Now that finals are over, I finally feel like I’m on summer vacation. Last night, I spent a few hours studying for my French film and history courses, but the studying didn’t necessarily pay off in the way I expected. We were given one essay prompt for each course. I liked the film essay question, which asked the students to describe what kind of film directors they’d be. Some students chose to be Avant Garde filmmakers. I said I’d want to make autobiographical films. The essay topic was easy.
We struggled with our second essay question for the history class. We were asked to write about two French quarters. I kind of forgot about those. I was too busy reading up on Saint-Denis, Clovis, Marie Antoinette, Charles de Gaulle, Francois Mitterand, Robert Sorbon, Etienne Marcel, Phillippe Auguste, and a mess of other French historical figures to remember the significance of the Latin quarter in France.
But I figured out a way to answer the question. We all initially struggled with the prompt, but all was well in the end. I’m pretty sure I passed both classes. I’ve decided to take on my older brothers’ “C’s get degrees” mentality when it comes to college. Thankfully, my chosen career path of journalism implicitly looks down on grad school. It’s a good thing I chose a job that prefers work experience to scholarly abilities. I’d be forever SOL if I aspired to be a doctor, professor, dentist, psychologist, or lawyer.
It feels great to be done with classes. I want to keep all my notes. French history is so fascinating to me now. I’ve always loved reading up on WWII, and it’s especially interesting now that I’m in France. I enjoyed learning about it in my history class, at the Invalides, and in the required readings. I’m actually reading Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader, which is a complicated love story that takes place in Nazi Germany. I’m really excited to see Brad Pitt’s new film Inglorious Basterds, a WWII movie. France is one of the best places with WWII history and information.
At 3 p.m., everyone met up at l’Orangerie, a museum dedicated to art. I actually loved this museum, even though we’ve been to at least fifty museums throughout this six-week program. I saw art from Gaugin, Urtrillo, Modigliani, Monet, and more. I learned about most of these arts in a past classics course, which I loved as well.
The group had the final activity this evening. We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower together. All was right in the world. 
I leave Paris in two days. What will I miss most?
What I’ll Miss About Paris
Nutella Crepes
The Seine
Relaxed Alcohol Laws
The slow city pace
The Metro
How suprisingly friendly and helpful most French people actually are
The lack of filler-conversations
The fact that you can buy beer at McDonalds (not that I ever did)
Berthillon ice cream
Chatelet
Sitting and talking for hours out at dinner
Nutella
FNAC
The tiny sidewalks
Smart cars
Rectangular apartment complexes
My French host family
La Fete de la Musique
La Fete du Cinema
What I Won’t Miss
Average customer service
The fact that everything shuts down on Sundays
The low water intake
The dirty metro conditions
Creepy, overly forward European men
The nostril-stinging scent of cheese in every grocery store
Eating too much ham and bread
Unpredictable weather
Humidity
Men with no chivalry
Rude taxi drivers
Overall, Paris has been a great experience. I got different things out of this trip than I expected, and I learned a lot about myself. I couldn’t have asked for a better traveling group. Even though I wouldn’t go on every single group outing, I liked everyone in the program. We’re lucky that we can all hang out in the fall, when we get back to school. I definitely miss my college and D.C. friends right about now, however. In good time, we can all catch up.
Would I recommend this program? Yes, but with precaution. This program isn’t for everyone. It’s not a typical study abroad experience where the education is generally (so I’ve heard) light. Most students who go abroad for a semester have much more free time than the Arizona in Paris program allows for. If you want a fast-paced, stressful-but-exciting Parisian experience, the Arizona in Paris program is a decent selection. If you truly want to be immersed into another culture, study abroad somewhere else for a semester.
I’d be really grateful to do a semester abroad, and I may actually look into this possibility. If I could do it all over again, I’d still remain in this program, mainly because I liked my UA life too much to put it on hiatus for a semester. In the end, though, you will get a fuller study abroad experience if you stay in a place for several months.
Regardless, I know I’ll feel good to be home in nine days.
1 response so far ↓
Dustin Black // July 11, 2009 at 7:28 pm |
Did you wait till the end of the trip to climb the tower? It must have been amazing to climb to the highest point and see all of the city and places that you have been over the past 6 weeks. Bring it all together in one spectacular view as you say “au revoir Paris!”