Okay, maybe not all of it, but people have definitely left out important and, often not, interesting information about this city in their books.
So I figured, why not try to share them with you guys.
1. If you don't go to a program where it's all French 100% of the time, then chances are you are not going to learn as much French as you thought you were going to. I'm studying abroad in a program where my classes are in English and only 1 class is French. I would have loved to join the other programs where you have to sign a contract to ONLY speak French, but unfortunately I didn't qualify in the requirements. I have however improved my French, but because the people I hang out with like to speak only English, in the end, I still suck at making proper sentences. In my head, I am amazing! But once my mouth opens, it is nothing close to what I wanted to say.
2. The metro is absolutely easy to master. The beauty about Paris is that they have an amazing metro system that puts the US to shame. I can hop on a random train and know that I will eventually get home. Plus their maps on every station and every tunnel is so clear. It's kind of hard not to get lost. It may seem intimidating at first, but trust me, after awhile you realize you had nothing to worry about. You know, until one of the stations shuts down and everyone starts to panic.
3. Women are ridiculous here in terms of shoes. They like to wear heels no matter what and let me tell you, I've tried wearing some for a night out and I will not be doing that again for a very long time. The sidewalks can be a mix of cobblestones and cement so they can trap your heels and cause sudden death. Last week it snowed and they still decided to wear heels in this weather, even if they had to shuffle everywhere. Who are you trying to impress?! Tell me! Who?!
4. Speaking of snow, Paris doesn't know how to react to it when it does come. Very rarely will you get snow that sticks and last week, I swear, Paris had a coronary when it happened. Metro's were slow. Sidewalks were slippery. People were in constant chaos. Okay, not really, but the transportation was not happening that day. And you know what the funny thing was? It all melted the next day.
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| C'mon son. This ain't Chicago. |
But it does like to hail over here.
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| And you think I'm playing, right? |
5. Moving on from snow, the weather here is bipolar. It can be 30 degrees Fahrenheit one week and the next we are in the 60s. It may rain for a period and then the sun will appear for a good hour, only to disappear once again. If you're studying abroad in the Spring, remember there is still the Winter period before you actually get to the good weather. So don't listen to anyone who tells you to not bring any sweaters and long sleeved shirts. They are liars! Bring every piece of warm clothing you own because even if it's not that cold outside, it definitely will be inside. Electricity is very expensive in Paris, so where ever you end up living in, the heater will most likely be turned down very low where you end up sleeping in a hoodie, sweatpants, and socks. Oh, and bring an umbrella! No seriously, just do it.
6. Everything is expensive. A couple of French people even say that Paris is ridiculously expensive for no apparent reason. I absolutely agree. Considering that my USD has to change into euros, I became broke increasingly fast; especially when I remembered that I don't come from a family that lives in a castle and owns 10 cars. That was a reality check.
But then again:
Now I'm not telling you all of this to complain (okay maybe a little bit), but I thought these would have been nice things to know before I got here. Paris is still a wonderful city and I am still amazed that I made it here. I have definitely grown a lot during my stay here and this trip will forever be ingrained in my head. Paris has increased my passion to travel some more and I may take up on that feeling next year when I will be getting ready to graduate college.
