Column: Pondering Paris and its international influence

Now that I am a week away from studying abroad, it is starting to dawn on me that I will be living in Paris for the next four months.

To be blunt, I am a serious glutton when it comes to food.

So it was no surprise that I picked a gourmet city like Paris.

I studied there last summer, and in those brief two weeks the advice, “Audrey, you should stop eating,” became too commonplace for ordinary conversation.

As I anticipate my travel, I can only look back on my time there last May and wonder what my upcoming semester will be like.

Since I will be living with a host family, I cannot wait to try real French cooking.

However, what really occupies my attention is wondering what kind of international food scene the city will have. Since it is an urban area home to many nationalities, I have to wonder what I’ll find.

I, for example, will be living near Chinatown, and I’m excited to have access to authentic Chinese food while still being able to find a bread bakery across the street.

I remember something my host mother once said in an email. She was commenting on Vietnamese food, as I am half Vietnamese, referencing a dish that seemed deceivingly familiar. “Les Bo-buns,” she said. At first I thought it was some form of meat-filled bread as “bò” is beef in Vietnamese. However when I asked my mother, she said the dish did not exist.

With brief research, I found that the French name and Vietnamese name for the food differed.

Be that as it may, I am curious to see what other foods will become available to me in Paris, and how they will assimilate into French culture.

More specifically, I want to see how food in general is treated as a part of French culture. Not only is it something that keeps us from going hungry, but food also brings families together at meal times. Just how will food be treated in Paris compared to food in America?

I cannot wait to find out.

Follow columnist Audrey Perkins on Twitter @AudreyNLP