It’s a slightly overcast evening in Paris, I’ve just returned from a run through Parc de la Villette. The orange sun was melting away as I ran through the long row of trees which cut through the park. Beating down the pavement listening to the sound of African drumming which always fills the air on weekends, in that Park anyway.

(Some of my friends in Paris) C’est une chouette vie à Paris!

I’ve been living in this amazing city for just over four months now so I thought it was about time I put a stake in the ground and write a bit of a round up. Paris is a wonderful place to me, a gift infact. But not one that has come without a few knocks and effort but you’ve always got to look on the bright side. I remember the moment when I decided to quit my job and buy a one way ticket to Paris…

I knew that an O.E. was one of my life goals and so was learning another language and culture, I’d always had a soft spot for sound of the French language but I knew little about Paris and France. The fact that I was moving to a foreign country and that I only spoke a few words of the language, didn’t hit me until the métro train I was on stopped in the south of Paris at 11.30pm a week after I’d been here. The lights were off and I swore as I thought ‘Okay, I’m in a foreign country, I didn’t understand that message which just came over the speaker system, I’ve only got a few cents in my pocket, I’ve left my credit card at home and I don’t have a map of Paris with me’ MERDE!

*That* was pure fear, but 10 minutes later the métro started moving again and I relaxed…. Those first weeks were those of understanding very little. Forcing myself to just speak French (no English) with the frew words I knew. I quickly got sick of eating bread and pastries. I got shafted on currency exchange, got on the wrong train, and thought of the ease of life in New Zealand and Australia in comparrison. I very nearly jumped a flight home but shock myself and thought what a stupid idea that would be.

(Phil and I, one night at an Irish pub just off the Champs)

But through that time I met people, Pauline FR, Phil UK, Kelsy US, Brian UK, Claire AU, Claire NZ, Mathias FR, Momo FR, Xavier FR and Christine FR… I started to pick up more and more French and suddenly started to feel like I was intergrating with the locals. It was definately not all that bad, especially once I broke my little ‘no speaking English rule’. I think I started to learn more once I began chopping and changing between English and French!

I felt a bit like a charmeleon dragon for a while (if that’s the one that changes colour), changing jobs a few times. I’m now working in a fantastic little company in the wine industry. A great team and the work is very enjoyable…more on that later.

A lot of foreigners I’ve met in Paris have told me stories of sleepless nights and heartache as they attempt to battle various French systems to get social security and bank accounts. I am *well* aware of the dark jungle of French beurocratic bullshit which you have to dive through to get things done here. It’s full of never ending document requests, long lines, lots of flying paper, confusion and LOTS of waiting. My attitude towards this has been “why walk into the fire unless you have to”. I have avoided the jungle as much as possible by having: a prepay cell phone, personal medical insurance, living in my apartment while it gets renovated etc.

Christine and Xavier

How’s my French? It depends who you ask and who I’m speaking with. My new Georgian flatmate Devi (country, Georgia) and I only speak in French, if you say anything in English you have to put money in the jar! We understand eachother though there is a limit to our conversations. At work I don’t speak as much French as I could and I think it’s because to me work is a serious place. I’m there to do a job not to piss around with another language. Though that’s starting to change a bit now, the words are coming out. I speak French with my friend momo and other locals near my apartment. I have two lesson exchanges each week with Xavier. When I went to the dutch speaking regions of Belgium I was dying to get back to France where I could understand more of the language. My French has gone from being able to speak more than I understand, to being able to understand more than I can speak.

Today when Davie and I were having a coffee at the edge of the Park I realised that I was actually thinking in French but only to the point that I had vocabulary to flow with. Usually when I speak in English my mind is always thinking, of lots of things. But I’m finding now with French that there are simply areas of silence when I don’t know what to say – rather than thinking half in English and half in French. So the conclusion is; I don’t understand everything yet but I feel at peace with French, it doesn’t bother me, I’m still studying and I’m loving it.

Little snippets: French girls!…lovely but with very different psychies. The food here, simply fantastic! – even my cooking has improved. The French Wine, superb! The buildings and general asthetic here is just unreal. Biking and running in Paris rocks but the pollution sucks. The speed of the city, brilliant. I’m reading two books written in French, Le Petit Price and Le Petit Nicolas, one in English called A year in the merde – book reading for me is rare. Happy, yes. Smiles, absolutely. Laugher, daily.

So do I miss NZ/AU? Hell yes!! and all of my family and good friends, my old job, clean clean air, waterskiing, all of the banter and crazy missions. Though I’m not ready to come home just yet, I know you’re all still there.

This week: Another boomer of a working week! Catch up drinks with friends tomorrow evening and Tuesday evening, on Wednesday the Black Seeds (WGTN NZ) ARE PLAYING IN PARIS!!! Thursday, a concert in a Park, Saturday my friend Andrew arrives to visit.

Alors, GO ALL BLACKS! Have a GREAT week everyone, LIVE IT!

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 3rd, 2007 at 8:15 am While Dave was in Paris. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.