It’s been almost a year since I last wrote anything here. Since that dial-up and the departure. A year since I left Romania for Paris. Now I’m swamped with university, and time seems to fly differently here.
Paris: A Mosaic of Voices and New Faces
When I arrived, I was shocked. I had never seen so many people at once, and especially, so much diversity. Strangers from everywhere. Black people, yes, I had never seen black people so close up, in such large numbers. Moroccans, Algerians, Chinese, sub-Saharan Africans… all nations seem to have gathered here. It’s fascinating, an incredible cultural mosaic, but it’s also incredibly crowded. Sometimes you feel lost in this wave of people, of voices, of noises.
And, speaking of noises, you should see how they park their cars here! They simply push each other to get in or out of parking spaces. They don’t care if they ding them. If you did that in Romania, with our tired, old Dacias, all your neighbors would beat you up! Here it’s normal, it’s part of the urban chaos and charm.
Homesickness and Fragile Connections
I still talk on IRC with my girlfriend. It’s hard. The phone is expensive, and we can’t afford to talk too often. So we make do with text messages, with hours on IRC when we catch a moment, trying to maintain the connection over thousands of kilometers. Life is different here, far from home. It’s not easy at all. Sometimes I feel lonely, even though I’m surrounded by so many people.
I’m eagerly waiting for summer to arrive. Maybe I can go back home for a holiday, to see my family, her… to breathe the air from home. I miss the simple things, the quietness there.
But now, I have to focus. I’m preparing for exams. The session is a monster, regardless of the country. I hope to get through it well.
Tourist in the City of Lights
Even with all the stress and adaptation, Paris is superb. I managed to visit a few iconic places: Montmartre with its bohemian streets and artists in Place du Tertre, the imposing Notre-Dame (I still didn’t realize what would happen to it years later…), the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Élysées. It’s lovely, it’s impressive, it’s… grand. You feel history at every step.
I hope to return with better news after my exams and, who knows, maybe with clearer plans for the summer. Until then, I’m diving into books and the mysteries of the city.