Broadz Abroad

I know I haven’t written on here for a while, and I’m sorry. So much has happened to me since I last wrote – my parents visited me here in September, and when my sister came in October, we traveled all over Europe. We went from Paris, to Florence (Italy, I love you), to Vienna, then to Prague, back to Paris for a few days of school (not important, duh), and then to Amsterdam… all in two weeks. It was unbelievable. I cannot convey how lucky I am to have gone to all these beautiful places, and how lucky I am to be able to see my family while I’m out here. But once that adventure was over, I had to come back to reality and start working on the millions of papers and presentations I had to do. Basically, for the past few weeks, I forgot that I was living in Paris. I went from my apartment, to class, to the library, and back – with occasional food shopping in between. It was tough, but Sciences Po is no joke. Now, I just have finals coming up in a few weeks, and one more paper due, but the worst is out of the way. So, I took this day to rediscover Paris, and to rediscover why I came here in the first place.

I woke up way past my alarm and went for my morning run. The beauty of my running route is really incomparable – I run in a park along the Seine, past the Eiffel Tower, past the Alexander III Bridge, to the National Assembly building, and then back to my apartment. My soundtrack was the Infant Sorrow album – best run ever. When I got back, I stole a banana from my roommate, Kate, and made myself crepes with jam for breakfast. I had to do some laundry, but here, I have to hang up all the clothes as soon as the machine is done. While that was going, I watched a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother dubbed over in French. Yesterday, Audrey told me I could watch everything on Netflix in French – my French would have been SO much better had I known that a couple months ago. Anyway, once I was done with my errands, I left the apartment and hopped on the metro. I got off at Concorde, near the Tuileries garden. I walked around a bit, soaking in everything around me: couples in love, kids running around, dancing fountain water – it was beautiful. There is even a Ferris wheel right next to the garden now. It all seemed so happy. I walked around for a while and ended up at the Musée de l’Orangerie, in which they keep Monet’s large panels of water lily paintings. Once I got in (for free – thank you student card), I found a purple-tinted panel, and sat down in front of it to write. After some time, I walked around more and admired the mess of genius on the canvases. I headed downstairs to check out some of the other impressionist paintings the museum keeps downstairs. They have an incredible collection – Renoir, Cezanne, Rousseau, Matisse, Picasso – I could keep going. They also had a cool special exhibit on Emile Bernard, one of the pioneers of modern art. I walked past, checking out anything that caught my eye, and remembering all the things I learned about art in my Humanities class with Ms. Tuttle my senior year of high school.

Once I left, I walked towards the Ferris wheel, and considered taking it for a spin. The line was too long, so I just bought a jambon-fromage crepe instead and started walking through Tuileries. I decided to go to Centre Georges Pompidou which is the National Modern Art Museum in Paris. I had never gone there before – today was a day of firsts, because I hadn’t been to Orangerie before either. I called my parents and talked to them on the phone for about 45 minutes while walking to Pompidou, through the garden, past the Louvre and other important buildings of which I should probably know the names. The walk was gorgeous. The weather was perfect and I was in PARIS! What a dream. Outside of Pompidou, there is a beautiful foundation with weird art / water-spewing machines to set the ambiance. I slowly walked past, and entered the Pompidou (again, for free – thank you student card).

Although I usually don’t love modern art, I really, really enjoyed being in Pompidou. It was awesome. One room was just painted in green chalkboard material, and people could go in and decorate the room in any way they wanted to. Most of what I saw was very inventive – unusual materials, or tricks with the angle of light. Really cool stuff. Of course, my modern art soundtrack was the Magical Mystery Tour album – very fitting I think. When I was al art-ed out, I left and sat on the ground in the square outside of the museum. I wrote for a bit, talked to my friend Laura, got hit on for a second, and then went to go get a coffee. I didn’t want dinner, but I wanted to get a small dessert with coffee, so I ordered a Tarte Tatin. I realize that after three months of living in Paris, I should’ve known what it was, but like usual, I just asked the waiter what was good, and that’s what he suggested. It’s basically a tart with baked apples on top. I don’t really like cooked fruits – I usually don’t eat fruit pies or pastries with fruit in them – but this thing was pretty good, plus I got a view of the exterior of the museum while I was eating.

