ahh the parisians...

i have been here for about a month now and have made some observations about paris and its inhabitants that the casual visitor may not notice.

most people think the french (and specifically the parisians) as a whole are rude. i have found just the opposite to be true. yes, it's a big metropolitan city with many diverse peoples from all over the world all crammed into trains and busses and narrow cobbled streets. people aren't smiling all the time, and they don't necessarily smell that good when the temperature goes up. but i think the rudeness that most travellers feel just has to do with a difference in culture and language. if you blend in and become one of them, you get a different perspective of things.

the metro and busses are usually pretty good means of transportation. after 30 years of l.a. traffic i have found it refreshing for someone else to do the driving. during rush hour you do need to be agressive to get in a train car and sometimes you are really packed like sardines. i just grin and bear it because unlike gridlock on the 405, at least the train is always moving. several times i've seen young people giving up their seat for an older person. getting out is sometimes tricky, but everyone says "pardon" when needing to step out of a busy train.

i've also seen women with babies in strollers on the metro. this is not easily accomplished, because with every station there are many steps to navigate, both up and down. however, strangers will generally help a woman carry the stroller on those stairs. it's just something you do.

beggers usually work for their free money. it's not that often that i see someone just standing near a busy intersection with their hand out (these are usually old, frail people). most people who are asking for money from strangers work for it. they might get on a metro car, make an announcement of their story then walk amongst the people looking for change. often times they are musicians. they might set up someplace in the metro where people can throw money in their instrument case while hurrying by (sometimes these are whole groups of musicians and they can be very good). sometimes a musician will actually come into the train car and play, then look for a handout. and sometimes they will simply walk down the street and play. i've seen this a few times and just a moment ago a duo (a man playing the trumpet and an accordian player) came by playing traditional french tunes and my neighbors threw coins out the window at them.

it's true that people appreciate it if you at least try to speak the language. i like how polite the language is. as a customer you go into a shop and always say "hello madame" or "hello sir". and you always say "thank you" and "goodbye". it's just rude if you don't.

i'm not trying to paint the city as perfect. of course it isn't. they don't believe in air conditioning (even in the movie theater), they don't have many gyms and people can be rude here just like anywhere else in the world. but it's nice to know that there is a softer side of the parisian that most don't get to experience.