My theory is that another classic Parisienne characteristic helps: they don't talk to strangers. The French need more personal space than Americans. I don't mean physical space. They just seem to feel like they are violating your privacy (or having theirs invaded) if conversation is too casually introduced amongst strangers. Perhaps this is another reason that American's perceive the Parisiennes as cold. Introverts are often seen as arrogant or unfriendly for the same reason in the states.
So...the Parisiennes mind their own business. Not the best place for finding new friends. Gee minnesotans...sound familiar? They are not uncaring however. Far from it. I was always amazed at how quickly the Parisiennes jumped in to help somebody who needed help on the street. If I am going to be hurt in a foreign city...let it be this one.
The Parisiennes seem to have an odd love/hate relationship with the English language. In Paris english is VERY cool. That's right. You heard correctly. English is très chic. A store is simply not cool if it doesn't have some english splashed on it's name. English pop music is everywhere. I almost never hear a french song here. Starbucks is a huge success right now. However, in spite of the cool, the parisiennes continue to have a strong preference for communicating in french. Who can blame them? French is simply a beautiful language.
I am watching the John Adams series on DVD and when John arrived to be introduced the French court during the American revolution, he had to explain that he had no french. Not even a word. The court tittered and wrote him off. He never recovered, at least in France.
ReplyDeleteAaah. Je suis une Aussie qui loves to chat with strangers, so the aloofness of the Parisiennes is harder than a two day old baguette.
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