After I paid, I started to get back home. I took a different route than the one I used to get to the museum, past Hôtel de Ville, and Notre Dame, in front of which there is a beautiful Christmas tree right now. In between those two places, a 40-something year old man asked me for directions. He asked for a place pretty far away, but I was really excited that I knew exactly how to get there. As soon as I started explaining the directions to him, he interrupted me and asked if I wanted to get a drink with him. EXCUSEZ-MOI. I am trying to be Parisian over here! I don’t have time for these tricks. Très rudé. Anyway,  once I got to Notre Dame, I strolled around the plaza in front of it for a bit, and took a few pictures for a beautiful French couple – they were  way nicer than expected and told me I was an “artiste” because of how well the pictures turned out. I think it might have just been their several hundred dollar camera, but it was still really sweet. I hopped on an RER to get home, but got out one stop early to walk along the Seine and past the Eiffel Tower at night. It gets to be very romantic, and every hour, on the hour, the tower lights up and sparkles for a few minutes. Now I’m back home – but the night has just begun.

Considering the fact that I’ve been living in Paris, I really have not done that much sightseeing. I live really close to the Eiffel Tower, so I got there often to write and relax. A couple weekends ago, my friends Audrey, Alexa, and I visited the Musée D’Orsay. Other than a couple other attractions here and there, I haven’t done much touristy stuff so far. I did, however, go to Notre Dame last Monday, and I really have to tell you about it.

I don’t have classes on Monday (or Friday…YES), so last week, I decided to meander around Paris and I found myself at the door of the Notre Dame. I waited on line, but within a few minutes, I was in the cathedral. It’s truly a beautiful sight. I walked around the church, taking in its ambiance and its positive energy. The place is absolutely gorgeous and really peaceful. Plus, I went there at a time when I was finally starting to feel like I was settled in Paris. I felt at home for the first time in weeks. After I was done exploring, I sat down to think and reflect. Tears started to come to my eyes from the almost lost feeling of relaxation. I sat for a while. And then… mass started.

Five priests entered. Candles were lit. The organ played. The main priest (is there a proper name for him?) started to tell the story of the birth of the Virgin Mary, and later the story of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Of course, it was all in French, but I was able to follow most of the plot. The regulars responded to the priest when they had to, and knew when to sit and when to stand and when to cross themselves… so I just followed their lead. I had never been to a Catholic mass before, so the experience was pretty amazing to me. At some point, I had to turn to the people around me and shake their hands! I also took communion (which I was told I am totally not allowed to do, but oh well I did it). So I got the full Notre Dame treatment – and it felt really nice. Really peaceful. I even lit a candle for my friends and family on the way out, and touched some holy water to my forehead before I left. I don’t know why, but it just felt okay to do that.

Tomorrow makes it a month since I started my life in Paris. The time really did just fly by… Remembering the fact that I’m already done with a fourth of my life in Paris makes me want to seize every moment I have left.

I’m almost done with my second week at school at Sciences Po. At first, I was scared that the classes here would be truly impossible, especially because I’m taking half of them in French, but now that I’m getting back into the groove of things, I don’t feel too overwhelmed. My courses are spread across different disciplines, and they’re all extremely interesting in their own ways. I’m taking four classes, two in English and two in French. (Not counting the awesome Pilates class that I signed up for last week!) Only one of my classes, International Trade and Globalization, is going towards my major, but my goal here is to really broaden my education, not to focus it. Probably my favorite class I’m taking here is Foundations of Moral and Political Thought, for which I have to read a lot of philosophical and political texts, starting from Plato’s The Republic. My professor for that class is really passionate about philosophy, and has told us several times in class that he wants to seduce us with the texts (he’s Italian – God, I love Italians). My other two classes are Francais, niveau trois (French level three) and Genre, Famille, et Socialisation Politique (Gender, Family, and Political Socialization). I feel totally comfortable in my French language class – I was worried it would be too difficult for me, but I really found the perfect fit. My political science course in French is a little difficult for me, mostly because everyone else in my class is a fluent French speaker and my professor speaks really quickly. I took the class, not because I had a particular interest in the subject, but because it was a small discussion class in French that would force me to listen and to speak. So far, it’s been working, and I’ve been participating as much as I possibly can, no matter what I probably sound like. In a few weeks, I have to give a 15-minute oral presentation on an article in that class, which is pretty nerve-racking, but I’m working on it with my new friend from Austria, who is also in the same boat as me as far as French language skills are concerned.

