In his column last week, Connor mentioned the girl I met who didn’t know the movie Amélie. This was my first introduction to Americans in Paris.  

Why do some people choose to study abroad? Within the Whitman bubble, I generally dislike the egoism of the small prestigious liberal arts school. College isn’t a right: it’s a privilege. However, while studying abroad in one of the most famous cities in the world, I’m coming to terms with my pretentious side. So, I’ve compiled a list of why non-Whitman students choose to study abroad in Paris.

Reason #1: Unlimited alcohol. The first weekend of our program, a boy ended up in the hospital because he got drunk and apparently jumped into a pole. This resulted in an emergency e-mail sent to every student warning us of the dangers of drinking too much. I can say with complete confidence that the incident has not deterred this boy.  

My birthday was last Monday, the night before a Tuesday of three classes, including a 9 a.m. one. When I said I probably wasn’t going to go too crazy on a Monday night, a girl I had never met before and who wasn’t part of the conversation said, “Why wouldn’t you? There’s never an excuse not to party.”

Reason #2: Proximity to Amsterdam. The second weekend of the program, some Whitman friends and I went to Chartres to see the medieval cathedral, and bonded over our mutual frustration with the Sorbonne strike. Simultaneously, another group of students went to Amsterdam. When I asked them if they saw Anne Frank’s house, they said they didn’t know it was in Amsterdam.

Reason #3: Smoking. I really don’t understand this one. I actually don’t have a problem with people smoking: it’s a personal choice that I’m not going to interfere with unless it’s someone near and dear. I do, however, continue to be shocked at how many students in this program smoke.

I thought a lot of people at Whitman smoked, but I’d say the ratio on my program shifted long ago to the side of the smokers. For some reason, I’m not surprised when French people smoke, but I honestly can’t imagine the appeal of smoking to Americans. Maybe they didn’t go to the same elementary school I did.  

When I asked a friend who’s studying in Nantes about this, she could only think of one person there who smoked. Do smokers come here because they think smoking automatically makes them Parisian? I’m not sure.

All right. Seriously. Why do people choose to study abroad? More than that, what’s the difference between students who choose to study in hip, cosmopolitan capitals and those who choose smaller cities which, while less exciting, might provide more cultural experiences? As someone in the former group, I chose Paris because I’ve never lived in a big city, and am frankly rather frightened of them. When I arrived, I found myself surrounded by frat guys and Stepford wives. I might spend the rest of my semester figuring out their reasons.