Every Sunday evening I respond to emails, troll for new music on Spotify, and put together my weekly blog post, all of which is never accomplished before midnight. After weeks of this routine, I have actually come to realize that this habitual update on my life and musings is the most regular part of my week. The French university system enjoys changing classes and taking breaks so frequently that I still arrive early to classes to ensure that the rooms have not been changed last minute. As the elementary schools go on strangely spaced holidays - all of the French are off for the next two weeks on what it simply referred to as "ski holiday" - my tutoring sessions are also irregular. My program keeps us on our toes with day-trips or nighttime spectacles that vary each week, and finally I have yet to identify a predictable schedule for all members of my host family. I adore the varied routine and when you only have about 140 days in a country it seems like a shame to live the same one twice. These posts let me reflect a bit on what I've done and let me share some observations of French culture, but mostly they keep me grounded and serve as a reminder that I have limited time here that I should make the most of.
This past weekend I took my first trip outside of Paris to visit Amsterdam. The city was gorgeous, the weather only mildly grey, and the presence of waffle and french fry shops every few meters was amazing. Booking hostels and trains and figuring out another city's local transport was an adventure, but it was my return to Paris that struck me more. While I found a thousand canal-adjacent apartments that I would love to live in one day (I will ideally have a network of fabulous apartments located all throughout Europe's major cities, and several chateaus for when I need to get away from this stressful and completely impossible fantasy life) I can't help but get excited when I see my Baron Haussmann boulevards and wrought-iron park gates from my train back to France. I consistently said pardon to those I ran into on the tram and seemed to think my Dutch restaurant orders would be more comprehensible in French. While studying abroad I plan to take advantage of the relatively easy travel through Europe, but I now understand why so many of GW's lovely advisers recommending spending to much time in your host city. I hardly feel that my 52 hours in Amsterdam were sufficient to explore the city, and I know that my 4.5 months in Paris won't seem like enough time to really appreciate this city. The ability to explore the city as much as I can during my weeks and see the rest of Europe on the weekend is an exciting prospect, but a flexible schedule goes by much more quickly than routine. Whether in class or in another country I cannot possibly forget that Paris has a million small, cobblestone roads that I haven't had the opportunity to visit with tens of thousands of fantastically Parisian things to see. Like Monet's Rouen Cathedral series, Paris looks different every day and it's impossible to forget how lovely it is. For all future and current students studying abroad, I only recommending that you consider how much time you're spending in your host city and how much you really feel you've explored. Local adventures are easier and cheaper, and they're the only way to make a city your own; discovering your derivative of the city you live in that is simply too beautiful to ever forget.