We all know that studying abroad is nothing but incredible.
TRAVEL THE WORLD + MEETING INTERNATIONAL PEOPLE + BECOMING INDEPENDENT + PARTYING ALL NIGHT + EATING THE BEST FOOD IN THE WORLD + LITTLE SCHOOL WORK = STUDY ABROAD
That's the entire equation right??
Wrong.
Let me preface this post by saying that I am absolutely in love with Paris. This is my first time in a big city and it's one of the few places I could really see myself living in for an extended period of time. It's beautiful at any time of day and in any kind of weather and there's always a million things to do. It amazes me when people spend two or three days here because I've been here for three weeks and I haven't seen half of what this city has to offer. Surprisingly, I'm not homesick. I miss my friends and my family, but I'm not longing for the comfort of my own bed or the familiarity of american culture.
But this week started out pretty tough.
My program in Paris is particularly different from other study abroad programs. I live with a host family, which is an amazing experience and a wonderful way to practice and improve my french. Unfortunately, my host family requires an hour commute to get to my classes, which are in the city of Paris. Technically, I live in the suburb La Garenne Colombes (SIDENOTE: if you want my address to send me letters I will love you an extra little bit). I'm incredibly thankful that my family gave me a great place to stay, but it makes simple things I used to do in America very difficult. In addition, my classes are at VERY strange times during the day. My French grammar class meets 3pm-5pm every day with an exam every friday. From now until October 3rd, I also have a phonetics course from 5:30pm-6:30pm, every night. I also have a french cinema course Wednesday and Thursday mornings, and I will soon begin a teaching assistant position at a french middle school (time is TBA). The most frustrating are the late evening classes. It's rare that I get back to my suburb before 8 pm, and it leaves little time to actually explore the wonderful city that is Paris during the week. Also, my workouts have definitely been sacrificed (but I'm managing to still get a workout running around the city and through the metro all day so don't you worry).
These two minor details, the class schedule and the long commute, have made adjusting very difficult. Whether it's grocery shopping or fitting in a workout, every detail of my day has to be planned before I leave the house, which can be pretty frustrating. I also have an awkward gap in between classes for about an hour and a half, which is just not enough time for a good adventure in Paris before class.
TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, Haley, Jackson and I decided to stop in a clothing store on the way to class one day. As we were browsing, Haley wanted to know her size since french sizes are very different. I kindly asked the man in the store what size she would need in very very very terrible french. Basicallyyyyyy the man rudely repeated what I said and told me to speak english. After that, he offered no help with Haley's size and proceeded to scold us when we didn't buy anything. Remember how I said all french people are actually nice? Yeah well he killed that one.
And that was the tipping point.
But on thursday, Ashley, Claire and I decided to commit to staying in the city after class instead of rushing back to our suburbs. We grabbed a few bottles of wine, ate some deliciously amazing pizza and headed to the grassy area in front of the eiffel tower. We laid down a blanket and just watched as the eiffel tower lit up when the sun went down.
TRAVEL THE WORLD + MEETING INTERNATIONAL PEOPLE + BECOMING INDEPENDENT + PARTYING ALL NIGHT + EATING THE BEST FOOD IN THE WORLD + LITTLE SCHOOL WORK = STUDY ABROAD
That's the entire equation right??
Wrong.
Let me preface this post by saying that I am absolutely in love with Paris. This is my first time in a big city and it's one of the few places I could really see myself living in for an extended period of time. It's beautiful at any time of day and in any kind of weather and there's always a million things to do. It amazes me when people spend two or three days here because I've been here for three weeks and I haven't seen half of what this city has to offer. Surprisingly, I'm not homesick. I miss my friends and my family, but I'm not longing for the comfort of my own bed or the familiarity of american culture.
But this week started out pretty tough.
My program in Paris is particularly different from other study abroad programs. I live with a host family, which is an amazing experience and a wonderful way to practice and improve my french. Unfortunately, my host family requires an hour commute to get to my classes, which are in the city of Paris. Technically, I live in the suburb La Garenne Colombes (SIDENOTE: if you want my address to send me letters I will love you an extra little bit). I'm incredibly thankful that my family gave me a great place to stay, but it makes simple things I used to do in America very difficult. In addition, my classes are at VERY strange times during the day. My French grammar class meets 3pm-5pm every day with an exam every friday. From now until October 3rd, I also have a phonetics course from 5:30pm-6:30pm, every night. I also have a french cinema course Wednesday and Thursday mornings, and I will soon begin a teaching assistant position at a french middle school (time is TBA). The most frustrating are the late evening classes. It's rare that I get back to my suburb before 8 pm, and it leaves little time to actually explore the wonderful city that is Paris during the week. Also, my workouts have definitely been sacrificed (but I'm managing to still get a workout running around the city and through the metro all day so don't you worry).
