Garance Dore on Paris v. New York
I started reading Garance Dore's blog when I was 15. I was obsessed with her Parisian style, the story of a small town Corsican girl living in the City of Lights, and how honest she was about what "making" it means for someone who isn't a 6 foot supermodel, photographer, makeup artist, etc. She's known for being an illustrator and blogger. 15 year old me vowed to have one of her prints hanging in the entryway of my first adult apartment.
My favorite posts of hers were when she moved to NYC and did a whole anthropological study on the differences between Parisians and New Yorkers. As a teenager who had only dreamed of Paris, I wanted to believe her every word blindly but I couldn't imagine that Parisians could be how she described. Fast forward eight years, mix in a few trips to Paris, and add a French BFF and I can confirm that Garance only writes the truth and nothing but the truth. Especially the "Things Parisians Do" and "Things New Yorkers Do" posts. French couples really just fall into relationships with no "what is this" conversation and they seem overly blasé to an American when they speak in double negatives (I promise they actually like you).
"Parisians love improvised parties. Start drinking “apéritif” at 7, then stay some more and decide to cook an easy (but delicious) pasta while “remaking the world” till four in the morning. Call the neighbors, the single friend that lives three blocks down. Be a little bit tipsy, laugh a lot. Be cool."
"Say “Merde” “Putain” “Fait chier” (like saying “shit” “fuck” “it sucks”) every other second, and sometimes the three in a row (when really, it sucks)"
"Talk for hours. Remake the world, we say."
"Live with a to-go cup of coffee permanently attached to your hand." - I've been made fun of my Yeti cup one too many times and know this is a tell tale sign that I am not European.
"Say, “I can’t sign any contracts this week because Mercury is in retrograde.”"
"Never carry cash and HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH YOURSELF if some shop only takes cash. What? Cash? What? What’s that? Why?"
"Give everyone the biggest hugs like you’re BFFs that haven’t seen each other for three years even if it’s only the third time you’ve ever met someone."
"Say “OMG I LOVE YOU” to someone you think is nice."
"Be super excited about pretty much everything, working all the time, having always a new project, doing 75 different things at the same time yet still say that you’re not doing enough."
"In New York, the city of perfection, you always have this chronic feeling of being a little bit out of it in the back of your mind: honestly – like, you’re doing ok, but you could do better."
"Nobody perfect is cool and nobody cool is perfect."
"I have to tell you what I love most about New York, the only thing I’d love to see everywhere else: Tolerance."
"In New York : “Wow. Your dress. OMG I love it! Where did you find it???” In Paris : “Your dress isn’t bad (Not bad = pas mal = very French expression). Where’d you find it?”
In New York : “Garance? She’s my BEST friend!” In Paris : “Garance? Yeah. I know her.”"
"New York invented socialites. You go out to be seen and take part...When the Parisian goes out, her goal is to be cool. The coolest."
"Moving abroad is much more than a new apartment and a new subway card. It’s a total change, a shift of what seems important, a questioning of priorities and this series of small shocks that you can’t really talk about when they come because there’s no perspective. You don’t yet understand them."
"Parisians will just let it all go ten times more when they go out. But they’re 10 times less likely to go out as well. And in Paris, no take out… You cook. In New York, your social life happens outside the house. You have meals out."
Some other posts I found incredibly entertaining to read. It's funny to read about someone dissecting habits that seem perfectly normal to you, but are actually certifiably insane.
While Garance wrote these posts to record her observations and to poke fun of her new neighbors in NYC, they made me realize that I often don’t mind being labeled as “soOo American.” I like being overly friendly when meeting new people and getting excited about the small stuff. I love snacking. I love listening to Taylor Swift and going out to be seen. But I DO have trouble grappling with living in a country whose leadership/ 1%/ moguls actively try to oppress those less fortunate than them. It’s trickery, smoke and mirrors, and ignoring it is to go through life with your eyes half open. It's hard watching people care more about their appearance and their weekend plans than who is going to win our upcoming elections. It's difficult to talk to people who aren't actively educating themselves on the issues: economic disparity, racism, reasons for war, what the media won't cover, etc. I genuinely think it's a moral obligation to know about these things and have little respect for people who would rather watch a ball game than read a news article. What I've found in European youth (and more frequently in the US) is a youth that is educated, empowered, and ready for change.
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