Paris Part Two

Now the story of the unsweetened crepe. The sticky, doughy, uneven part of my trip to Paris that was as displeasing as German tacos.

Euro Road Trip:

For us, Paris was an 8 hour trip away. It should have taken only 6 hours, but these people did not know how to road trip. We stopped for a half an hour every hour and a half. Let me start by saying that this was an official school trip, with teachers and rules and permission slips...just like we do. Except, let me tell you, the Americans have the whole "school trip" concept mastered, whereas this school still has some stuff to figure out. The reason we stopped so often was not to use the bathroom, but to let the students who smoke have cigarette breaks. I was completely surprised when I got off the bus to see more than half of the students huddled in a group inhaling smoke, and stinking themselves up before they got back on the bus.

So we finally arrived in Paris and looked for the exit for the hotel for about an hour. The whole time we could see it, but the bus driver didn't know how to get off the highway to get to it. I was wondering why he didn't really know how to get there when this was his job, but then I learned that it was just someone's dad who had learned to drive a bus in his free time. So really, he had no idea what he was doing.

Under the highway and through the trash to the metro station we go...

The hotel was on the edge of Paris, right next to a metro station. Actually, a short walk along the dump (yes, we were right next to a city dump!), past the half destroyed buildings, and over the piles of trash got you to the metro station. Oh, did I mention the club right next to the hotel where I saw at least three men walking away with ladies for whose attention they paid...? Needless to say, the area where we stayed was completely unsafe and not anywhere I would ever recommend for anyone, even on a budget. In fact, I would lend someone money to go to Paris just so they wouldn't have to stay in that hotel.

Public Disturbances:

The kids I went with were all in the 12th grade. They are all around 18 years old, and legally adults in Germany. That being said, the teachers felt that it would be inappropriate to discipline them in any way or expect them to be respectful to the teachers, me, or any Parisians they might come across. This resulted in 40 kids acting shamelessly: yelling at each other in the Metro, pushing old people out of the way on the stairs, and pointing and staring at people who looked differently. These things are real: as I yelled at a boy who pushed an old lady who had trouble walking out of his way on the metro stairs, the female student next to me said "Well that old lady is in the middle of the stairs! If she doesn't want to get pushed, she shouldn't stand in the way!" I had no reply to this; sometimes its better to admit that you've lost the battle. Things like this happened all weekend. People pointed out (like screaming and literally pointing with their fingers) minorities of all types, either simply stating that they are different, or using the diversity in Paris as a reason to call the city dangerous.

I tried my hardest not to be associated with the group, as I saw in the faces of the locals in the subway, museums, and everywhere else that they were as annoyed as I was. The group was excellent at being in the way as much as possible, making random stops at the top of stairs, clogging the way for every other human trying to get through. They also refused to eat the French food, finding themselves at McDonalds often, or eating out of the squirrel's stock of food they had in their bags. Or, if in french restaurants, ordering only a potato, due to their distaste for the rest of the French food (which, of course, they made clear).

Adult Behavior:

The most striking this about this whole trip was the experience I had on Saturday night. The ~30 year old male teacher found a club with a live band that we were able to take the students to. Now, being a super conservative American, I pictured the scene going as follows: two young teachers (me and Tom) take the students to a club, sit in the back and make sure everything goes OK as the students have a few drinks and enjoy the French scene. What really happened? The teacher, Tom, found an old friend, went into a different part of the club with him and left the students completely unattended for three hours. Half of them were completely wasted, like the kind of wasted where you can barely walk, and then Tom appeared from his meeting and said it was time to go home. It took almost an hour to get the kids out of the club, and we had to walk to the metro with 15 completely drunk, rude, loud, and lude kids running through the streets of Paris. Also, during this whole time, I was treated as if I was non-relevant. Anyway, one of the girls got sick on the way home and had to get off the train to throw up. Half of us had to make it home with out Tom (also unable to speak French), and the other half got off to take care of the drunk student. We walked home to that unsafe, nasty hotel and went to bed. The girl, of course, saw no punishment. Well, she is an adult and all.

Now, finally, compare this story to my next story, and then I'm done ranting. Yesterday, a boy was 5 minutes late for a bus. He was publicly humiliated and shamed. The second he walked onto the bus, all three teachers started yelling at him at once. The teachers told him he put all of our lives in danger, called him irresponsible, and the leading teacher actually announced over the loud speakers "Well there's an asshole in every group" as he made his way back to his seat. I guess adults in Germany can do everything they want, except be late for the bus.

Lessons Learned:

I am not sure why I thought that being in a different country with these people would make them easier to be around. I mean, they do run through the school hallways and push people out of the way, expect to get everything they want in class, and treat me like an idiot when in Germany. I am glad I survived the experience, but I am deeply disappointed that my first experience in Paris was dampened by this group of people. I have to say that not every student was openly rude and disrespectful, but I can really only think of one or two people who I wasn't embarrassed to stand beside. I certainly learned some important lessons during this trying adventure. One, firstly, that I will never be embarrassed to be an American tourist again. Even though we are infamous for not knowing languages, I still think we have are considerate of others, would have helped that old lady on the stairs, and are eager to experience new cultures (instead of, for example, refusing to drink or eat anything French.) The other important lesson? Don't be late for the bus.