Submitted by Blaine Siegel on the 2020 winter session study abroad program in Paris, France sponsored by the Department of Biological Sciences…
It is currently Friday on my second week in Paris and I cannot believe that my program is already halfway over. This week was even better than my last and everyday I feel more and more like I truly belong here .
Throughout the week, I have felt more comfortable in the city than before. Over this past week, I have focused more on seeming more like a Parisian and less like a tourist and I feel I am beginning to succeed. From the little things like making it to the metro without needing to look at my phone, to ordering food in French and Parisians thinking I speak French, I feel that Paris is slowly becoming my home. Although I have had some struggles while being here, such as the continuing transport strike, I feel that I have overcome these struggles.
This week, I have had several unforgettable experiences, with the most notable one being today, when I visited the palace at Versailles. Going to Versailles gave me feelings of awe from the incredible architecture to how extravagant the rooms were throughout the palace and the extreme size and upkeep of the gardens which stretch for miles. The Palace at Versailles is possibly one of the most beautiful buildings I have been in and I feel blessed to have been able to spend the day in a building with so much history. This past week in my history class we learned many of the historic events that happened in Versailles, such as the storming of the palace by revolutionaries looking for Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to the crowning of the first German Kaiser to the infamous signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Knowing that so much history has taken place somewhere that I was able to enjoy an afternoon makes me speechless and thankful for the abroad program.
Something else that I have enjoyed doing while in Paris is sitting in the park below the Eiffel Tower and soaking up the small bit of sun we have seen since being in Paris. In addition, a frequent location for evening walks is to the Trocadero to watch the sparkling of the Eiffel Tower which happens every hour every night, and it is a sight to be seen.
Overall, my second week in Paris was unimaginable and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
