Column:
Paris is nice, but Lyon is real France
Published Feb. 23, 2007
LYON, France — I took a five-day excursion to Paris, and I did not visit the Eiffel Tower. I also did not go to the Louvre or walk down the Champs-Elysée. I spent five minutes at Notre Dame. I've already been to Paris, and I've seen all the majors, so I wasn't really missing out on all the famous Paris sites. This time, I was able to traipse through hallways lined with human bones in the catacombs, mull over Picabia's L'Oeil Cacodylate at the Centre Pompidou and peruse overpriced books at Shakespeare & Co. Bookshop. I crossed everything off my list, but there is plenty that I missed.
Paris can't be covered in a week or two. I could easily spend a semester in the city and not see it all. It seems like Paris would have been the more obvious choice for someone who wants to study in France. In fact, Paris is such the obvious destination that everyone automatically assumes that since I'm in France, I'm there. The Maneater editors even made my tagline "from this side of the Seine," although I never said anything about Paris in my columnist application. I had to politely inform the Forum editor that the Seine River does not exist in Lyon. For every person who has asked me "how is Lion/Leon/Lyons?" three people have asked me "how's Paris?"
I have no hard feelings. I liked Paris. I did get to go to the Musée de l'Erotisme, sneak into a party high school-style by climbing over the fence and get nicknamed Millhouse by a 43-year-old German dude with really bad teeth.
So, what am I doing in Lyon? No one has even heard of this city.
There are a lot of reasons I chose Lyon over Paris. The study-abroad adviser for the Paris program I would have chosen was the one of the stupidest and least helpful people I have ever met. I have little common sense and easily get lost, so it was better for me to go somewhere that has four metro lines as a opposed to 16. Since getting here is more expensive, my parents are less likely to come visit. I will not buy Nike Shocks, allow myself to like the Dave Matthews Band or read "The Da Vinci Code" — why would I study in Paris?
I also wanted to learn French. I've been taking the language for years and can flawlessly conjugate verbs for hours. But when I have to speak French, I tend to become flustered and forgetful. When I left MU, I was six credits shy of a French minor and couldn't have a conversation in the language. From what I heard, Paris wasn't really the place to learn French. The city is burgeoning with tourists, so a lot of Parisians speak English.
Lyon is less infiltrated with English speakers. At least some basic French is required to order a sandwich, buy a pair of shoes, pay rent and get obnoxiously persistent French guys to leave you alone.
I'm not bashing on Paris. That would just be ridiculous. It's a worthwhile place and that's why I spent half of my February break there. But after my extended weekend romp in the big city, it was nice to come back. Here, I know where to buy the cheapest tandoori, how to get most places without a map and someone who can get me into a soccer game for free. I can't quite pull off being a local, but I'm beginning to feel like one. In Paris, I think I would have always felt like a tourist.
