Reverse cultural shock.

Five or so weeks in Paris can completely change your outlook on life in the States - like I wrote once before, the real cultural shock hits after you get home from a foreign country. The following are observations in point:

Paris is a city where...
... people spend more hours on the important things in life: eating and enjoying their meals with friends, relaxing in parks and at neighborhood cafés, and walking instead of driving to purchase warm baguettes and pains au chocolat that are baked fresh daily from the local boulangerie.

Atlanta is a city where...
... people waste a lot of hours on unimportant things and then rush through the rest of life: speeding through the drive-thru of fast-food establishments, grabbing artificially-sweet-calorie-filled custard danishes and cups of coffee to go, and then sitting in traffic while commuting to work in their cars.

Paris is a city where...
... if you're a woman and you exist, men hit on you on every street corner, metro stop, café, store front, etc., etc... and sometimes keep following you for blocks, until they get a chance to hit on you.

Atlanta is a city where...
...if you're a woman and you dress provocatively in public, men glance over but don't say anything at all, because saying something remotely offensive might constitute a sexual harassment lawsuit.

The three things that I miss most about Paris:

The métro

Despite its initially claustrophobic-inducing qualities, its lack of air conditioning, and its gritty-watch-where-you're-sitting atmosphere, it's an unbelievably efficient and all-around relaxing commute once you get the hang of things. Even at its most crowded, sardine-packed times, you get the sense that you're only truly Parisian if you can handle the everyday idiosyncrasies of the métro to navigate your way through the city.

The food

Simply put, it's fresh, it's French, and it's fantastic. Every meal I had seemed like the best meal I'd ever had - above is a picture of the amazing four-cheese pasta we had at a restaurant that we stumbled upon during our escapades in Montmartre.

The weather

Compared to the sweltering summer heat and humidity of Atlanta, summer in Paris was a haven of temperate afternoons and relatively cool evenings. Although the weather patterns were somewhat unpredictable and the rainstorms were often unexpected, at least the sun never burnt you to a crisp the moment you walked outside.

Paris isn't perpetually perfect, and Atlanta isn't absolutely abominable, but it'll just take awhile longer for me to really adjust to being back. Though, I think my Parisian perspectives on most of the aforementioned things will always influence my decisions here in the States.


In other miscellaneous news, Dr. Pauline Chen's latest article in the NY Times ("When Doctors Make Mistakes") propelled me to start researching public health practicums that focus on physician-in-training and patient outcomes. I remember reading her book, Final Exam, when it first came out about two years ago - it was incredibly honest and well-written, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who's considering medical school or any reader who just wants to better understand patient care from the physician perspective.