A perspective of Paris

My first memory of my year abroad revolves around my interview with a nun. Three days in to my stay in France and I was faced with a make or break interview for accommodation in a Catholic dormitory for young girls. Wearing my most conservative clothing (small c, not capital – Thatcherite blue clashes with my hair) I trotted along to my meeting with trepidation and a pocket dictionary in hand. Whilst I had considered purchasing a pocket bible which would conveniently poke out of my handbag, I thought pleading linguistic difficulties would instead cover up my complete lack of knowledge of the Catholic faith. Revelation 1 (yes, that is a religious pun): nuns are pretty hip characters. Revelation 2: after years of mockery, my resemblance to a British Pippi Longstocking came in handy.

My current location, sitting at my desk overlooking a small corner of Parisian heaven alongside the presence of numerous crosses, would seem to suggest that my enthusiasm to learn about the Catholic faith was sufficiently expressed through plentiful ‘oui’s and a great amount of nodding. Exchanging pleasantries with nuns on the stairs and monthly Catholic classes may take some getting used to, but the fantastic icebreaker of ‘I live with some pretty fly nuns’ at cocktail parties is a bit of a redeeming factor. Instead of dinner conversations revolving around last night’s boozy antics in the Lizard, I’m now accustomed to discussions about the amount of time spent studying the night prior and competitions revolving around who had pulled the most allnighters (that’s studying not schweffing allnighters, just to clear that up). Yet for all my jokes, living with the nuns is a truly fantastic family-esque experience that makes my daily exposure in this huge, people-engulfing city much easier to swallow. With my vocabulary expanding, my relationship with the truly lovely nuns developing and my understanding of the faith increasing, it looks like my transformation into Maria in a modern day, Parisian set The Sound of Music seems to be drawing close… now if only I could find a Captain von Trapp.