Paris is a city well known by Americans and by citizens of every country spanning from Argentina to Timor-Leste. Everyone knows about the City of Lights and its iconic sites: the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre; but for 54 Boston University students who landed in France on Jan. 8 (except for four of us who landed a day late due to canceled flights, thank you Boston weather), Paris is home for the next four months.
My name is Jon Hauser, and for the next four months I will be chronicling my adventures here in Paris and beyond as I complete the Paris Internship Program. Over the next four months, I hope to enlighten the BU community with how life in Paris operates, clarify the nuances of French culture and, of course, talk about what it is like to work in a foreign country. This past semester I was in Grenoble, France, so I have already adapted to the French way of life, but differences do exist between the two cities and I am excited to explore how the different regions of France interact. I miss Grenoble, but I know that many adventures await me here in Paris.
After a rough start with a late arrival and Wi-Fi issues (because as a millennial, I need Netflix and contact with my boyfriend and friends back home), I have gotten myself settled in. Here are a few observations I’ve made so far as well as a few goals for myself:
1. Paris is a whole new world.
Grenoble was a smaller city of about 150,000 citizens, and I felt very much at home in that quaint city. But now I am in Paris, a city of more than 2 million people. It is a much busier, bustling city with a faster pace of life and many more crowded subways. While this difference struck me at first, I am prepared to adjust my concepts of personal space in order to become a true Parisian. In adapting to this personal space, my goal is to not get pickpocketed, a very common occurrence in a tourist-filled city like Paris.
2. I have symptoms of being homesick (for BU).
Even after spending four months abroad and adjusting to being homesick, going home for three weeks slightly reverted my mindset. I was able to see my family, my dogs, my friends and my boyfriend. In my mind, I have done a hard reset and again, having four months to go until I see them. Luckily my boyfriend will be visiting me halfway through the program over spring break, so instead of four months apart ,we only have to do two. But still, I know that my BU-homesickness and even a little bit of Grenoble-homesickness will pull on my heartstrings.
3. French food is to die for.
Exactly as I wrote while in Grenoble, French food is to die for. While the food palate is slightly different in Paris compared to Grenoble, French food is still amazing. The fresh baguettes that cost less than a euro are indescribably delicious. I am going to have to buy myself a gym membership to counteract all of the eating I will be doing this semester. We will see how that goes, considering how much I want to travel.
Overall, the beginning of this study abroad adventure has been a success despite the small bumps I have encountered. Will there be other obstacles? Yes, undoubtedly so. But I know that by the end of this experience I will have likely fulfilled the cliché storyline that every study abroad semester entails: learning not only about the host country, but also about yourself.
