Paris, Je t’aime!
The phone rang very loud as I was already in bed, preparing to sleep. The man on the other side of the line apologized for calling so late but guaranteed he had good news. He was the French Professor where I was taking classes and he was calling to say that as a result of a French exam I had given, I was the student chosen by the French Government for their annual cultural exchange award. That basically meant that together with other 5 Brazilian students, I was going to France!
If you look at my 20-year-old self at that time, you will understand how that was life changing to me. I used to feel continuosly out-of-place at university and struggling to belong somewhere. I was studying engineering, immersed in physics and maths. I looked, acted and lived as a nerd — as many of my class mates would define me. I was always longing to be somewhere else. My parents though had never taken a flight themselves. We lived in the suburbs, in a very modest house. My life was this small town on the Brazilian coast, free French classes on Saturday morning and a deep curiosity to learn and expand.
As I boarded the flight, I was surprised in countless ways. I did not know how to open the food table, I was not sure whether I should call the attendant to give me food when I was hungry or whether he would come by himself. I was not sure the things they gave me I should pay or if they were free. But I found joy in not knowing any of that. I was confused, in apparent chaos, but I was joyful and hopeful. France was the “becoming-real” of my longing and curiosity to learn. It expanded the way I saw myself and others and led me on a path of re-inventing my own cultural identity from being Brazilian to being human.
