F.3: I'll Always Have Paris

As we read before visiting Paris, Hemingway claims that “Paris is a moveable feast,” meaning that Paris means something different to everyone, and that their nostalgia of Paris allows them to, in a sense, revisit Paris over the course of their lives.

Now that I am back in the United States, I understand what Hemingway means. Having been there and done so much, Paris isn’t just a city to me anymore. Its the experience of a lifetime.

My study abroad experience in Paris was not only a wonderful educational experience, but it was also an incredible cultural and personal experience as well.

In terms of an educational experience, I really enjoyed seeing how the French educational system operated firsthand. I absolutely adored my Sarbonne professor! I also really liked her method of teaching. Its difficult to pinpoint exact differences between her notes and the ones I take at home, but the outline form and little tricks she used just made the material so much easier to understand. She also gave us a lot of work sheets to supplement the workbook for extra practice. This repetition is something that we don’t do in the states, and I found that it helped to increase my understanding of the material.

I felt that my French-speaking skills also expectedly improved while in Paris, although not to the extent that I had initially expected. I found that in walking around the city, I did not get to converse with as many native Parisians as I’d hoped. I tried to speak French with Mme DeLuze, my host mother, but she would always answer in English. I could have tried to speak French with the other members of our group, but I felt like there were so many things I wanted to say that I didn’t know how to in French. When I did try to use my French, I felt like I could never get it out just right to do my thoughts justice. It was a frustrating emotion. Also, I knew there were members in the group who were much better speakers than I was, so I was naturally self-conscious of my French-speaking skills.  I lived with another exchange student, and I found that I was able to speak with her in French because she helped me when I stumbled—not corrected me. I found that knowing that she genuinely wanted to help made a huge difference in my confidence. In hindsight, I know that I should have tried to speak more French. Elizabeth Emmanuel’s improvement is inspiring, so hopefully I will be able to improve my French back at Clemson!

Living in Paris for five weeks was undoubtedly one of the best ways to get to know the French culture. I tried so many new foods, drinks, and desserts, and I felt that I was able to get a true taste of France. Even though I didn’t eat in very many cafés, I found that buying my own groceries proved to be an excellent cultural experience as well because I got to see and interact with natives in a tourist-free environment. While I was in transit to the airport, I had at least four gentlemen and one woman help me with my suitcases. I’ve never been so grateful in my life! Simple interactions with the Parisians made my experience that much more meaningful because I felt like we interacted as fellow human beings rather than as a French individual and an American individual.

I loved getting to know my way around Paris. I found that walking was, by far, the best way learn the city because I was able to explore quaint little side streets. I quickly saw that Paris is a semi-‘walkable’ city; I could walk almost anywhere in the city in under two hours. I now feel like I better understand the layout of the city and that walking somewhere is often faster than taking the metro!

In spending so much time alone wandering Paris, I grew to be more self-reliant and more self-independent. I had to learn to trust my own judgment and decisions. At first, I was very leery about walking by myself at night, but then I learned that I just had to be careful of my things of my surroundings. It is always good to be cautious, but I felt that Paris is a far safer city than any American counterpart.

I quickly found a sense of community in the Bastille area, and after running a 10K around the perimeter of the 11^th arrondissement, I felt like I had a Parisian home away from home. This trip to Paris has made me more excited to see and share the world, and I can’t wait to get the opportunity to travel overseas again, especially to England, Ireland, and the Mediterranean. It would also be good exposure to visit an Eastern European country!

Looking back at Paris, I understand that it not the city itself that makes it so special, but what you do while you are there and what you, in turn, take away from the experience. I am very pleased with how I have grown over the course of the program. I find that I have matured and that I have become more globally-minded. As each year passes, the globe gets smaller. Technology allows us to interact with other countries like never before, and it is important for us to see the world and learn about other cultures. This, in turn, allows us to learn how other people think, leading to more successful and positive interactions—political and otherwise—between countries. Then, not only are we citizens of one country, but citizens of the world.