MUSE MAGAZINE
By Claudia Rupnik This semester, I’m on exchange in Paris —an environment that sharply contrasts the Kingston campus I’ve called home for the last couple of years. As I build a life in the city, I’m gradually adapting to the cultural nuances, and so is my personal style.
22
Unlike Queen’s campus, which is a contained environment, my exchange school is in the centre of a metropolitan city, specifically situated in the SaintGermain-des-Pres neighbourhood on the left bank of the Seine. As a result of its location, the campus is embedded within greater Parisian society, making it a playground for locals and expats alike. The exchange program is designed to facilitate an exchange of ideas between like-minded students from every part of the world, so my classes are filled with Parisians and other international students, who share their cultural backgrounds among their peers at nearly the same rate they absorb ideas from the French society around them. On campus, there’s a constant stream of interactions between people with different concepts of what’s considered culturally interesting, a discrepancy particularly evident in how students dress for class. Here, students weave grunge ideals into a business-casual aesthetic allowing them to look like culturallyaware, young professionals. It’s not uncommon for students to wear old band tees under tailored blazers, or a sweater vest and a knit beanie—some lean further
