Trippin'
Seriously, Big Ben sucks. While the Eiffel Towel totally lived up to the hype. The building is ginormous. And while, it's not very wide, I still managed to get lost in it. A woman from Iran and I both couldn't find the exit down from the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower. It doesn't even make sense, but at least my complete lack of a sense of direction led to a cool conversation.
I'm not sure how to spell out her name, but it was Persian for "beautiful lotus flower," which is much cooler than Matt. Dressed in an orange parka and purple scarf, I never would've guessed she was from Iran. It didn't fit the image. She spoke five languages - Persian, English, Russian, Arabic and French. And while we searched for an exit, we conversed in the one language* I shared with her. We both found the Eiffel Tower awe-inspiring. She talked about Tehran (Milad) tower that was just built in Iran's capital. Of course, she also made sure to mention that she was relieved to see George W. Bush "the clown of the world" out of office. By the time, we reached ground level again and went our separate ways,* I was kicking myself for having not asked her more questions. And also for not having read Persepolis yet.
For me, she put a face to a country that's attacked so harshly in the West. But this woman was not the crazy, anti-American face that mainstream American culture seems to paint all Iranians with. Without ever meeting somebody from the country, it's so easy to not realize there's a difference between Mahmoud and Iranians. Conversely, there's a difference between Dubya and Americans.
In my American foreign policy class, we discussed how foreign countries stereotype peoples from other countries based on what that country's government is like. So it unfairly makes sense to assume all Iranians are anti-West, sexist, etc. because the government gives that impression.
Americans aren't the only ones doing the stereotyping. For example, the Brits (and Western Europe) seem to stereotype Americans during the Bush years as belligerent cowboys / religious fanatics. How many of those Western Europeans have actually been to America, and had a conversation with an American? I can't speculate, but I bet the ones who have spoke with an (educated) American - and therefore can put a non-Dubya face with the name "American" then it becomes a bit more personal and a bit more easier to get along. This of course is my segue into France. Americans' favorite country to stereotype. Americans call them cheese-eating, wine-guzzling, smelly, snobby mimes. Obviously, it's not true. But more importantly, I lived three days with some French people in Paris (by lived, I mean lived, not stayed in a hotel) and the French are awesome. More on that to come later.
But first I leave you with this hilarious article. No two allies showcase more tension than the English and French. It's like a cute,little sibling rivalry. Aww.
View from Montemarte.
View from the park outside the Louvre.
View from somewhere closer than the Louvre.
View upclose and personal.
Boring view from the Eiffel Tower. But listen to that wind rustle!
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Foot notes
*Pathetic. Can somebody make me fluent in Spanish? Or Portuguese? Or Tagalog?
*I'm not sure how spectacular my debating skills on U.S. foreign policy are, I'll leave that to Joe Biden. But I will argue this music video is the worst one of all-time. It takes place on a dock/warehouse-area that appears to be behind a J.C. Penny's. Steve Perry and company are quite obviously stalking a woman around the dock. And worst of all - air keyboard!
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