"studying" abroad

This post is for my parents, and for anyone who needs convincing that those of us on the other side of the Atlantic are here for the right reason: studying abroad.  That's right.  Tourism is fun, food is delicious, and living in a new place is just dandy.  But, now it is time to get down to business.  This summer I am studying abroad in Europe, which means in addition to all the sight-seeing I get to learn about some pretty cool stuff that happened here in Paris, Rome (in 2 weeks), and top it all off next month in Madrid.  And after today, which happened to be the first day of class, it is safe to say that I definitely picked the right program and I am so happy to be here.

We are staying in these cute studio apartments just a 20 minute walk from the IES Abroad Paris Business & International Affairs Center, or just BIA Center for short.  Basically, IES Abroad has 2 centers here in Paris.  While our classes are not so much focused around business or international affairs, it is our primary center here in Paris because it is the one that uses English as a primary language (the employees speak French to each other because for 3/4 of them, it is their primary language, but they speak to us in English).  The French Studies center, on the other hand, may not be the best fit because I don't know a lick of French other than the basic few words I need to get by with in public places.

So, yeah, we walked today to the Paris BIA Center (where we had orientation meetings) for our first class: The City as a Living Museum.  Within just five minutes of meeting the professor, this cute art history teacher at the center, I could tell that the class was going to be incredible.  We had a short talk about the Second Age of Paris before she decided that it would be best for us to see this type of architecture in person.  So, we took a quick break to recharge our Navigo (public transportation) passes and headed on a bus for the city center.

Because I have taken many education classes at Miami, I have gotten a chance to learn about how children learn best.  I have always considered myself a visual learner, and today I got to see how that plays to my advantage.  Our field study for class was fascinating.  We walked the crooked backstreets and alleyways behind apartment buildings, all of which represent the old days of Paris in their architecture, infrastructure and purpose.  We then hopped on a metro train to the heart of Paris, where we proceeded to make our way past the line (thank you IES Abroad for our student ID cards which can get us literally anywhere) at the Louvre, quite possibly one of the most famous museums in the world.  We made our way to Napoleon III's apartment, a place for which I have no words (or pictures because flash photography...sad face).  All I can say is...wow.  It was quite extravagant, but what can you expect from one of the most infamous French presidents?  We then made our way to the Palais Garnier, the Paris Opera House.  Here I was able to take pictures, so let's just take a second to marvel at what went into constructing it.

Again, all I can say is...wow.  Wow in that it is incredible and in the fact that I got to see it as part of my class.  Safe to say I already love studying abroad.

After class ended at noon, my classmates and I got lunch at a boulangerie (or bakery) and ate in the Luxembourg Gardens.  A spectacular park, I loved every square inch of it.  And it made a great view while I ate my ham baguette sandwich & chocolate creme pastry.  We explored the area a little bit, stopping by in a few churches along the way, before taking the metro back to our area of Paris.  I went to this cute produce shop for fruit, the supermarche (supermarket) for some food, and our favorite patisserie (another word for bakery) for a baguette before heading home.

I've decided to take up permanent residence here at the Luxembourg Gardens castle; hope you don't mind.

With studying abroad brings work, which means I have to (sad face) sign off for now to do the reading that I have due tomorrow, for my Museums and Heritage class.  I am particularly excited for tomorrow because once we are done with class at noon again tomorrow, the center activities director is taking us on a tour of the Marais historic district of Paris.  Apparently this is the area where Victor Hugo wrote Les Miserables, so I may or may not have been listening to music from the show on repeat for the last day or so.  Until then, still loving the abroad life and hoping you are enjoying my experiences!

Au revoir!