Paris Memoirs – Dépaysement

It has been over a year since I first arrived in Paris, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, anticipating the span of five months that, in my fantastical imagination, would be pure bliss. It would be all frolicking, colorful macarons, endless bottles of wine, cornucopias of cheese, and elegant style. I just assumed that I would suddenly transform into one of those chic people you see in photos from Paris fashion week at the Tuileries. Indeed, I certainly did consume countless bottles of wine, but what I didn’t expect was a crippling reality check.

The French word dépaysement in the most general sense describes the condition of being disoriented in an unfamiliar context. At a deeper level, it is used when a person finds themselves far away from their home country, feeling a sense of alienation and longing for home; the word itself contains pays, which is French for country.

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An Image an Hour

So I definitely didn’t manage to take a photo for every hour I was awake yesterday, but I did manage to capture the feel of my day as it passed by. As expected, there are a lot of selfies, mainly because I didn’t go anywhere interesting. You gotta work with what you got!

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Pondering Paris

The last week and a half I can’t stop thinking, pondering, and obsessing about Paris in the Fall. I lay awake at night, as I’m supposed to be getting much-needed sleep, coming up with scenarios in my head, such as – searching for an apartment, ordering a crepe, finding my favorite boulangerie, taking art history classes in French, and the list goes on. I’ve even spent a significant amount of time exploring the streets of Paris via Google Maps street view. I’ve been researching like crazy for advice on studying abroad, and brainstorming ways to save up money. If you’re wondering where in the world I’ve been the last two weeks – this is what I’ve been doing.

This Fall, I will have the chance to live in a new country. I’ll be there for five months, I’ll rent a tiny closet-sized apartment (shared toilet down the hall), I’ll be an English tutor part time, and I’ll study art history in the company of the best museums in the world. I almost can’t believe it’s going to happen – It still feels surreal.

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