In my 12th grade government class my teacher took the liberty to tell us all about people from other countries, since we knew nothing about them. For the French, he said they all sit outside a cafe with their cigarettes and croissants, talking about their hatred for Americans.

And that is the exact picture I had of France for the longest time: an overpriced place full of rude people.

I wrote a paper last semester on how if a person is not familiar with a certain group of people they will judge that group off of its stereotype, and I’m so happy that actually turned out to be true (well I got an A of the paper so it must have always been true, but at least now I got to see for myself).

From my whole three days in Paris I’ve come to the conclusion that Paris has a bad (and false) reputation. The air was smoke free, in fact, I don’t recall seeing one cigarette. No body was rude, in fact, everybody was extremely nice and willing to help me– the clueless American with a giant backpack– figure out how to get where I need to go. I was scared my clothes wouldn’t be chic enough, but Paris was actually very diverse, it would be hard to stick out when there was no distinct look to anyone.

And the best surprise was the prices! How nice it is to be a student in Paris. All the national museums were free, and if it wasn’t free, there was a student discount. Finally, a city that gets a college student’s budget. Paris, contrary to what I’ve heard, let you have all the cultural experiences without murdering your wallet.

Despite popular belief, Paris was not dirty and the people did not smell. People say traveling is so important, and now I’m starting to realize why. People all around the world live so differently, but that is no reason to look down on them. Just as not every American supports Donald Trump, there is no way an entire group can be generalized into a few unfavorable characteristics.