Skip to main content

Sniffling in the City

A beautiful view from the balcony of Bibliothèque François Mitterand
Hello!

I am writing this from the depths of a terrible cold. I guess that it isn't entirely surprising that I'm sick; I can hear people sniffling and sneezing throughout the metro, and this is my first extended stay in a cold climate. But, it is definitely frustrating that I set some semi-adventurous goals on Sunday and then was sick by Tuesday. My host mom took me to the pharmacy, recounted my symptoms to the pharmacist in detail, and had me buy a substantial amount of cold medicine. She was very insistent that "You take medicine, and, if the medicine doesn't help, you go to the doctor". I guess that this is what life is like in a country with an affordable health care system? Since I don't have any pre-existing conditions that could be affected by a cold, I would never go to the doctor for a cold. I've only barely come around to taking medication for colds, and even that is as a supplement to my inherited method of Powering Through It and Letting Your Body Do Its Job.

The Saint Michel metro station sign, a relic of France's art deco period

On Wednesday, I was running late for school when I had two of the most harrowing Only in a Parisian Metro experiences. Firstly, as I was rushing to my metro platform, I saw a badly injured man sitting against the wall with a few people helping him to hold towels to his head and managing the situation. I couldn't figure out how he had gotten injured, but his head was clearly bleeding quite badly. There were a couple people standing uselessly and watching the situation unfold with mouths agape. I decided that the first responders didn't need a twenty-year old with no medical training or experience crowding them while they helped this man, so I (very guiltily) walked on by. Then, just as I was about to take the escalator down to catch my metro, I saw a man running around helplessly while wearing a blanket and not much else. He clearly needed financial resources and additional support that I was ill-equipped to provide, so, once again, I guiltily rushed past.

An aesthetic look at my daily walk to the metro station

As you can probably tell, guilt is a big part of my existence both here and in the United States. I always feel guilty avoiding people in need, especially after deciding to start giving money to beggars and then continuing to ignore them. The thought of walking up to someone and handing them money makes me incredibly anxious. Since I don't have the ability (financially or practically) to give money to give money to every beggar I see, I find myself worrying about my own inadequate abilities to determine who is deserving of financial aid.

Site of my regular trips to look longingly at stationary

I feel like this post and the post before it have such a negative bent, but I assure you that I enjoy my life in Paris most of the time. I have visited the library a couple times, and returned occasionally to browse the papeterie section of Gibert Jeune. (On one memorable Gibert Jeune trip, I spent at least 30 minutes browsing and left with a single highlighter.) I have started simplifying my bullet journalling style, which (as with any minor bullet journal change) has inspired a sort of ~bullet journal renaissance~. I found a British grocery store called Marks and Spencer today, which had many American-style food options. (Do I normally buy lime salsa flavored tortilla chips? No. Did I act as though they were the most flavorful food in the universe? Of course.) Even though I am sick, this week hasn't been entirely wretched. I want to be honest about this experience as it unfolds, even if I have to recount some bad days.
Please enjoy today's self-care based daily log.
Au revoir,
Lydia

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Reviewing My August 2019 Goals

This is an image of my desk during Fall Semester 2018. On the right side of the photo, there is a vintage Singer sewing machine which, unfortunately, does not work. To the left of the sewing machine, there is a crate books inside. On top of the crate, there is a stack of Rookie Yearbooks with a crocheted jellyfish (wearing glasses) on top of it, and a picture frame containing a print that reads "all the time". To the left of the crate, there are a few more books. In lieu of a proper bookend, I have placed a tarot deck (stored in a black makeup bag) and a book-themed Halloween decoration (featuring book spines with the words "Potions", "Hexes", and "Spells") to keep my books from toppling over. I chose this photograph because, unlike my current desk, this desk looks like it belongs to someone who creates monthly goals. Hello! At the start of this month, I made a list of goals. As September 1 draws near, I am l...

Media Round-Up: August 8, 2019

Image of pink, green, and light purple umbrellas suspended in the air between two buildings. Hello! Even with posting on my blog every day this month, I still spend significantly more time consuming content than I do creating it. With that in mind, here is a little roundup of some of the content I have been enjoying in this post-camp-pre-semester portion of my life. TV Show Superstore is a character-driven series about the employees of Cloud 9 (a thinly-concealed stand-in for Walmart). After watching America Ferrera in Ugly Betty and Ben Feldman in Drop Dead Diva , it is interesting to watch them in entirely different roles. Watching this show makes going to Walmart feel like a visit to a fully-immersive Superstore theme park. The between-scene cuts to bizarre antics happening at the store are one of my favorite little touches. Music I have been almost exclusively listening to Heathers . Somehow, I have become thoroughly desensitized to the fact that I am listening to a m...

Remembrances and Retail Anxiety

A truly ominous stairwell in one of my school's buildings Bonjour! I got my study abroad card! Thank you to all of the people who signed my card. You are all so amazing and thoughtful! I am having a great time on study abroad, but sometimes I wish that I could be back at Soka with all of you. I feel much more adapted to my life in Paris. This experience has been peppered with worries that I am not taking full advantage of this opportunity. I feel like I should be doing more, seeing more, and spending more. I have had to remind myself that all of the experiences that feel normal now--from taking the metro to climbing up a spiral staircase--were entirely new to me less than two months ago. I am growing and changing, all while gaining a better sense of myself. With that being said, living here has really taken a toll on both me and my physical possessions. The first casualty was a shirt that my mom tie-dyed for me when I was in ninth grade, which tore while I was adjustin...