Culture Shock

This is just a general question for everyone coming into the Paris forum. (more specifically to North Americans)

I am born and raised in N.A and this has been my second travel to Europe. I am curious to know if anyone else gets culture shock when coming to Europe. I have been in Paris for a week now and everything was fine and dandy for the first couple of days (ok maybe 2 days) but then it all started getting to know, the lack of space on streets, no big supermarkets and drugstores(i.e Walmart, CVS, Walgreens). I am not dissing Europe, I have respect for it since my parents are in face of European descent. I am just wondering if others have the same feeling as I do?

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Wow, Audreybella, I am surprised to hear this from a Montrealer. I love going to Montreal for the very reason that it is such a European city and my lifestyle changes so little when I%26#39;m there. Hmmmm..... If you are missing your groceries and Pharmaprix, head to your local Monoprix and you may feel more at home. For a sense of space, try the 8th arron. or the Luxembourg/Tuileries Gardens.

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There are big supermarkets, they are just in the suburbs. If you want to see a N.A like mall with a HUGE supermarket just head out to Marne La Vallee and get off at the Val d%26#39;Europe stop. When you exit the RER turn to your right and walk straight ahead. This will lead you into the mall. Its really quite nice, I enjoy going out there when I want that feeling of open space. Not sure if you are here as a tourist, might not be something you want to spend your time on if you are.

Keep in mind Paris is OLD and has 12 million people crammed into a very small area.

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totally agree with you audreybella. Just come back from a few weeks in Paris and towards the end was getting a bit tired of not having any variety in food (eating out) and encountering a sameness to every street you enter. Like you i am not knocking Paris however i had greater expectations - i grew up thinking Paris was the city of romance, i have to tell you as a tourist there is absolutely nothing romantic about it - you want romance go to Portugal, Zurich or Geneva - great romantic cities. I come from Australia where multiculturalism is alive and well and where our diet is used to many different types of food ie.Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, Australian, Greek, Italian etc...i really tired of eating such bland european food. On this basis i think some European countries are 20 years behind the rest of the world but then again they have wonderful history etc.....rgds

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I think I may have felt this way on my first trip to Paris especially since I live in So. California.

Now I crave the differences I enjoy in Paris. Afterall, if I wanted to have things be the same as they are at home I would not travel. i%26#39;ve never had the pleasure of stayin more than a week in Paris so perhaps if I did I might get tired of all the yummy food there but I somehow doubt it.

I could easily live the rest of my life without seeing another Wal Mart and Walgreens are on every corner here it seems. and people are complaining about Starbucks ion Paris.

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I actually have the opposite reaction to yours and the above poster%26#39;s opinion.

I feel the history in the pit of my stomach (it%26#39;s a good thing) and when I come back home I feel as if something%26#39;s missing. I still feel that way now, and we%26#39;ve been back from our latest trip for 8 months!

At home we use the giant Wal-Mart stores, large restaurant chains, wide open streets, but I feel so much more alive in Europe -- much more part of the world and less isolated.

Other than driving (which I theoretically %26quot;could%26quot; do, but choose not to) there isn%26#39;t anything I miss about North America while we%26#39;re in Europe.

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Phread I am staying (my last nite) in the 8th arrond since my boyfriend works on Ave de L%26#39;opera while here in Paris. I was very glad to have found Monoprix the other day, gave me something to do instead of seeing musuems, etc.

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We%26#39;ve only been back 2 weeks and I%26#39;ll tell you Southern California ain%26#39;t Paris.

Oh give me those green men clinging of odour%26#39; de pop%26#39;pe, a cobbled path to who knows where or a steeple reachin%26#39; miles into the sky. Just soarin%26#39; past the roofs, bypassin%26#39; every assorted clay chimney pot and palms, to boot. To follow a fresh bread scent into some unseen corner and door, when opened, engulfed and greeted: Bon Jour, madame. Let%26#39;s metro to the meteo. And rub shoulders with all paree%26#39; as a Le Monde flicks out crisply. Oh, Paris, how do I love you, let me count the ways... Well, frankly, no I never have felt that way in Paris.

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Phread,

It%26#39;s interesting that your perceive Montreal as being European. Gary and I have only been there once, but we were dreadfully disappointed by how completely North American it seemed (except in its level of toleration for varying lifestyles). In contrast, we loved Quebec, which we found to be genuinely European in feeling.

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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; our diet is used to many different types of food ie.Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, Australian, Greek, Italian etc...i really tired of eating such bland european food. %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

You could very easily have found EXCELLENT restaurants in Paris serving all these cuisines (with the possible exception of Australian - what is Australian cuisine?) in Paris. And you could have found a number of other cuisines well represented too - North African, Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, and so on.

If you found the food in Paris %26quot;bland%26quot;, then the problem, I think lies in your choice of restaurants - or perhaps in your palate. There must, after all, be some reason that most of the world regards French cuisine as among the greatest pleasures in the world in terms of food.

(By the way, two of the types of food you refer to appear to belong in the %26quot;bland European%26quot; category...)

%26quot;The fault, dear Brutus...%26quot;)

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I think everyone has different reactions... I for one, can%26#39;t stand Las Vegas. But I know people who find it vibrant and exciting. From your second post it sounds like maybe you were overdosed on museums and monuments. For only a week you don%26#39;t really get the time to discover a city and some cities take longer than others. So if all you%26#39;re doing is a march from one museum to another I can imagine being homesick and crowded.

Personally, I love the %26quot;europeness%26quot; of Europe: the history that is evident everywhere you look, the good food prepared fresh, the whole %26quot;vibe%26quot; of taking time to enjoy life. But for some it%26#39;s simply not their cup of café. And that%26#39;s fine too :)

I will say I agree a bit about drugstores. The pharmacists are AMAZING but as a foriegner, most of the shops do seem quite specialized: one might sell predominantly first aid type supplies while the next is cosmetics. It can be frustrating not knowing which are where when you need something specific.