Submitted by Harli Porcano on the 2018 winter session study abroad program France sponsored by the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies…
At the end of my first week in Paris, the one thing that never ceases to amaze me is the architecture here. Every building that I have seen has been so beautiful, which is not something that can be said for the aesthetic of the United States. There is one intersection that is right across from the Paris American Academy that I am in love with. The balconies on the buildings make the architecture stand out even more.
At every chance, I look for the Eiffel Tower, although I haven’t been on an official visit yet. It’s a strange feeling to marvel over a single landmark, just as people do to ones I see so often at home, like the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. But, even the buildings and statues that are not famous stun me every time. Buildings are so clustered together and the roads are so thin that there was plenty to see in the drives we have taken throughout the city on the bus. Most roads are so narrow; it is stressful to drive down a two-way street. People on mopeds drive so haphazardly, I almost get hit daily. Yesterday, I even witnessed an extreme display of Parisian road rage between a moped-ist and a driver. I’m not exactly sure what happened, but the moped wound up slamming into the car in anger, but since it was just a small scooter, nothing came of it. It was a very interesting comparison to American road rage which mainly consists of screaming inside your car with the windows up so no one can hear you. I think that the things that have most amazed me in my first week in France are the small things that I see everyday.
