FAQs about my upcoming year in Paris

Because I’m back in DC for the summer and catching up with lots of friends from before law school, I’ve fielded a lot of questions recently about my forthcoming experience parisienne.

So… what exactly are you doing in Paris for a year?

I’m doing my third year of law school in Paris as part of a dual degree program with my school in the US. I’ll graduate on time in May with law degrees from both schools, and (if I pass the bars!) theoretically able to practice in both countries. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

How’s your French?

Well folks, this is the million euro question at the moment. As noted in my first post, my French used to be très excellent. Given that it’s been 10 years since I last used it on a daily basis, my present-day French is more than a little rusty. I’ve been working on it over the summer, but there’s only so much one can do while still in an English-speaking country. Because I’ve been using Spanish a lot during the last 10 years (remember, I taught Spanish for two years), I think my French is perhaps better called “frañol”… I am finding that I have a tendency not only to speak with Spanish accent (which is at least better than an American accent!) but further to take a Spanish verb (similar to the French verb with the same meaning) and try to conjugate it like a French verb. The result may be a bit… confusing. It’s a work in progress.

…but your classes are in French?

Half of them are, including a clinic (one where I do real legal work). Note that I applied to be in the English version of the clinic, but they accepted me into the French one. I would like to think that this is an indication of confidence in my written French skills; I also hope that I do not prove an utter disappointment on the first day of class…

Okay, enough about the language, we can tell that’s stressing you out. Where are you living in Paris?

I really lucked out with my housing. After consulting a variety of current and former Parisians about where to look for housing and what the process would be like, I was really nervous; everything I heard suggested I would essentially need to just show up in Paris (with all of my stuff for 8 months of life) and find something once I was there, in August, when apparently EVERYONE goes on vacation. (Sidenote: French law requires that everyone receive five weeks of vacation per year. That’s 25 business days, folks. And according to one of my books, many people use most of their five weeks all at once – in August.)  Anyway, I got really lucky and found an ad for a room on the housing board for my French university. I’ll be living with a theater costume designer (!!!!!) in the 14^th arrondisement (more on these later), which is on the left bank, just south of the Montparnasse area where all the famous ex-pats used to hang out. I’m told this is a mostly residential area, and usually that’s about all anyone has to say about it. It’s apparently not a very lively or exciting part of the city, which to me is not a bad thing. I get the sense it’s kind of like living on Capitol Hill in DC – there’s a great neighborhood feel, and people who don’t live there think it’s boring because it’s not a hub for nightlife. Fine by me – I plan on exploring beyond the boundaries of the area between my flat and my school!

That sounds awesome! So where is your flat in relation to school?

First of all, I should clarify which of the many French universities and their schools I’m attending in Paris. I’m studying at Sciences Po – the shorthand for what in English translates as the Paris Institute of Political Studies. It’s very famous and apparently very elitist (I read an article to that effect in Le Monde back in the fall). The past four presidents of France studied there, and so did Jackie Kennedy.  Anyway, Sciences Po is also on the left bank, much closer to the river – it’s in the 7^th arrondisement, in the Quartier Latin. I did not see this part of the city during my one weekend spent there, but I am told this is a very posh/snooty (in terms of intellect AND fashion) part of the city; it’s apparently impossibly expensive to live there. According to Google, it would take me about 45 minutes to walk from home to school; taking the highly efficient Métro, it takes more like 10.

Here’s a map of Paris. My flat is where the blue diamond is. School is the red star. And, just for reference, the Eiffel Tower is the gray triangle.

Other than the language issue, is there anything you’re nervous about?

My anxiety is pretty focused on the language barrier right now, but even there, I can manage the worry because I know that I’m good at languages and that it will come back to me quickly once I’m there. Of course, it’s challenging to move to a new place and to be away from home for a long time. (Memories of it taking forever to open a Dutch bank account last summer come to mind.) My roommate has promised to be actively involved in helping me get settled, which is great, and I know a few (French) people in Paris already, so I’m not going into a new situation completely unsupported.

There are a lot of obvious reasons why Paris is awesome. Is there anything you’ll miss during your eight months outside the US?

Yes, but the list is pretty short (and with the exception of the last item, pretty unimportant):

• Ice-cold drinks.
• Dryers (though maybe there’s one in my flat?! I don’t know!)
• Mexican food. I will be in desperate need of a decent burrito when I get back on April 30.

Maybe I should add Thanksgiving to this list? Somehow I don’t think I’m going to miss it much (plus I imagine that the American students will band together to do some version of Thanksgiving).

On the flip side, is there anything about living in Paris that you’re particularly excited about?

I don’t know that I can make a complete list before I get there and think of other things. In the meantime, in no particular order:

• Finally becoming fluent in a language. (I can only hope this will result from taking law classes in French.) I’ve been a Romance Languages dork all of my adult life (I have also studied Italian and Portuguese), and although it is still a goal of mine to be able to speak all four of these better, I think starting with genuine fluency in one is a good step.
• Wine, and being better able to discuss it with authority. (Given that right now I can pretty much just identify wines as either red or white, this presents quite an opportunity for personal growth.)
• I am still in the stage of seeing cooking as a chore rather than an enjoyable art. I hope to not only regain my ability to make crêpes (a skill I picked up while living in the French House in college but have not practiced since 2005) but also to learn how to make at least a few classic French dishes really well. (NB, do not expect me to return as a modern-day Julia Child.)
• Learning about joie de vivre from the people who invented it and practice it every day.

On that point, here is the story I always tell if someone asks me why I like life better in Europe. When I studied in Spain during the summer of 2005, I alternated using my siesta time in the afternoon to sleep and to wander. During those afternoons when I chose to wander, I had to force myself to walk at the same slow pace as the other people on the street. Even in those afternoons where I literally had nowhere to go and nothing to do, no time pressures at all, my default walking pace was something bordering on hurry. There is no need for that. I love the walking speed as a metaphor for approach to life more generally. I’m thrilled to be heading to a place where the emphasis is on actively living and enjoying each day.