Submitted by Harli Porcano on the 2018 winter session study abroad program France sponsored by the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies…
In my second week in Parisl I traveled a lot, which was something I looked forward to the most about studying in Europe. On Monday, it was still part of our free weekend so I was in Amsterdam, which is easily my favorite city that I have ever been to. Besides the amazing scenery and atmosphere, everyone there was extremely nice and helpful. In France, not as many people speak English, often making it difficult to communicate in day-to-day life. However, in Amsterdam, pretty much everyone spoke English, which relieved me a lot. I was only there for less than 48 hours, yet I know it is always going to be one of my favorite places in the world. On Tuesday, our program went to Antwerp, Belgium. We visited a museum, shopped and of course, ate some Belgian waffles. Although my time in Amsterdam easily surpassed my time in Antwerp, it was still interesting to see the similarities and differences between the three European cities that I have visited so far. On Saturday, we went to Versailles, which is still in France, however, vastly different than the city of Paris. While Paris is a metropolitan city, Versailles is more countryside, which was something different than all of the other cities I had visited. The only way to describe the Palace of Versailles is extraordinary. It was so fascinating to go back in time and see how the French court lived hundreds of years ago. This week will undoubtedly be one of the best that I will spend abroad.
