Before moving to France, I genuinely thought France was just Paris š«£
Posted by yoursakhiiinfrance@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 14 comments
Iām from India and honestly before coming here for studies, I had never even heard of Montpellier.
Same with cities like SĆØte or even Lyon honestly. For me France was just Paris because thatās all we usually see online and in movies.
And now it feels so weird because I literally live here and Iām the one posting about these places online for other people š³
Itās funny but also kind of sad how little we sometimes know about countries before moving there.
werchoosingusername@reddit
Did you check your ancestry? You might have American's in your family.š
exsnakecharmer@reddit
Glad things have changed in your perception - but thatās a very strange outlook to begin with tbh.
Were you not curious about the countryside etc?
I know nothing about India, but even I know there is the north (mountains etc) and the beaches of Goa etc let alone the cities.
yoursakhiiinfrance@reddit (OP)
I get what you mean. I think I didnāt phrase it well earlier. I wasnāt saying I had no awareness at all, just that I never really thought much about other cities beyond Paris, or imagined actually living in them day-to-day.
It feels very different experiencing it in real life now š
exsnakecharmer@reddit
I get ya! (I didnāt downvote you btw lol)
lesllle@reddit
I thought India was only Mumbai.....is something I would never say.
yoursakhiiinfrance@reddit (OP)
I get that. I wasnāt trying to say I literally thought France was only Paris in a factual sense. It was more about what I had in mind or imagined when I thought about living there, rather than detailed knowledge of the country š
lesllle@reddit
you might be young. this is really a toddler thought. some things you just keep in your head until you learn. don't eat the crayons even if they smell like strawberry.
Beneficial_Zone_6883@reddit
Itās really not funny that youāre so ignorant of the country, history and culture. Itās actually insulting and shows that you donāt give a darn about anyone but yourself
air_twee@reddit
As op explained in some comments it was just phrased a bit odd.
RidetheSchlange@reddit
I also noted that even educated people in India have extraordinarily poor geography and history educations, and I don't mean just for the west, but also for Asia. Sometimes it's wild to see how bad the education is like the time I met some Indian family in Germany and they were asking for "the Hitler museum" and were telling people how they heard there's a museum about Hitler and how bad they wanted to see it. They were highly educated scientists. I also found out they use a combination of Modi propaganda, Whatsapp groups, and Facebook for current events and modern education.
sum-9@reddit
I mean, maps have been around for a whileā¦
yoursakhiiinfrance@reddit (OP)
Fair point š
_replicant_02@reddit
That's the joy of travelling and exploring places on your own.
You see beyond what's shown in the media.
yoursakhiiinfrance@reddit (OP)
Yes, exactly!!! Especially when youāve never even left your own city before, and suddenly youāre living on a different continent and getting to travel like thisā¦ it really does feel magical sometimes.