Page 119 comparison and contrast essay 200601024 Noh Young Sun

Paris and New York         There is no adventurous nor a travelling bone in my body, but I consider myself to be lucky to have visited two amazing and well- known cities the world over; Paris and New York. It is a big shame that I only got to stay in these cities for a couple of days, but I really enjoyed every moment in these two places.  After these rather short voyages, I got the impression  Paris and New York do share a few similarities that are widely known and yet, the differences of the two places are night and day.       As we all know, Paris and New York have many things in common. First, they are fashion capitals of the world. Many designer shops are concentrated in these cities. Plus, both have iconic monuments; the Eiffel tower in Paris attracts scores of tourists around the world all year around, and so does the Statute of Liberty in New York Harbor. Furthermore, they are both densely populated metropolitan areas that have huge influence on the world in terms of politics, art, media ,entertainment and so on.       In spite of the similarities that I have described above, the two cities are quite different in many aspects. One of the most striking differences is the characters and styles of the buildings. When I went to New York, back in high school with my cousin who lives in New Jersey, I was mesmerized by sleek modern skyscrapers over my head. In contrast, you can hardly see tall buildings in Paris. Paris boasts buildings from the Medieval Period, the Renassiance, Neo classicism to contemporary buildings. This is the place where the old and new co-exist. As you walk by on the streets in Paris, you see numerous century-old buildings that look like something straight out of your history book.  The insides of these buildings were renovated while preserving the traditional looking exterior and this is what makes the city so beautiful. Another difference is people's attitude. During my short stay in Paris, I felt that Parisiens have the attitude that is typical of people living in the old continent. It  does differ from individual to individual , but in general they were less friendly than those living in New York. I went to Paris during the Winter vacation last year, and there were not many Asians in the city. I could hardly see smiles on people's faces and most of their faces were stoic , which made me a bit reluctant to ask for directions at first. I am not sure why I felt this way, but I could sense a imperialistic pride in people inhabiting Paris that I found to be a bit off-putting. However, as strange as it may sound, I did not feel one bit foreign in New York. I found people in New York to be more approachable and less standoffish. Maybe, it was there were a lot more Asians Americans that I felt more comfortable in New York than in Paris.          It is quite foolish to generalize about the two cities after such short trips, but I think I got the broad picture of what these places are like. I like the modern chic ambiance of New York city, but it certainly lacks depth in terms of history. I love the old world buildings and a host of historic monuments and museums in Paris which boast its rich culture and history. However, Paris has too much pride. My only wish is to have enough time and money to fly back to Paris and New York once again to fully immerse myself in two quite different, yet  a tad similar cultures that they have to offer.