Paris, just like any other huge city, with a massive population density, is a cultural hub of numerous ethnic identities. It is apparent when you go into different neighborhoods and see signs for pizza, chinese food, and McDonalds all on the same street. In American, this is the norm, so for us it is not a big change. What is more different for us is to see the cafes and the small individual boulangeries that have been there for centuries. I think the most obvious place for viewing diversity among Paris inhabitants is on the metro. The metro not only has those from culturally different back rounds, but those from socioeconomic back rounds. There may be a woman in a fur coat on sitting to your right and a beggar bumming for your change standing beside you. Paris is in it's core, a city. Yes it is the capital and monument of French culture, cuisine, and state, but it is also so much more than that. If you go to smaller towns outside of Paris, you are much less likely to see such diversity as you would in such a major city. Even the tourists are extremely diverse!
I want to first speak of my real first Francophone experience, which is interesting, because it happened somewhere far from Paris. My first experience with French was when I was traveling in Morocco. The north african countries of Morocco and Algeria, among various others were once home to French imperialists. The French stayed in the region until 1941, and left a massive footprint in the culture that exists in those countries today. While in Morocco I went to two different cities, first Casablanca and second, Marrakech. Casablanca wasn't much to see, and we were only there for a night, so I am going to skip straight ahead to Marrakech. The culture down there is primarily what the French would call Maghreb, but it is very interesting to see the bits of Francophone that have remained since they gained independence. First and foremost, is the language, which is of course, French. When we first arrived at our hostel, the man at the dest spoke to us in French. After he realized that we understood very little, he switched over to English. After getting to him, we learned that he spoke 4 languages: French, Arabic, Berber, and English. Berber is similar to Arabic, but is specific to that region of Morocco. He also told us that he had never been outside of Morocco, which I thought was very interesting to think about, especially as I was about to begin my traveling adventures in another country. The two attendants of our hostel were both very nice (the other spoke 4 languages as well). The would make us a traditional Moroccan breakfast in the morning which consisted of bread, butter, apricot jam, coffee, orange juice and a crepe. I thought the fact that they had crepes down there was very interesting. At night they would serve us menthe tea, which was absolutely delicious. When we would go out in the village in the day it was very clear that we were far from France, but if you look at the signs or listened to people talking it was clear that a French presence existed. The cafe culture of France was also visible down in Morocco. Coffee was very popular. The restaurants, although traditionally Moroccan had a patio like style set up which I frequently see here in Paris, especially in the Montemarte area. Two girls staying at our hostel were from Quebec, which is another area of French imperialism. I spoke to them briefly in French, but my level at the time was inadequate for conversation. I just thought it was very interesting to see this run off culture of France mixed together in a place that couldn't be further from Paris. As we were leaving Marrakech, we stopped in a garden on our way out, I didn't notice it at the time, but looking back, I can see the similarities in hindsight. The garden had all the typical french elements of symmetry, rectangular shape, and pristine care for the lawn. This experience was absolutely invaluable to have before having been to Paris. A week later, when I got here, it was impossible for me not to notice the North African presence in Paris. Couscous is probably the first thing I noticed. It is very popular here, in restaurants and in grocery stores. There is also a large Muslim population in Paris, which I am sure comes from Maghreb.
Another cultural area of Paris is the Jewish population that lives in Le Marais. The schools, temples, bakeries, deli's, and restaurants are all a reflection of the Jewish population that reside in that quarter. I personally feel like this kind of diversity is what defines a big city. French persuasion is dominant in architecture, history, and culture, but those cultures have been mixed together to form something greater. My closest comparison to Paris would be New York. Having been to both, I feel that New York embodies the same type of cultural diversity and ethnic mixture. I think that the Americans have less visibility of culture differences that have blended together to make these large cities because we are more accustomed to it from being such a boiling pot of cultures from the very roots of our culture.
I want to first speak of my real first Francophone experience, which is interesting, because it happened somewhere far from Paris. My first experience with French was when I was traveling in Morocco. The north african countries of Morocco and Algeria, among various others were once home to French imperialists. The French stayed in the region until 1941, and left a massive footprint in the culture that exists in those countries today. While in Morocco I went to two different cities, first Casablanca and second, Marrakech. Casablanca wasn't much to see, and we were only there for a night, so I am going to skip straight ahead to Marrakech. The culture down there is primarily what the French would call Maghreb, but it is very interesting to see the bits of Francophone that have remained since they gained independence. First and foremost, is the language, which is of course, French. When we first arrived at our hostel, the man at the dest spoke to us in French. After he realized that we understood very little, he switched over to English. After getting to him, we learned that he spoke 4 languages: French, Arabic, Berber, and English. Berber is similar to Arabic, but is specific to that region of Morocco. He also told us that he had never been outside of Morocco, which I thought was very interesting to think about, especially as I was about to begin my traveling adventures in another country. The two attendants of our hostel were both very nice (the other spoke 4 languages as well). The would make us a traditional Moroccan breakfast in the morning which consisted of bread, butter, apricot jam, coffee, orange juice and a crepe. I thought the fact that they had crepes down there was very interesting. At night they would serve us menthe tea, which was absolutely delicious. When we would go out in the village in the day it was very clear that we were far from France, but if you look at the signs or listened to people talking it was clear that a French presence existed. The cafe culture of France was also visible down in Morocco. Coffee was very popular. The restaurants, although traditionally Moroccan had a patio like style set up which I frequently see here in Paris, especially in the Montemarte area. Two girls staying at our hostel were from Quebec, which is another area of French imperialism. I spoke to them briefly in French, but my level at the time was inadequate for conversation. I just thought it was very interesting to see this run off culture of France mixed together in a place that couldn't be further from Paris. As we were leaving Marrakech, we stopped in a garden on our way out, I didn't notice it at the time, but looking back, I can see the similarities in hindsight. The garden had all the typical french elements of symmetry, rectangular shape, and pristine care for the lawn. This experience was absolutely invaluable to have before having been to Paris. A week later, when I got here, it was impossible for me not to notice the North African presence in Paris. Couscous is probably the first thing I noticed. It is very popular here, in restaurants and in grocery stores. There is also a large Muslim population in Paris, which I am sure comes from Maghreb.
Another cultural area of Paris is the Jewish population that lives in Le Marais. The schools, temples, bakeries, deli's, and restaurants are all a reflection of the Jewish population that reside in that quarter. I personally feel like this kind of diversity is what defines a big city. French persuasion is dominant in architecture, history, and culture, but those cultures have been mixed together to form something greater. My closest comparison to Paris would be New York. Having been to both, I feel that New York embodies the same type of cultural diversity and ethnic mixture. I think that the Americans have less visibility of culture differences that have blended together to make these large cities because we are more accustomed to it from being such a boiling pot of cultures from the very roots of our culture.
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