Based on my initial month in Paris, I have learned that this stereotype about Parisians and time can be both extremely true and extremely false. What I can say for sure is that this city does not come close to the version of “time” practiced in New York City.
— Paloma Kluger