Final French Thoughts

Being that I have 24 hours left before I depart, I figured I would reflect on this experience as a whole (I am quite bored with no TV or schoolwork to do. You can only readjust a suitcase so many times). I can say for the first time ever that I will not return home completely loathing France. And if you know my general opinion about French people due to my previous experiences, that's a huge change. Paris is a much different city than Lyon; it's massively diverse in its neighborhoods and populations. There are tons of foreigners here- tourists, immigrants, etc.- so the feeling of being out of place wasn't nearly as strong for me as in Lyon. This past weekend two different Parisians asked me for directions and I knew exactly where to tell them to go; I felt more at home here in two months than I did in six when I was in college.
Now that I've had years of distance from that experience, I realize the good things about Lyon but also know that I had it particularly rough: being an unpaid au pair, the physical assault by a 12 year old, the constant feeling of being on the defensive. I didn't get to go back there to visit, but I think I should have, to give it another chance. Living in Paris this summer has made me a little less cynical, which I didn't know was possible. I encountered more good-natured people here than evil ones and for that I'm happy. I'm happy that for once when I'm asked about my time in France I can say with certainty that I'm glad I came.