I love being abroad. I love waking up every morning knowing that I am living in Paris, the most popular and top-ranked travel destination on Earth. I love walking to class down the busy city streets that comprise our neighborhood. I love walking into local boulangeries and trying something new for lunch (chicken parmesan panini today...all I can say is OMG). I (never thought I would) love using public transportation and knowing exactly where I am going. And I certainly love being able to get lost in a culture far from my own, the one I am used to at home, and just living in the moment as a semi-European college student...
...but as with every positive in life, there come along some negatives. My mom once told me that a bad day in Paris is still a day in Paris, and while I didn't necessarily agree with her at the time (cue the luggage story yet again), I think her words could not be more true. While I have not had a really bad day here, there have been some times that I questioned my time here. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely am in love with the city and everything about it; it's just that being a local student deters you away from being a tourist and with that comes some responsibility.
I came here to study abroad. Not just travel. Not just eat an abundance of bread and pastries. Not just look at monuments and museums and do the fun stuff. Sure, I have been able to do all of these fun things and try some really good foods (just tried a tiramisu truffle from Brussels-yum!), but I have also been spending a lot of time in class. And with class time and working to earn 6 credits, there is a lot of work and even more reading. So, today with the beautifully sunny yet windy Paris weather I am sitting inside my apartment getting ready to read my life away and start not one but two papers. While none of our assignments are really due until our final exam period in Madrid, I'm the type of person who needs to get things done as they're assigned so that I can avoid as much stress as possible (and be able to enjoy myself-I am in Paris for crying out loud, if you haven't heard me mention it already). So, yes, studying abroad actually does require work outside the museum and village visits and 2-hour class sessions at the BIA Center. It's just a sacrifice that I am going to have to make...then again, I have hit all the big things so far, it's not like I've been missing out.
The lack of pictures today is not the beginning of a dry spell, it's just because today we had a 2-hour class at the BIA Center, leaving us with just enough time to grab lunch from a different boulangerie a little further from the center, and then hopped on a metro towards the city center for a visit to the Modern Art Museum, which doesn't allow flash photography and surprisingly frowns upon any use of mobile device as well (this goes for texting, email, or taking a photo). But, no worries, still got a great shot of the Eiffel Tower today as it was across the Seine from the museum. Now I am mentally preparing myself for the rest of the day which will be spent buried in readings and taking breaks by-wait for it-packing. We just got the check-out information email from our housing coordinator which has thus signified the beginning of our last few days here in Paris...cue all the feels. I am just not ready to leave this city.
Until then, think about me as I read about the different empires of Paris and try to compare some artwork and buildings. It's off to the d'Orsay, Pompidou & Fondation Louis Vuitton museums tomorrow for our second-to-last day of Paris learning. Au revoir!
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