France Summer Session Rambling

I grew up in an unconventional household, I was raised by my grandparents. Growing up we never traveled, the furthest place we had ever gone was to Disneyland, which was roughly 20 miles away. That being said I never really thought I would ever have the opportunity to study abroad, sure I could dream about it but I never thought it was an option for me. 

When I first told my family about wanting to study abroad they were initially uneasy. They were worried since it would be my first time out of the United States and in their eyes I would be on my own. It took a while to reassure them that I would be fine, that there was a support system with the school that I could turn to should any problems arise. 

I was excited to finally get stamps on my passport and see the places I had only seen in movies. It was a dream come true and it was an experience I would never trade for anything else.

My preparation to travel thousands of miles wasn’t too extensive. I packed weather appropriate clothes, essential toiletries, and made sure that I had enough film for the trip! I didn’t want to overpack because I knew I would be bringing back a lot of souvenirs. During this time I started brushing up on my French again, I had previously studied for 3 years back in high school and I was pretty rusty. My French accent was never really the best and I felt self-conscious about it. 

Knowing French in Paris was not completely necessary but it was very useful. In stores and at restaurants I would speak to them in French and they would respond in so, but much faster. I would understand half of what they said and by context clues figure out the rest. There were instances where I could not just understand and they kindly switched over to English. Many Parisians are more than willing to switch over to English, just remember to at least make an attempt and have basic manners.

-Kimberly Ramirez