Paris!

Looking back on the past 5 weeks I spent in Paris, I can't believe I did and saw as much as I did. It was definitely an experience I will never forget, from traveling abroad for the first time, not being able to speak French, except the Bonjour and merci, to all the museums and the wonderful experiences I had with everyone on the trip. I think we all went on this trip for different reasons, I know we were all interested in the art of course and Paris, but everyone had their own experiences that they wanted to get out of going to Paris. Some aspects were more important to some people like with the fashion and the food. I appreciated both these things, especially the fashion part (jewelry!), but for me this trip was one that I had been waiting to take for a while. We all have different experiences growing up, live in different places and coming to college is one of the few places where you meet so many different types of people, coming from different backgrounds. College to me is one of those experiences that I found myself in need of, I see it more than an education to lead to a job, there are so many other aspects to school that inform you of the world around you. The education aspect led me to consider study abroad, I wanted to go abroad, but wasn't sure if I wanted to be taking a class. Now that I've had this experience, I'm very grateful and humbled. France is just another country in the world and there are people there just like here in the U.S, but there are differences in the culture, but at the same time, I continually found myself making connections. I found myself the last day I was leaving stuck with no transportation to the airport. The previous day I booked a shuttle to come to my apartment to pick me up, I was waiting outside 30 minutes before my pick up time, I soon found myself waiting an hour. I tried calling, but got no where and knew I needed to think fast to get to the airport on time. Taxi! I thought, but realized I had no number, living underneath a costume workshop, and other businesses, I knew I would see someone, so I waited. A man came up to me speaking French, switched to English once he saw the confused look on my face and asked if I was the person he was meeting, no I replied, but asked him if he had a number for a taxi. One thing I learned from Paris was it isn't easy to get a taxi and of course the man told me this was the worst time to be trying to get one. I was a bit in a panic and maybe this man knew it, so he waited with me as he called taxi company after taxi company. Soon one of the women who works in the costume workshop below arrived and was conversing with the man, soon she was calling taxis, both trying to get me one. The man had to leave, but the woman finally made a reservation and told me everything I needed to know. She was going to wait up stairs and watch me to see if there was any issues and she was there to help. I'm back in the U.S now, so I obviously got home safe and sound, I don't know how everyone else feels about the interactions with the French, but I was told several times before the trip, they were rude. Looking at my last experience, it was not the best situation to be put in, but these two strangers gave me some of their time to help. For me this trip was wonderful in that I did get to see everything I wanted to see and go to every place I wanted to go and try the food I wanted to and saw the jewelry I was dying to see, but it was the interactions of the actual French people that I find myself reflecting on most. Many times through out the trip I was nervous to start a conversation, because I would have to ask if they spoke English. Yet every time there wasn't the greatest interaction another, better one followed. I will definitely be traveling abroad in the future and I will be taking the knowledge I received from this experience to my new adventures. Bon Voyage!