These two minor details, the class schedule and the long commute, have made adjusting very difficult. Whether it's grocery shopping or fitting in a workout, every detail of my day has to be planned before I leave the house, which can be pretty frustrating. I also have an awkward gap in between classes for about an hour and a half, which is just not enough time for a good adventure in Paris before class.
TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, Haley, Jackson and I decided to stop in a clothing store on the way to class one day. As we were browsing, Haley wanted to know her size since french sizes are very different. I kindly asked the man in the store what size she would need in very very very terrible french. Basicallyyyyyy the man rudely repeated what I said and told me to speak english. After that, he offered no help with Haley's size and proceeded to scold us when we didn't buy anything. Remember how I said all french people are actually nice? Yeah well he killed that one.
And that was the tipping point.
But on thursday, Ashley, Claire and I decided to commit to staying in the city after class instead of rushing back to our suburbs. We grabbed a few bottles of wine, ate some deliciously amazing pizza and headed to the grassy area in front of the eiffel tower. We laid down a blanket and just watched as the eiffel tower lit up when the sun went down.
When I arrived in Paris, I learned that the Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel - french lesson of the day folks) sparkles on the hour. This was the very first time I had been so close to the Eiffel Tower. I can't really explain it, but for some reason all of my problems seemed to just disappear. It was that moment that made me realize how lucky I am to be in such an amazing place with some great new friends. We decided to go back every Thursday, because this is where we can really appreciate Paris in all of its beauty. I can't really describe the impressive power of the Eiffel Tower up close, but it was so indescribable and magical. If you've never been, I highly encourage you to go |
From then on, the week took a COMPLETE 180 - praise the lawwwwd. The following night, a group of people from my program headed to the Stade de France - previously home to the WORLD CUP. Y'all this stadium was incredible and it was PACKED FULL with people coming to see Queen Bey and Jay-Z! The. Atmosphere. Was. Insane.
I had pretty high expectations for this concert, but Beyonce and Jay-Z pretty much smashed them and sent them to the moon. Not only is Beyonce an amazing singer/dancer, but she is an incredible actress. The entire concert was scripted into one long story with a climax that almost made me cry. I was so unbelievable impressed with her AND Jay-Z. Also apparently they announced that Beyonce is pregnant... but I must have blacked out from excitement and missed that part. Oh and did I mention that Nicki Minaj made a random appearance? OKAY BYE.
In the end, the flood of people made it impossible to get out of the stadium, and by the time we were ready to go, public transportation stopped running. Although we were tired and sore from dancing for 3 hours and running around all day, I just didn't care. I was in Paris and I was happy running around the random streets until 3 am. In the midst of my Beyonce happiness, I treated myself to a nice Gaufre (belgian waffle) with nutella. You could say it was a good night.
The next day, I decided to venture to Montmartre with Meghan because I had been dying to see the beautiful neighborhood. It is the home to the Sacre Coeur and some of the highest elevations in Paris.
I had pretty high expectations for this concert, but Beyonce and Jay-Z pretty much smashed them and sent them to the moon. Not only is Beyonce an amazing singer/dancer, but she is an incredible actress. The entire concert was scripted into one long story with a climax that almost made me cry. I was so unbelievable impressed with her AND Jay-Z. Also apparently they announced that Beyonce is pregnant... but I must have blacked out from excitement and missed that part. Oh and did I mention that Nicki Minaj made a random appearance? OKAY BYE.
In the end, the flood of people made it impossible to get out of the stadium, and by the time we were ready to go, public transportation stopped running. Although we were tired and sore from dancing for 3 hours and running around all day, I just didn't care. I was in Paris and I was happy running around the random streets until 3 am. In the midst of my Beyonce happiness, I treated myself to a nice Gaufre (belgian waffle) with nutella. You could say it was a good night.
The next day, I decided to venture to Montmartre with Meghan because I had been dying to see the beautiful neighborhood. It is the home to the Sacre Coeur and some of the highest elevations in Paris.
The view was pretty incredible. Unfortunately I didn't have my DSLR, just my little iPhone, but it did a pretty good job! This was one of the neighborhoods that seemed drastically different than the others in Paris. Meghan and I spent hours wandering the streets, people watching, and treating ourselves to some snacks. I had a DELICIOUS sausage with onions on a baguette that was cooked in a giant stove. It was one of the best things I have had so far. After that, we found an amazing coffee shop that was the first to serve the terrible sugary drinks that I love so much. Typically, the closest you can get in Paris is a cafe au lait - half coffee, half milk with your own amount of sugar thrown in (and they use sugar cubes that I'm in love with). But these coffees were ginormous and sweet and I was in LOVE. They even had wifi!!!! |
I absolutely loved my weekend in Paris and it helped open my eyes to all of the amazing things this semester has to offer. I'm potentially traveling to Marseille in the south of France next weekend. Although the trip isn't set in stone, it's a place on my study abroad bucket list. They have incredible beaches and cliffs that sound like so much fun and so beautiful. The only thing holding me back is the thought of leaving Paris because I have fallen so in love with this city.
Until next time... AR!
Until next time... AR!