It’s me again!

So, here are some photos from Paris. Honestly, I went to Paris with very low expectations, not expecting to like it very much but I was very pleasantly surprised. I spent two days walking around the city and there was rarely a dull moment. The architecture, the gold accents, the Christmas lights and Christmas markets – everything fills me with pleasant feelings.

However, I guess I should admit that my first experiences in Paris weren’t exactly the best. So here it goes: I arrived in Paris close to midnight on a Thursday evening. I had a friend who had arrived earlier that day and was supposed to wait for me at the place we were staying. However, when I got to the airport, the bus I had to catch was the last one for the night and guest services at the airport told me that I should ask for help on the bus when I Reached the last stop. After a long, rough day, I wasn’t very social as I got onto the bus. I quietly handed the Bus Driver my money and took a seat. I talked a little with the couple next to me on in hopes that they were going in my direction but no luck. When the bus reached the last stop, I went to the front of bus to ask for help, only to be told by the bus driver that I he wasn’t going to help me because I didn’t say ‘hello’ or ‘thank you’. He then proceeded to tell me I had to exit the bus and that I could find help elsewhere. And there I was…stranded in the middle of a strange city at midnight without a phone, internet, or a way to contact my friend for help. After a few moments of standing still, stunned, I finally decided to find a metro and see if I could find my way from there…only to realize that the metro was underground and I wasn’t comfortable going down there alone at night. And then it struck me – I could take a taxi! Although I was nervous about taking a taxi, I managed to hail one and I checked the driver’s license before telling him where I had to go. Once I gave him the address, I anxiously sat in the taxi until I reached my destination.

Once there, I had no clue how to get into the building. My friend gave me an address but she wouldn’t answer as I rung the bell for the room/flat. For ten minutes, I helplessly sat in front of the building with no way to get inside. Luckily, an elderly couple approached the building and the kind man let me into the building despite his wife’s dismay (she wasn’t keen on helping me). He then showed the part of the building where my room was and went back on his way. It was one o’ clock in the morning at this point and I was so thankful for his help. I knocked on the door to the room, and my friend sleepily opened the door. She had fallen asleep and didn’t know when I was supposed to be there. I didn’t change my clothes, I went straight to bed. It was quite the day and I had no energy left, I was just glad I was safe. The next two days were the the complete opposite experience to my first night in Paris, thankfully!

The lesson I learned here and throughout my study abroad experience: things don’t go as planned and no matter how much you try to control a Situation, you can’t control people. People will be nice, mean, forgetful, kind, unreasonable or anything else and that has nothing to do with you, so the best thing to do is look ahead: ‘what can I do to make my situation better?’ is the question that drove me through the toughest situations. Also: ALWAYS make sure someone responsible knows where you are at all times: safety first!!

Au Revoir,

Rab