Salut tout le monde!
In the first few weeks of my time abroad, I was able to establish myself in the Epinettes neighborhood in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. I started to create my own little routine. To give you a glimpse of what a morning in my life was like, I will begin by describing what I did almost every morning before class. Before I rushed into the Saint-Ouen metro station, I stopped at Cojean, a local coffee shop, and grabbed an iced latte and a croissant. It is not a morning in Paris without a croissant and some espresso! My roommate and I then hopped on metro line 14 and made our way to class. One thing that truly impressed me is how easy it is to navigate the train system in France. Around my second week there, I found that I did not need to rely too heavily on my phone and maps to get from place to place.
If I had to pick one thing that I enjoyed the most about my neighborhood, I would choose how close different parks are to where I am staying. Our housing situation is not how you would imagine a typical Parisian apartment. We stayed in what seemed like a hotel, so I found myself outside of my room as much as possible. As soon as you walked out of our building, you were immediately immersed into French culture. There was a large playground full of children playing at all hours of the day. A two-minute walk to your right was an ideal spot for a picnic, with wooden tables and incredible scenery. I love being outdoors, so having access to these amenities so close to our home gave me an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. As for my living situation, I feel that I adapted well. I feel that I was greatly prepared to live in tight quarters with another person since I lived in Tower B during my freshman year. Also, as a sophomore, I have gotten used to being more independent when it comes to things like cooking, cleaning, and chores, so that helped this transition to be less overwhelming.
During my time abroad, I was enrolled in one course that dived into the history of art and architecture in Paris. Being a dual major in accounting and finance, this course was like something that I had never experienced before in my college career. We would meet almost every morning from 9:30 to 11 and then take a break for lunch. Next on our agenda would be to meet on site for the continuation of our lesson. This essentially meant that we would meet our professor at whichever museum we were focusing on for that day. It was incredibly experience-based, which I loved. Going to physically see what we were learning about solidified it in my mind and gave me a broader perspective on what art and architecture really meant in different eras of history. To be successful in this kind of industry, you need patience and a keen eye. Some may find looking at pieces of art or old buildings boring. However, when you take the time to sit and respect each stroke of paint or each curve in the marble, you begin to feel the story that the artist was trying to portray. It has been a refreshing change of pace in comparison to my jam packed, number-filled curriculum back at Pitt.
That’s all I have for now, so until next time. Au revoir!
