Life without Expectations

Paris to the Moon

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about the way American Media portrays France and also, how those images have affected my experience in Paris. In my experience, there are two extremes (aren’t there always?). As Americans, we view Paris as the romance capital of the world or the land of lazy socialists. I never really thought of Paris as the latter, but I admit that the idea of Paris being a place full of possibility and romance definitely resonated with me. However, after living here for a few months, I am beginning to realize that being an American in Paris is nothing like what you see in TV and in the movies.

For my second book, I chose to read “Paris to the Moon” by Adam Gopnik. A first, I wasn’t thrilled with it because it didn’t glorify Paris. Then I realized that I didn’t particularly enjoy it because Gopnik’s experience was a little too close for comfort. Paris to the Moon chronicles Gopnik’s five-year sabbatical to Paris. Along with his wife and son, he discovers the joys and the disappointments of living in a foreign land. Truth be told, in the end I really enjoyed this book because of its honesty.

More and more, I am realizing that as American tourists we have strong preconceived notions about going to any place—be it Paris, London, or Ghana. I think the media and personal experience shape these notions, but I think the important idea to realize is that these notions can truly detract from our experiences. By buying into images constructed by Hollywood or whomever else, we are really selling our experiences short. After reading “Paris to the Moon,” I realized that I’ve been finding my experience to be lackluster as a result of preconceived notions.

Gopnik describes the little differences in everyday life between Paris and New York in several sections of this travelogue. Whether it be fax machines or trying to go to the gym, these differences should be a source of learning, not of frustration. Yet, they inevitably are. It just serves to illustrate that as tourists, or non-natives its important to break down barriers which keep us from truly experiencing the daily joys and lessons. I am learning, with the help of Mr. Gopnik, that life is more fully lived without expectations.

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