Submitted by Kayla Dickens on the 2014 fall semester study abroad program in Paris, France…
A lot has happened in the last few weeks, which is precisely what has kept me from writing for so long. Fall break meant travelling without a laptop, and after returning I was preparing for an exam and a presentation to take place on the same day, last Thursday, not to mention the weekend trip to the Loire Valley which kept me occupied as well. That means that I both have a lot to write about and have forgotten many of the things I thought to write about over the two weeks when I didn’t have the chance.
The first is that this trip definitely continues to prove itself a learning experience in more ways than I expected. I know that study abroad means learning outside the classroom, learning about yourself and growing as a person, all that cliché stuff, and I certainly expected it, but I in no way could have imagined exactly the extent that those experiences are pervading my life including my personality. Over break, I traveled alone for the first time for a trip to London, and it was without a doubt the biggest confidence booster of the trip thus far. The independence and the fact that I was able to manage myself (find things to do, places to eat, actually find my way to those things and places, etc.) made me feel like a much more competent traveler (which considering that this study abroad was one of the first times I ever even left my region of the United States and the first time I had ever been on a plane, is a pretty new skill for me). Lucky for me, the difficulties of traveling alone were eased by the fact that they speak English in London and I would say I’m pretty fluent in English, so perhaps it was a small feat, but nevertheless a meaningful one for me.
On another note, more aligned with the theme of culture shock, I noticed with the cold weather coming in that the French are still eating outside because the awnings at restaurants and cafes almost all have heat lamps outside. That, in and of itself, is not such a big deal, but led to some reflection. It seems that the French make very good use of space in a crowded city, given this discovery (which I have never seen in the U.S.) and the fact that it seems like half the city is underground (even my apartment building has floors -1 and -2, for instance). But the practical use of space is still limited by a certain aesthetic—in many neighborhoods of the city, buildings above five stories are forbidden because that would lead to the demise of the classic or perhaps historic European vibe of the city. Given the housing problems faced in the city, it seems a silly rule to keep in place these days, so I found that in my opinion that this resistance to modernization is a limit to their otherwise excellent use of space, which very much reflects their culture in ways that are somewhat subtle and hard to describe. The best way to put it is exactly as I already said it: they make excellent use of their space, but within the limits of a certain aesthetic appeal. In other words, they are practical, but somewhat artistic or simply tasteful.
Along the same lines as culture shock, I am definitely starting to feel homesick. To be honest, I think it is still the food that I miss the most, but I am starting to miss my family and friends a lot, and even my job sometimes. But there is definitely a lot to take care of at home (for instance course planning and registration, club/extracurricular responsibilities and the like, and my work schedule for next semester), and I wonder if I didn’t have so much that tied me back to the U.S. in that way if I would feel as homesick. It’s an interesting dichotomy to feel at the same time homesick and like I never want the program to end. As always, I am still looking forward to countless things: I have trips planned to Ireland, Geneva, Munich, Aix en Provence, and Toulouse, and pending trips to Montpellier and Strasbourg still to come, not to mention I’ll be spending my 19th birthday in France next week! And I realized for the first time exactly how much I will miss this place when I’m back in the U.S.; it took going to London and back, but as I was walking around during the day time on Halloween in the perfect weather, I realized the extent to which Paris has really become home in the last two months. This morning a friend asked me how many days till I got back and when I realized there were only 39 days left, I felt panicked, as if there was so much left to do that I hadn’t even planned yet. But after this program, I am sure I will be back in France one day, and I’m using that as reassurance that anything I don’t get to in the next 39 days can be saved for the next adventure—maybe grad school!
Aside from those few things, I unfortunately cannot remember most of the other topics I had thought of over the last two weeks to write about. At any rate, an academic update will suffice for the moment. Classes are all still going well, as always, although things are definitely picking up speed, there is no doubt we are more than halfway through the semester at the rate things are going. As I already said, last week was extremely busy. Cinema was a normal class although we started full length films instead of shorter ones, and televised journalism was about the same as always (still turning out to be one of the most useful courses even though I had to drop down a level to take it). In my French Language class, however, I had a presentation on Thursday which was worth somewhere between 20-25% of my grade for the course; it turned out rather well in the end, but it was certainly a stressful preparation. I was allowed to choose the subject, but (as I have a tendency to do) I bit off a little more than I could chew, but after reviewing my performance and my grade with the professor I feel good about the work I did and I suppose that’s the best I can ask for! I also had an exam on Thursday in my literature class; although I still don’t know the grade and I don’t feel quite as confident in it as I did with the presentation, I still believe I did at least average, and I put in all I could. While it is slightly disappointing to me to not be 100% prepared for such an exam, there comes a time when the best I can do is all I can do, and this was unfortunately one of those instances given the time constraints and the unfortunate circumstances of having the presentation the same day. We’ll find out Thursday how that exam really went.
What is most interesting about the exam is the fact that everything we were tested on was soon reinforced over the weekend at the Loire Valley, where we saw Middle Age and Renaissance castles. While I wish that the history had been a bit of reinforcement before the exam rather than after, it was nevertheless very nice to actually know what the tour guides were talking about for once. I think my literature class here will actually turn out to be more useful on the Praxis than my televised journalism course, which was definitely not the intention, but as long as all of the courses are helpful somehow as far as my learning, certification, and requirements are concerned, I’m certainly not complaining because I am very much enjoying myself in all of my courses here.