Which leads right into my next point – my favorite aspect of Sciences Po is definitely the other students who go to Sciences Po. This university is made up of 45% international students and all of my friends here are from different countries around the world. The people I’ve met here are absolutely unbelievable. I thought I was pretty good speaking three languages, but one of my friends here speaks five! In one of my classes, I’m one of two Americans - the rest of the students are from China, Brazil, Turkey, and the list goes on and on. Most of my friends are from Brazil, but I have friends from every corner of the world (even Rutgers). I really feel like I’m living in an international place – if that’s possible to say. In the past few weeks, my worldviews have been both challenged and reaffirmed countless times and I’ve acted as a spokesperson for both the American way of life and for the American college experience. I guess I needed to get out of America to really understand what it is that makes me American – to be honest, I’m still figuring that out…

So Melbourne is known for its great cafes and coffee shops and I’ve been trying to frequent those, adopting the Aussie coffee lingo (if I want a regular coffee I have to order a long black with a sugar and a splash of cold milk). But, I finally gave in and entered a Starbucks the other day. I scurried into the store, feeling guilty for feeding the global corporate beast, however the urge to find out if they sold pumpkin spice lattes was too great. At the counter I enquired if they made PSLs and was heartbroken upon hearing the barista’s negative response. My hopes and dreams crushed, I walked out without buying anything because I was not going to give the coffee conglomerate my business for anything other than a warm, nutmeg and cinnamon infused latte.

This pumpkin-spice craving is just one example of the fixation I’ve been having with the season of multi-colored leaves, cool air, soccer games and football tailgates. Upon embarking on this semester abroad I was fully expecting to, at some point, feel the pangs of homesickness for my friends, family, puppy and beloved pork roll, but I never anticipated this season-specific yearning. Alas, the mild weather of late winter in Melbourne has triggered a flood of fond autumnal memories to surface in my mind.

When I walk to class and catch a whiff of cut grass I am struck with the urge to play soccer. Looking out at the fallen leaves under the tree in the courtyard I have a nagging need to hunt down a rake and sweep them into a neat pile. When the kitchen serves roast chicken and vegetables I fantasize about eating McIntosh apples, candy corn, apple spiced donuts and apple cider. Every time I see a scarlet R or football field on my newsfeed my hand itches to strum along to opening chords of ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls.’

While I do yearn for a Sunday morning drive up to North Jersey - one where the sunlight filters through the multi-hued leaves to warm your face as the crisp air rolls in through the open sunroof window and tousles your hair - I am at the same time grateful to be away, the distance puts into perspective the aspects of home that I would normally take for granted. While I am pining for Fall now, I know that I will be able to relish the season even more next year with this new found appreciation for the months of September and October.

A few shots of the apartment, the pictures on the back of my bathroom door, dinner for me and my new roommate, and Toulouse, my new orchid

As some of you may know, I was terrified that I would not find an apartment in Paris when I first got here. I searched a bunch of websites and called dozens of landlords, but I started to feel hopeless and homeless. Everyone told me not to worry, but how could I not? The idea of not knowing where you will be living in a few days can make a person go crazy. Of course, everyone turned out to be right by telling me that everything was going to be okay, but at the moment, I was feeling pretty discouraged.

The first night I was here, I went to dinner with a former Sciences Po grad student, who is also a former Rutgers student. She mentioned to my program director that there was an apartment opening up across the hall from her. On Saturday morning, when I was at my low point, my program director decided to call the landlady of this apartment on my behalf. Though that apartment was not available, this landlady also had another apartment for rent in a different area with another student. That person turned out to be another Rutgers student who was in my French class last semester. I went and saw the place that afternoon, e-mailed my then future roommate, and we signed the lease this Tuesday. I cannot express how lucky I am to be in this situation. The panic was real, and now I’m on Cloud 9.

The apartment is perfect for two people. The building requires a digital code to get in and it also has an elevator, which is not so common in Parisian apartment buildings. The place is pretty big considering what we are paying. We each get our own room, with a bathroom, a WC (a room just for the toilet – very typical European), and a kitchen with all the necessities, plus a washing machine.

