General

So for my communications course I had to write a journal for 'Intercultural Sensitivity Development' and I thought I came up with one that was fairly interesting, and thought I'd share. Don't forget to read the continued part of the Strasbourg trip below!

            Us versus them. I was/am, inclined to think of it like that, living in Paris that is. That the Parisians see us as the foreign invaders, alien threats, that aren’t quite threats, just more of pesky nuisances that are a constant insult to their culture. So I tread softly and try to blend in to the Parisian lifestyle as I know it or pretend to understand it so as to not offend. I feel crestfallen if I say bonjour to a bonsoir, I’m still getting used to that…and I never know what’s up with the ‘pardon’s. If I am in a crowded place and say pardon repeatedly, no one moves. I am forced to resort to shoving and elbowing my way through the crowd of Parisians. I feel as though they have been affronted by my abuse of the crowd, but it seems as though all of my ‘pardon’s fall on deaf ears. And then there’s the issue of bumping into someone/stepping on someone or just something plain awkward that would render a quick ‘sorry’ back home. I accidentally stepped on a man’s foot and kind of shoved him on my way out of the metro, but it was his choice to lean on the door and refuse to shift at the station. I said, “Pardon, desolee monsieur,” and hurried out of the way. I felt so awful for having ‘hurt’ someone. But in all reality, this was no offense, I, could not have possibly have hurt him by treading on him and shuffling past him. This is a day to day occurrence for those not only in Paris but anyone living in a big city.  So maybe that is why I get no reply if I say ‘pardon’ for any of the aforementioned reasons, I always expect a ‘ca va’ or ‘c’est d’accord’ in response to my mea culpa, but nothing ever comes of it. On the flip side, it’s quite rare that someone does one of the things mentioned to me and issues a ‘pardon’. So when is this word actually required? What is the use? The politesse of the culture seems to dictate it, being that Parisians are supposed to be nose upturned (in the best way possible), chic, elegant people, I mean, they drink water out of wine glasses! But there seems like there is no room for it, at least not in the metros of Paris.