Imagery vs. Reality

Graffiti: The Paris Metro

As I was reading the DeBotton chapters I was particularly interested in his discussion of the anticipation of travel versus the reality of it. Since I have spent far more time anticipating this semester abroad than actually being here I felt like my current mental state is perfectly suited to consider this juxtaposition.

I had never been to Paris before coming here to study abroad and I have really only spent a limited amount of time in Europe (on one trip that I took years and years ago). I felt a huge connection upon reading DeBotton describe how he decided that he must go to Barbados based to the photograph that he saw depicting palm trees, beaches and clear skies. This is almost exactly how I imagined Paris during my months and months of anticipation. In my head, I had the most picturesque images of Paris: wrought iron railings, flower boxes, tree lined, cobblestone streets, and the Eiffel Tower reaching towards the sky.

DeBotton was taken aback when he arrived in Barbados and realized that there are other aspects to a place that you tend to forget about when you are looking at a fancy travel brochure or a travel book, such as normal advertisements, unsightly airports, or even a slum.

“If we are inclined to forget how much there is in the world besides that which we anticipate, then works of art are perhaps a little to blame, for in them we find at work the same process of simplification or selection as in the imagination.”

The more I think about this idea, the more it rings so true for me. Even when traveling to places domestically, or places that you have already been, it is so easy to get wrapped up in the idea of a place. Just as DeBotton was caught off guard when he encountered all the things that are really just necessity and part of day to day life, I was shocked when I got into my cab and headed for Paris. I did not meet my postcard images of quaint streets and Vespas, but actual cars on highways, a lot of graffiti and modern looking buildings as we went through the outskirts of Paris. I realized that this is probably very similar to what people experience when they come to New York City for the first time and they drive through the other boroughs as they come from Laguardia or JFK.

At the same time, I also realized that this is the beauty of getting to live in a new setting. You get to develop a real and accurate notion of that place, to replace those that you previously held. You get to see the “realness” of a place, including the things that are maybe not as nice, but are still essential to life in everywhere. Although I must note that I am living in a building that has wrought iron railings and flower boxes, so it’s not say that it isn’t nice to be able to hold on to some of these preconceived ideas… 

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