From the street, you can see the Eiffel Tower. Our area is pretty removed from tourists, but it’s populated enough that there are stores very close to me for everything and anything I may need. Even the metro is a few steps from my place. Of course, it’s under renovation right now, but it’ll open back up soon, at which point, my commute to school will probably be around 20 minutes.

As soon as I got my bags in the apartment, I left to go buy myself an orchid to remind me of home. As some of you know already, I’m obsessed with orchids and have had several in the past few years, mostly given to me by the people I love most and who know me best. This orchid will remind me of all of you, who have made the past few years of my life so easy and so fun. I couldn’t come up with a name for my orchid, but as always, my roomie came through for me. I just messaged her, and she came up with the perfect name, Toulouse! For all of you who watched the Aristocats with us, you’ll understand just how perfect this name is – and now every time I look at Toulouse, I will think of Rutgers and the great friends it’s given me :)

Last night, my new roommate, Katelyn, and I ate dinner together and shared a bottle of wine on me to celebrate our new home. I cannot wait for all the memories this apartment will bring us.

If you feel like sending me mail, let me know, and I’ll send out my address. I would love to hear from my friends and family back home! I just got postcards to send out myself, so my loves will be receiving a message from me soon!

Bises,

I’m sorry for how long this post is – there’s so much to say and barely any time to sit and write, so I’m getting it all out now while I have the chance…

Life moves quickly in Paris. These past few days proved to be some of my most interesting days yet, mostly because the concept of Paris and living in it is still so novel to me. I hope that feeling never dies.

That being said, these past few days have also presented some challenges, particularly in the form of adjustment. Adjusting to Paris is difficult – I’m in a different city with different people, where the cultural norms are…very different; but the process I’m describing is not impossible, nor should it ever act as a deterrent to travel. In fact, that’s the reason why I love to travel so much. I love to see the way people live in other countries. The life that I live in New Jersey is pretty different from the life that a Parisian lives, both of which are different from the lives that people live in countries around the world. At the very least, I’m receiving a very healthy dose of perspective during my time abroad.

Adjusting to school so far is great. Right now, I’m completing the Welcome Program with some 500 other international students at Sciences Po. We’ve had a few lectures on the French way of writing papers and conducting oral presentations, but I can’t say that it’s so different than what I learned in Expository Writing my freshman year at Rutgers. We’ve also attended Methodology classes in smaller groups, in which we learn to perfect these skills in order to ensure a successful run throughout the semester. During this week of the Welcome Program, our student group leaders also organize a bunch of events to help us socialize with other students and make friends. This Sunday, hundreds of students met up and went to a park called Parc des Buttes Chaumont in the 19th arrondissement (Northeast Paris). It actually kind of reminded me a bit of Central Park with its lively and beautiful landscape. Everyone had to bring food from their country to share for a huge picnic, so naturally I bought Oreos and Lays potato chips. I got to talk to some incredible people that day – students from Italy, England, Finland, Lebanon and so on. I have to say, so far, the most impressive thing about Sciences Po is the students that I’ve met there. Everyone is ridiculously smart, but above all, just so unbelievably fascinating. Most of the students here speak about four languages, which they consider to be very few.

That Sunday night, I went out to dinner with the Rutgers students in Paris. It’s bizarre how I’m even meeting new people from Rutgers while I’m here. My program director, Dr. Healey, has taken our group out several times to help us get acclimated to Paris and its culture. She’s definitely been an incredible help to my sanity. The dinner we had that night was delicious, (and free, thanks Rutgers!). For dessert, I ordered a typical French pastry called a profiterole, which is basically a cream puff stuffed with ice cream instead of cream and then doused in chocolate sauce…yum. Afterwards, I went out to St. Michel for a drink with a few friends at a bar. Moving to a country in which the drinking age isn’t 21 is unbelievably freeing.

On Monday, Sciences Po also organized a tour around the Opera area, including a stop outside the Ritz Hotel at the end of Rue de la Paix, the most expensive street in Paris. I learned that Hemingway accidently invented the Bloody Mary when he asked his bartender at the Ritz for something that he could drink without his wife knowing he was drinking alcohol. The next day, Hemingway came down to the bar to tell his bartender that the drink was amazing because “Bloody Mary,” his wife, did not suspect a thing! After the tour, all conducted under the cold Parisian rain, (another adjustment - Paris is freezing), my friends Audrey, Johannes, and I stopped at Café Angelina’s for some hot chocolate (Thanks for the suggestion Elena!). This stuff was incredible – it was like drinking a melted chocolate bar with whipped cream plopped on top. So. Good.

