Paris is striking, this is coming especially from someone who has experienced the vibrant, often chaotic, warmth of Nairobi. You get to experience the city of lights. Its lights are a softer, more diffused light, filtering through different seasons’ skies. My Nairobi, with its sharp, equatorial sun, feels a world away. Especially now that I only visit.
Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The buildings are a uniform, elegant grey, adorned with wrought iron balconies that seem to hum with centuries of stories. Paris’s timeless beauty is both inspiring and overwhelming at times, yet it invites you to explore every corner with curiosity.
The sounds of French conversations often mingle with the familiar tones of Swahili, which has created a warm sense of community amid the cosmopolitan chaos. Sometimes when writing, I lose myself in thought and these sounds give me a glimpse of Nairobi.
Life in this city moves at a different pace. Back in Nairobi, time is a fluid concept, measured by the sun’s arc and the ebb and flow of conversation. In Paris, it’s precise, dictated by train schedules, shop opening hours, and the rigid lunch break. I still find it hard to have lunch at noon and I have been here for a while now.
Moving to Paris and trying to decipher the metro map, a labyrinth of lines and stations, each exit a potential discovery or a frustrating dead end, is so fascinating. This city is known to be the best-connected city in the world, with public transport never being more than 500m in the region of Paris.
As a native Anglophone speaker, the language, too, was a constant, gentle challenge. The French-isms had to quickly take centre stage with learning the culture and everything that makes someone French and precisely Parisian without losing myself in the process. Juggling all these was like baptism by rapid-fire. Being in Paris, surrounded not only by Parisian culture but also other rich cultures, has pushed me to seek out festivals celebrating other Africans through music, dance, cuisine and other art forms, which can serve as a bridge back to my roots.
The food, oh, the food! Waking up is a dream. Each morning, I am woken up by the aroma of fresh croissants and strong coffee wafts from the bakery (boulangerie) that is at the bottom of the building where I live. Though I miss the shared platters, the loud laughter that accompanies every meal, I quite revere that in Paris, food can be a physical work of art. I’ve learned to appreciate the delicate pastries, the rich diverse cheeses, and the wines. Travelling and living abroad teaches you that though there are differences, the similarities shine through and are bright among us.
People like to mention that interactions in Paris are more reserved, polite but distant and I can attest to it. People keep to themselves, their lives unfolding behind closed doors. It takes an emergency for you to know your neighbours sometimes but that is for the best, I guess. It took time to understand this, not as coldness, but as a different form of respect for personal space. Still, I seek out the small pockets of warmth.
Paris holds space for moments of pure magic, of course. Some things you have to experience! The Eiffel Tower sparkling against the night sky feels like stepping into a dream. The endless museums are a constant source of wonder. Since the reopening of Notre Dame, I have understood the sheer brilliance that is French architecture.
There are also moments of quiet longing with pangs of rediscovery and reinvention. Sometimes, the sheer bureaucracy and formality of Paris can feel overwhelming. Yet, living here has also taught me a new kind of resilience, a quiet strength that comes from navigating unfamiliar terrain and a complex tapestry that is French paperwork and that is Parisian life. It’s a journey of constant discovery, of bridging worlds, and of finding a new definition of home and me in the multicultural fabric of Paris.
Overall, living in Paris is a journey of discovery and it is unique to each person. This is a city that continually reveals its layers, and of a rich cultural identity that I now carry with pride. It is both a place of dreams and transformation and a home away from home.