It is much more interesting looking out the window than into the mirror. Perhaps we unknowingly surround ourselves with mirrors. Friends, family, and every individual we add to our sphere reflects us. What would happen if you surrounded yourself with windows?
You would be in Paris.
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“Dig deeper,” I have heard while in Paris. But isn’t it quite hypocritical to say so when the judgment comes from a superficial perception in the first place? Or not. Constructive criticism is not something we hear too much stateside, and as appalling as it may be, it reveals more than just flaws.
From an American point of view, the French are some of the most stereotyped people known for their cold façades and ethnocentric viewpoints. But as for any stereotypes, il n'y a pas de fumé sans feu(there's no smoke without fire.)
From the Southern man in the boulangerie who sells me a baguette as if he was doing me the biggest favor (indeed so) to other coffee shop/ bar workers that even make an attempt at English. In this too, Parisians are authentic to themselves. My banker was the sweetest mademoiselle who discussed Game of Thrones with me. But when something went wrong with my account another madame at the bank spoke the quickest French without ever taking a breath, which in turn confused me and left me without a PIN for my bank card. Anywhere and everywhere, stereotypes prove themselves to be true and contradict all expectations at the same time--though in the end, even if we are different people, we’re all people with the same emotions but different ways of expressing them. Maybe we're all superficial.
Initially, I took Paris on a very personal level, often discouraged. After all, treat others the way you want to be treated, no? More like--honesty above all for the Parisians. Kindness and happiness are in contrast perceived as shallowness.
You make a plan, you pack your bags and you leave to a foreign land to discover a new setting, but what you don’t realize is that the people are completely different themselves. Distinct mentalities, political views, and simple egotism reveal themselves anew in a stranger's land. And those make you think, "What am I doing wrong?"
Some of the world's most renowned writers like Ernest Hemingway and Simone de Beauvoir fanatically traveled and reflected those personal changes in their pieces. But what changed them were the people, the attitudes, the vibes, and not the physical location. They weren't doing anything wrong initially; they just saw a new perspective that made them question themselves. Those questions would have never come from themselves, though; they came from looking beyond the mirrors.
