Reflecting

Its hard to believe that we really only have two more days left in Paris. I have seen so much in the last thirteen days that it’s hard to comprehend and digest it all. While we still have two full days left, I feel like a lot of the things I’m thinking about right now are relating to the culture here. One of the biggest themes that I’ve been thinking about over the course of this trip, particularly since Versailles, has been the pace of this culture. The environment, the organization, as well as the city allows for moments of reprieve and relaxation. I’ve found a strong connection to seeing others find these moments within different places because I feel that this city can be extremely over-stimulating at times (for me). Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing-just extremely different than what I’m used to in Milwaukee. I think that this is a culture where a lot of the population seems confident and self-aware. Whether it’s stopping on a bridge for 5 minutes just to look out at the canal, or it’s similar to the woman who I was observing at Versailles who overlooked it for 15 minutes, there is a certain level of comfort within being vulnerable in that moment that I’ve been trying to capture. I know that I’ve had a number of moments on the trip where I’ve felt that way, and I think it’s inevitable for anyone who enters this city to experience the same emotions. I think that this would be a really interesting and rewarding direction for me to head in for the studio portion of the final.