The next day, after my methodology classes, I went to SIGN MY LEASE TO MY NEW PARISIAN APARTMENT (more on that later) and afterwards, I went back to school for some wine & cheese goodness. Another adjustment – my school is serving me free wine (but totally more importantly, free cheese). Later that night, a few dozen Sciences Po students went to Ze Bar in St. Michel, a gathering also organized by the school. I got to meet even more new friends, and talk to a lot of the friends I already made.

Drinking is entirely integrated into French culture; the drinking age is here is eighteen, but wine and beer can be consumed as early as sixteen. Drinking to get drunk is not encouraged or admired whatsoever, which is also very different than what I’m used to at Rutgers. Last Saturday, I went to a bar with a friend from Rutgers under the recommendation of my group leader from the Welcome Program. The culture of the bar was really quite opposite from that of a Rutgers frat party. I only wish that my Anthropology major roomie was there to observe all the nuances in the interactions between women and men here. Guys here are not at all like the stereotypical guys from Rutgers – for now I’ll leave it at that.

There is a stark contrast in the size of everything here as compared to New York, or the United States, more generally speaking. For one, the buildings are tiny here. After being in New York so often, even the Eiffel Tower seems short. The distances to get to places are short too – Paris is a small city, which becomes much smaller with the help of the very easy-to-use metro. Even the quantities in which people shop here are small, with most patrons buying only a few items at a time when needed. This is completely opposite to the Costco / Walmart way of shopping in the US, but it’s just another adjustment.

The last adjustment I have yet to make is the way women are treated in Paris. It’s really the one thing I don’t love about living here. Here, people stare. A lot. I would not strongly identify myself as a feminist back home, but being a girl has never directly made me feel like a victim in the States. For example, when I was moving into my apartment, the taxi driver was really nice, and I was having a great conversation with him in French. Being the naïve person I am, I thought nothing of his kindness, until he started asking me questions about having a boyfriend, either in Paris or back home. Later, when he asked me about making friends in school, he informed me that the only reason I have friends here is because I’m a girl. The point is - I don’t think he meant to offend me in any way – this is just the way girls are treated here, and it will definitely take some time getting used to it. Besides this hiccup, I’m totally in love with Paris, and already feel like I will want to stay here longer than my short semester.

Tonight, a group at Sciences Po organized a party on a boat in the Seine going from midnight to 6 a.m.

God, I love this city.

  Bises,

Daria

It's official folks! Just purchased my ticket...I will be spending my mid semester (Spring) break at Airlie Beach in Queensland, Australia! I'm traveling with three of my friends that I have made at UC. Hopefully it will be a week filled with laying out on the beach, exploring the extensive wildlife of the Great Barrier Reef, and  hiking through a National park. As I enter my fifth week in Oz with a cold this trip gives me something to look forward to *as I blow my nose for the billionth time.*

I’ve only been in Paris for two days, but already there is so much to say about my time here. Shortly after my last post, a few other students on this trip from Rutgers arrived. We weren’t supposed to check into our “room” at the hostel until the rest of our bill was paid by our program director, who was planning to pick us up at 18:00, but luckily, I was able to talk the receptionist into letting us put our luggage there around 14:30. (By the way, getting used to the clock here is strange, and I don’t think there will ever be a time when I do not convert it back to 12-hour time in my head.) I say “room” with quotations because you would too. The place has six cots in the form of three sets of bunk beds, all covered in red and black plaid sheets that make you feel itchy just to look at them. There is a toilet and a shower down the hall, shared with a room of a bunch of boys who are blasting really bad rap music right now. The shower is quite lovely and dispenses water for you every time you hold down the button…only when you hold down the button. Also, there is one shared key to the room, and every time the last person from the room leaves the place, she has to give the key back to the receptionist. This detail isn’t too much of a big deal for me because everyone in my room is from Rutgers, but I can’t imagine ever doing this with someone random that I don’t know. So yeah – the hostel isn’t the best, but it isn’t the worst and at least I have a time to sleep for the time being.

