PDA. I'll translate for those of you who don't get out much: Public Display of Affection. You've seen outbreaks of it at Bowdoin, or back home, but this summer and fall I became an expert on the subject, or should I say affliction? I tracked it down all over New York City for Seventeen Magazine, and now I'm surrounded by it in Paris. And let me tell you, it's getting a little bit out of control.
Working as an intern this past summer, I got pretty intimate with the ins and outs of PDA. My first day on the job, I was designated the "guy-on-the-street girl" for the summer?meaning it was my job to interview guys between the ages of 15 and 22 on topics such as "PDA" and "Sweet Gestures He Likes." Talk about pulling teeth.
My days spent as the "guy on the street girl" certainly did not encompass the "glamorous" summer I had envisioned when I accepted the internship at Seventeen. But nevertheless, hunting for boys to talk to between the ages of 15 and 22 in all of the major parks and meeting places in New York became my summer.
I talked to so many guys about PDA that I ended up interviewing the same guy (in New York City!) twice. So naturally, in addition to talking to people about PDA, I also ended up noticing it around me like never before.
Three weeks ago I arrived in Paris to study abroad for three months. At this point, I was ready to leave my PDA research behind and get on with things. To my chagrin, however, from the moment I stepped out of the taxicab at my new apartment, I realized it might not be as easy as I thought.
The PDA in Paris is out of control. Even for me, a PDA specialist. I have never seen anything like it before. It's everywhere: in line for my cr?pe, on the metro, and even in nice restaurants. I have to watch people cuddling, kissing and furiously making out.
And let me tell you, the hour of the day doesn't matter to these people.
All of the mushy-gushy, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes on the metro, and making out in restaurants have really gotten to me.
I've had enough. And I have to say, Parisians really take PDA to the next level.
In my haste to find the answer as to why PDA is not only so prevalent, but also much more intense in Paris, I concluded that it had to be all in the location...I mean I am in the most romantic city in the world.
Maybe it's just Paris itself that brings out all of this touchy-feeliness in people.
Still perplexed by its abundance, I asked my born-and-raised Parisian friend, Mathieu, why I was witnessing so many make-out sessions.
Mathieu had quite a different take on the PDA scene here in Paris.
He believes it is not the innate romance of the city that makes PDA so widespread, but it is that Parisians have a completely different mindset when it comes to kissing, holding hands, and making out in public.
He thinks Parisians care less about how PDA makes other people feel...like maybe a little uncomfortable? Just a guess.
According to Mathieu, PDA is more about being in the moment with another person: "When you are with a girl, you don't care about the people around you. You are just focused on her. It's like you're in your own bubble, and you want to show her that you care about her...so you kiss her. You don't care that you're showing your love to the world...you're not thinking about other people."
Well, I guess that's one way to look at it. Me, I'd rather keep all of that private, especially after a summer of agonizing over every inch of the "meaning" of PDA.