Paris is a lively city. It has a distinct personality of its own. It is quite different from other European cities. I reflects the French traditions and culture. Paris is a great mirror through which one gets a glimpse of French civilisation.
I have visited Paris twice. Once in 1970, when I was having my briefing at the UNESCO Headquarters before going to Indonesia on a UNESCO Mission, and again in 1984, on my way to Jamaica via New York, when I stopped at Paris to meet my Tanzanian friend Paul Mhaiki, who was then the Director of Literacy and Adult Education Division. Paul was a v ery close associate of Julius Nyerere, when he was the President of Tanzania. Nyerere’s ’Education for Self Reliance’ is a must for every educationist.
My briefing in 1970 was for ten weeks - April to June. April was quite cold in Paris. I had to buy some warm clothes from the famous Department Store Gallerie Lafayate. Over and above my UNESCO salary, I was drawing my per diem at the rate applicable for Paris. Therefore, I was living very comfortably. I was staying at a small hotel named Derby Hotel, quite close to the Metro Station Ecole Militaire, and is within walking distance from Eiffel Tower, and place de Fontenoy, where the UNESCO Headquarters is located. The people in the Derby Hotel were a friendly lot. Excepting one or two, others did not know English, but they were very helpful. I was having my morning tea and continental breakfast at the hotel. My lunch and afternoon tea used to be at UNESCO. During the weekends, it was different. Actually the weekend used to be for two and a half days. I was having my dinner at a small Chinese Restaurant very close to the Eiffel Tower.
An important component of my briefing was learning Bahasa Indonesia in a Language Laboratory. Our teacher, Dr. Mauna, was an Indonesian citizen and was attached to the Indonesian Empassy. My other colleague, R. Sanderud from Norway was not very interested in learning Bahasa Indonesia, and he was sleeping and snoring in the class room where Dr. Mauna was teaching. He was too good a person to complain about Sanderud. Bahasa Indonesia has many root words from Sanskrit, Dutch, Arabic and English. Therefore, I was not finding it difficult to learn the language, which I can read, write and speak with considerable fluency even today. The last two days of our briefing was held at a small old castle on the top of a hill. Good food, plenty of french Wines and good humour provided by a Russian colleague and an Italian colleague.
Paris has very good shopping centres and markets. Wherever you go for shopping, at the time of leaving the particular store, you are presented tiny bottles of French perfume. There is another interesting feature in French Customs Rules. If you present the receipts of purchase while leaving France you are refunded the duty you had paid in French Francs. I got a substantial amount as duty refund while leaving Paris.
Paris has many monuments and historic buildings as well as parks and gardens. Arc de Triumphe, Arc de Triumphedu Carrousel, and Assemblee Nationale are some of the national monuments and buildings. Of course the often visited one is the Eiffel Tower, Paris’s famous landmark both in reality and in multi-media. The best way to discover the city is by walking. That’s what I used to do during the weekends. I was taking pictures and relaxing.
The French people love eating. Their dinner is very elaborate with several courses, concluded by a liquor like the Controu. Red Wine and White Wine are a must, even in hurried lunches. They are not tea drinkers like the British. Coffee ? Yes. If you meet a group of French people abroad in an informal situation, you find them talking very loudly. They are noisy when such a noise is for entertainment.
The French girls are a game for dating. But, if you do not know French, you have no chance. An African friend of mine, who has been living in France for the past several years, and speak French very fluently, tells me that the french girls have no inhibitions in the bed room. They are fun loving and like good food and wine.
Both France and Paris have so many things to see and write about that the more you write the more you feel inadequate. So, I am closing this Review with the hope that I will visit Paris again in the near future.