Disclaimer: Forgive me in advance if I’m rambling during this post. I’m currently at the airport returning from another trip running on no sleep. I’m flying out to Paris this Saturday. It might be awhile before I can fight off jet lag and form coherent thoughts =P
So, why Paris? Choosing it was a no-brainer for me. I’d spent a lot of time in the French classroom learning all about it, and I always found the pictures of the monuments and the buildings absolutely breathtaking. Of course, there was the Eiffel Tower that always captivated me most and since it’s in Paris, it just made absolute sense to me to pick it as my city.
I am hoping that by being in Paris, it will push me harder to speak more French on a regular basis (Face it, most of us only spoke French in our class when the teacher was around and our grade was on the line, as soon as they went elsewhere, we’d try to cram in as much English to our friends as we could before the teacher came back). I’m hoping that through this whole adventure, I will not only be able to improve my French, but also meet people from different walks of life and experience a culture that is completely different from my own. In addition to that, my family has always traveled and I think it’s just in my DNA to take advantage of this amazing study abroad opportunity. If only my motivation and excitement for packing was this high…
Aside from doing something completely new, improving on the language and seeing the Eiffel Tower, I’m excited to experience going to a school in a different country to see what it’s like! The opportunity doesn’t come by often, and I’m so glad ISA’s program allows me to do just that. Also, the girly side of me is excited for the shopping scene. Since it’s known as one of the fashion capitals of the world, I have a feeling being in Paris will be like seeing pictures from a Vogue magazine—only in real life.
I’m also very excited to try the different foods that Paris has to offer. I’m pretty much a food junkie—I’ve spent more of this summer eating and trying out new restaurants than doing athletic activities. That’s probably not something to be proud of, but I just really like trying new foods. (I do have a limit though! I refused to try Rocky Mountain Oysters last Friday night at a new restaurant. If you’re not from Colorado/not aware of what that is, I’d suggest you Google. Or actually, I want to gain readers’ trust. So don’t.) Speaking of food, I think I’ll definitely miss the food here. Do they even have sushi or guacamole in Paris? Let’s hope for my sanity that they do—or something close to it. I’ll also definitely miss my family and friends. It will be really hard not to be able to talk/text them everyday just to tell them everything and vice versa. Thank God for Skype though, right?
Well, that’s all I really have to say for now. Wish me luck on my attempts at packing two days before my trip O__O. It will be a fight with my closet. Hopefully I come out unscathed so I can actually go on this amazing adventure and share it with everyone! If I don’t update for awhile, send a rescue team to my closet, will ya?
Debbie Nguyen
Paris, France
Fall 2011