I was just browsing through my calendar tonight, looking at the next week and figuring out what I need to get done, when I realized that I only have three weeks left in Spain. My time in Madrid is really coming to an end, and so, so quickly. It’s mind blowing to think about how much I have learned and accomplished here. I got home from Paris, my final trip of my study abroad experience, just a few hours ago, which was the icing on the cake of a wonderful three months of travel. I will be staying in Madrid now until the end of the program because I want to give myself enough time to spend with my host mom, study for my exams, and get everything done that I wanted to do here.
As for Paris, it was a magical experience for many reasons. Because it was over Thanksgiving break in the United States, my boyfriend decided to come visit me in Europe, so clearly Paris is where we chose to go. The two weeks leading up to this trip were extremely stressful (that’s even an understatement) for me due to the recent terror attacks. My boyfriend and I were on our computers and phones checking news updates constantly, trying to decide if the situation was stable enough for our trip. We were gambling with many hundreds of dollars as well as risking our safety. In the end, against the advice of many of my loved ones at home who were extremely worried, we decided to go. Our mentality was that we cannot live in fear, and if we didn’t go, we’d be giving the terrorists exactly what they wanted. And we were absolutely right – it was worth all of the stress and all of the risk. It was an absolutely amazing weekend.
The city is magnificent. It has an old charm, but it is also a great triumph of modernity. When you walk through the streets, you understand why so many poems, songs, and novels have been written in praise of this French masterpiece. The history nerd in me marveled at the antiquity and beauty of the city as I recalled the strength and vitality of the Parisian people. There is an intoxicatingly strong sense of national pride – at night, many of the buildings are lit up in red, white, and blue, and there are flags hanging from balconies all around the city. It is definitely hard to do Paris in just three days, but we were able to see so many things – the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Versailles, Notre Dame, the Champs-Elysses, all of the important government buildings, the Love Lock Bridge, and so much more. To say I’m tired tonight is an understatement – we walked an average of 10+ miles per day, not to mention our outings in the evenings to enjoy some Paris nightlife. It was one of the most fulfilling, romantic, and exciting weekends that I can remember.
So now for the real burning question – what is Paris like right now? Are there soldiers everywhere? Is there crazy security? Is it scary? Can you DO anything? It’s tough for me to answer these questions (which many people have asked me already), since this was my first time in Paris and I didn’t know what it was like before the attacks. But here’s my perspective. The city is doing its absolute best to return to a state of normalcy. Yes, you sometimes see soldiers in the street with their giant, intimidating guns, but there are not NEARLY as many as the media portrays, and it only heightens the sense of security rather than serving as a reminder of the state of emergency. All the trains are operating normally, the airport has a little bit tighter security but is also operating on a normal schedule, and everything that I wanted to see was open and running. The French people clearly will not let this affect them in the way that the terrorists wanted. I was truly in awe of the strength of the city just two weeks after such a devastating attack, and I was humbled to be a witness to the city’s moral resilience. I never felt unsafe once.
Each week, I am realizing that I learn at least one profound thing about myself. This week, I learned that I cannot give in to fear. I am often too “safe,” taking the more cautious route because it is easier. But this weekend, I put my fear aside and I had the trip of a lifetime, something I wouldn’t have been able to do had I given into my fear and the fear of others around me who tried to tell me not to go. I am capable of making my own informed decisions, and I am so grateful that this trip was a success, for I am so much more proud of myself because of it. I’m not going to say I didn’t breathe a small sigh of relief when my plane touched down back in Madrid this afternoon, but I also understand now that life cannot be lived to the fullest without a little risk.
It’s crazy that I have just a few blog posts left – stay tuned for the next few weeks to read about the final days of my journey abroad!