When our program director came on Thursday night, she took us out to dinner with a former graduate of both Rutgers and Sciences Po, and also a current Rutgers student who studied in Paris this summer and will continue to study here for the next semester or two. On the way to dinner, we crossed strolled through the grounds of the Louvre, crossed the Seine, and explored the Sciences Po area in the 6th arrondissement. The school is comprised of a few buildings mostly centered in one area, with a few buildings just a couple minutes away walking distance. At the café, I ordered a salad with goat cheese baked into of a few pieces of toast and the most dense mousse au chocolat EVER, all on Rutgers’ tab...niceeee. We barely made it back to our hostel because we were all so tired and jetlagged, but on the way back we crossed this cool bridge on which romantics hang locks around the fence to symbolize their eternal love. I wonder if people go back and unlock them when they break up? I know they do that on a similar bridge in Kiev, but there were so many locks, that I felt most people just leave them up. Some of the fences on the bridge were so weighed down that they had to drill boards over them. I still think it’s a cute idea though :) That night, I discovered the aforementioned world’s most inconvenient shower, and passed out soon afterwards, only to then wake up at 1:30 and stay awake for several more hours.

The next day was all over the place. We went to our first day of Sciences Po orientation. I took note that pretty much everyone was extremely well-dressed, which is especially true of the men. A bunch of people spoke to us, including the President, who told us all an anecdote implying that we may find our future husbands and wives at this school… let’s wait and see I guess. We then broke up into groups at one point and I got to meet a lot of cool people from all over the world – Tokyo, Berlin, Rio, even Wisconsin! Everyone was really nice and seemed into the idea of having a fun time abroad, so I’m really excited for the weekends to come.

The rest of that day was spent freaking out, getting a SIM card (which was the most annoying schlep ever), looking for housing, and freaking out more. End Day Two.

Today, I met again with my program director in the morning. She took us out to the Bastille for some coffee (on Rutgers again, thanks Rutgers!) and a walk through the open air market. For those of you who know, this market was a lot like the market in Union Square, but bigger and more French, I guess. After that walk, I went to look at an apartment (EVERYONE KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED FOR ME PLEASE) and then I meandered through the streets of Paris for several hours. My meandering took me through a park, to the Eiffel Tower (where I actually started tearing up from the sheer realization that I now live in Paris), across the street to the Theatre National de Chaillot, to a café for a pit stop before checking out the Arc de Triomphe and continuing on for a stroll down the Champs-Elysées. “Il est a tout ce que vous voulez au Champs-Elysées” is right because this street is lined with stores like Louis Vuitton, Häagen Dazs, Disney, Sephora, you name it – it’s there. Side note: along this street and many, many others are the posters for the French version of the Fault in Our Stars, Nos Etoiles Contraires – I’d see it in French, but I don’t have my roommate there to listen to me curse and cry at the same time. Anyway, going to all those places today was awesome because I heard so many different languages floating past me. Truly, like New York, this city attracts people from all over the world. The diversity of the people around me is something to admire and is a bit reminiscent of Manhattan, especially in the more touristy areas. After all that walking, I hopped on a metro and headed towards my temporary home in the hostel to relax for a while. Right now I’m going to go explore some more with my friend, but not before we eat.

I love this city already.

  Bises,

I made it to Paris! I'm in total shock from being here again. And this time I get to be here for FOUR MONTHS! 

The flight was alright. With a little technological difficulty, I watched Catching Fire in French to begin my linguistic transition. I tried to sleep, but that didn't really work out. After my flight, I got dropped off at the youth hostel I'll be living in for the next ten days. I thought I would be able to walk around and explore a bit today, but I can't check in until 2:30 (or 14:30, I guess) and my luggage isn't exactly in the most trustworthy of places right now. At the moment, I'm sitting just down the street at a cafe, marking the first of many cafe au laits to be enjoyed on this trip. More importantly though, I'm loving the free wifi, which was the reason I came here in the first place. (Gotta make sure the 'rents know I'm alive and safe).

So far, I've been speaking French to everyone I've had to talk to and no one has switched to English on me: success. Four semesters of college-level French are finally being put to the test, and so far, it's not so bad. I can understand pretty much everything people have said to me, and I think they've been able to understand me too. I cannot wait until I stop getting anxious every time I speak French to someone - that's how I'll know I feel really comfortable with it. Hopefully, that moment will come soon. I've been out of the French game since May, but I think being here for a few days will be enough to jolt my memory. 

