Submitted by Heather Fard on the 2020 winter session study abroad program in Paris, France sponsored by the Department of Biological Sciences…
This week in Paris has been hectic. It was the second to last week of winter session study abroad and it was just as stressful as the second to last week of a normal semester. All of the major assignments that have been worked on and talked about all winter session are about to be done. While working on our term papers, my roommates and I took a lunch break in the Tuileries Garden and people watched. It has been an amazing experience to be able to take an hour lunch break in a widely renowned historical site. Also, since it was the second to last week, we decided that our entire group should go out to dinner together. It was really fun to get together with everyone on my study abroad program, since we tend to hang out in smaller groups.
This weekend, I finally went to another country in Europe, the Netherlands. My three best friends from home and I had met up in Amsterdam for the weekend to go sightseeing. It was really good to meet up with them since they will be here for the entire semester. While in Amsterdam, we went to the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh Museum and Vondelpark. The Anne Frank House was very solemn and moving. After reading her diary, it was amazing and sad to see the house where it all took place. The Van Gogh Museum was extremely beautiful. It was amazing to see the artworks of famous artists that you have heard about since childhood. Lastly, we went to Vondelpark, which is a beautiful park within the city. The canals around Amsterdam were like nothing I have ever seen in my life. Amsterdam was so cute and cozy and everything I had expected it would be. I stayed in an all-female hostel to fit in with the European traveling style. I think that this past month has made me a more independent traveler. I have never traveled alone, and since the beginning of the month I have maneuvered in two foreign cities without my parents.