Submitted by Ella Sutliff on the 2024 Winter BISC program in Paris …
My history final paper was on a French object of my choice. For this I chose the arc de triomphe. I chose this because it was something that truly interests me, as it is a beautiful creation that is filled with history. At the time of writing this, I hadn’t even been to the Arc de Triomphe yet. Paris is such a large city that is so filled with beauty and history that it almost felt impossible to do everything.
I finalized my paper on the second to last day of my trip, and was satisfied with not only my work, but also with the amount of knowledge that I had learned since the beginning of my writing. The following day was my last day in Paris, and the one thing that I had ironically not done yet is seen the Arc de Triomphe up close. I had seen it from afar many times, but I had never actually seen it up close. It was my last day in Paris that I finally saw it up close.
On my trip, I met so many amazing people, but there were five in particular that I met that I can call some of my best friends now. I spent my final day in Paris with those friends, and that is who I went to the Arc de Triomphe with. While walking down the champs elysee that day, the Arc got more and more beautiful the closer that I got, as I was able to see more detail that I could imagine. Once I was close, I was mesmerized by its beauty. The giant architectural feat was even larger than I could ever have imagined, with every statue bigger and more complex that I thought also.
I stared at the Arc for a long time, noticing all of its details. I am so glad that I wrote my final essay on the Arc de Triomphe before going to see it up close, because since I had so much knowledge on the subject, I knew exactly what I was looking at. I was able to understand the meaning behind the statues, shape, and architecture. I was also able to notice things that my friends were not, such as the names of soldiers engraved l throughout the stone.
I found viewing the Arc de Triomphe to be a perfect end to my Paris study abroad experience. I was able to end the trip with some of the most amazing friends that I have ever made in one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen. With this, I was lucky enough to be able to understand the history behind what I was looking at and the cultural changes that came because of it. Seeing this on my final day felt like the completion of my understanding of French culture. (Submitted on January 31, 2024)