There are a lot of things I need to get done in the next few days: get a SIM card, get my student ID card, find an apartment, and a bunch of other important stuff that will likely give me a headache. Can't complain though, because I'm already falling in love with this city all over again. 

Tonight, I'll be having dinner with my adviser and the other Rutgers students on the trip (I think there's five of us attending Sciences Po). That'll probably be the most helpful time for me to understand what I still need to do and how I can do it in the best and most efficient way possible. Adulthood, COME AT ME.

More updates to come!

Written yesterday when I was at a loss for Wi-Fi:

I am currently sitting in gate two, terminal one of the JFK airport. I already checked my just under 50 pound suitcase, went through security, and bought an $11 sandwich. I guess I’m ready for my flight.

These past couple of months, every minute was more stressful than the last. The week building up to my departure was an absolute mess, with more worrying than I ever thought possible. It was truly a test of my mental strength. Mostly, I’m scared because I don’t have anywhere to go when I get to Paris. For the program I’m in, I’m given ten days in a hostel, during which time I have to find myself a place to live for the next four months. So I was nervous for most of the past few weeks. Strangely though, now that I’m sitting in the airport waiting for my flight, I’m starting to feel that bubbling excitement in my stomach. I’m excited to meet new people, to see unbelievable buildings, to take amazing classes (some in French, mon dieu), to explore the world, and to find a new perspective. I’m excited for what Paris has to offer, and for what I have to offer that beautiful city.

Wow – I’m going to be living in Paris. It sounds crazy, but that little fact of life still hasn’t really hit me yet. Even sitting here about to board my flight, I’m still not convinced. This past week saw many goodbyes and many tears. Actually, this whole summer was a series of goodbyes. People told me that college is a time for change, a time to become the person you want to be; but now, that idea seems all too real. My friend, Alex, moved to Florida for a few months to work at Disney World this summer. Nicole, the other broad, as you know, is in studying in Australia and our friend, Zara, transferred to a school up north. Everything is changing. I don’t necessarily want to stop it, but adjusting is a process.

This summer was a rollercoaster, but through thick and thin, I’ve had the best friends and family by my side. Moving away from everything I ever knew is pretty terrifying, but I’m doing it because I know I have so much support coming from so many people. Thank you everyone for all your love, and know that I wouldn’t be doing this without you all.

Here’s to the trip of a lifetime. I’ll take pictures :)

Catch you on the flipside,

           For those of you back home that are accustomed to using the words college and university as synonyms I just want to clarify that that is not how it works down here. I am receiving my education from the University of Melbourne, I live at one of the university's Colleges. (Hint: college = dorm)  

           For the next four months I will be eating, sleeping, socializing, and possibly studying in my new digs with 200 other students. One difference in the collegiate systems  of the U.S. and Australia is that there is not a huge on-campus residential population in Australia, it is much more common to commute to school. So, I am very lucky in that I get to stay at one of the few colleges here on campus.

           One of the biggest perks of living at a college is the sense of community it fosters. Had I been living with one or two other people in an apartment in the city I would probably have spent the last 2 weeks holed up in my room studying alone, having made no friends. Fortunately, that has not been the case.

           Upon arrival at college I quickly met two other international students, both from the US. Now, don't worry, I am not just sticking with people from my country in a little American bubble of baseball and apple pie. It was, however, easier to make friends with the other International students in my first few days as we were all in the same boat of wanting to explore the city, having to attend orientation programs and needing to learn the names of the other 180 Aussies living with us.After getting over the initial jitters of having to make an entire set of new friends, (the horror, Freshman year all over again!) I have been having a grand old time.

Hi everyone. Yes I am still alive down here in Melbourne, Australia, I have not, in fact, been eaten by a shark or mangled by a Drop bear. I have just been a really lousy blogger. My bad. But now I am stepping up to the metaphorical mic and am prepared to spill the beans on all of my wild and crazy adventures!(Of which there are a lot because I’ve already been here for an entire month.)

    Alas, I am not the talented writer that my roommate and bestie Daria is, (see posts below) so I will primarily be posting short, train-of-thought excerpts from my travel log (just call me the new William Faulkner). But! Not to fear - I will compensate for the lack of verbosity with pictures!

    Anyway, now that I have got the ball rolling, keep an eye out for some more posts to come...and let’s not forget that Daria takes off for Paris in a mere 10 days!