3 months into my internship, undoubtedly the biggest challenge so far was, understanding French people and French culture.
French did manage to completely shake the mindset I had about all Europeans in general.
All throughout pass 3 months I faced a number of situations and sow many things that I could not understand or explain. The bad thing was, there was nobody for me to explain since almost all my friends are also foreigners who are in the same situations as me.
But the solution came at the beginning of the New Year in an unexpected way. I went to the virgin store thinking of buying a book to read since I was really bore during my Christmas and New Year vacation. I went to “Best Sellers” section and found this book called “Almost French”. Though I knew the book by name, I did not have any idea about the content of the book. I quickly went through some pages and it did not take much time to realize that this book will give me answers to a lot of questions.
Since then (of course I bought the book ) my way of looking at what I see in day to day life has changed dramatically. The book is about an Australian girl who is starting a new life in Paris and slowly overcoming the challenges faced in this new country and culture. This is a real story where the author is the girl her self – Sarah Turnbull.
Therefore I can easily find many similarities between her initial experiences and the experience I am going through now. The book tries to give explanations to French behavior and traditions.
I am almost at the end of the book and it has helped me immensely to see this beautiful city in a completely different perspective and in a more culturally sensitive manner.
If not for this book, I would have tired to understand “The French” all through out the internship without much success.
Hats off to you Sarah Turnbull. A must read for everyone who will start a new life in Paris
