Bonjour tout le monde! My first day in France was 13/01/2020. I am studying abroad through CIEE’s Rennes program. This program includes 3 days of orientation in Paris!

The Flight

Departure: I spent most of 12/01/2020 in the Newark International Airport. I was lucky to have my friend Bri from school, who is doing the same program, join me on the flight. We didn't sit next to each other, but I slept through most of the flight anyway. It was only a six hour flight and we departed at 6:25 p.m., but because of time zones it would be 6:30 a.m. the next morning. I made sure to sleep so I wouldn't be a complete zombie the next day.

Arrival: We arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. I was really surprised the security only checked my passport and visa and not the other documents I had with me. After grabbing our bags we went to the gate the directors of the program picked us up at. The shuttle that's a part of the airport was really nice because we had to take it to the complete other side. Others from the program started to meet up with us in front of Paul, which is a coffee and patisserie franchise. I ordered there for the first time speaking only in French. I was so freaking nervous and the cashier could definitely tell that I wasn't a native, but hey I still got my chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) and pains au chocolat. 🙂

Small wins really matter for immersion. You can’t let little mistakes get to you because they are bound to happen. It means you’re learning.

The directors arrived and oh my goodness they are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. The assistant director is so sweet and adorable and the director is very sympathetic and he smiles all the time :). I love them so much. They established not long after their arrival that we would only speak in French from that point on. The group is made up of mostly girls and one boy. Right from the start, they seemed like genuinely really nice people and I’m so happy that they are a part of the program.

We waited until everyone arrived and then we were shuttled to the MIJE hostel in Paris. I honestly really liked the hostel. I shared a room with two other girls and the rooms were key card accessible. We had a shower and sink in the bathroom, but the toilet was in it’s own little room in the hallway. We ate lunch at the hostel and the food was pretty good. I may have mistaken the dressing as soup and made a bowl of dressing haha. I realized it right away after I filled up the bowl. At least I didn’t realize by eating it. I swear it looked like cream of spinach. After lunch we had a meeting and signed contracts that also helped us make a promise to ourselves that we would only speak in French as long as it’s possible while we are here. This is so we can get the most out of our immersive experience. We also discussed academic and personal goals for the semester.

My Goals

1. Do what I always do academically and stay on top of things
2. Don’t stress (if you know me personally, you know this really isn’t possible but I’ma try)
3. Speak French as much as possible (English only with family/friends at home)
4. Stay active and row

After the meeting, some people in the group took naps or others like me went on a walk to see Notre-Dame with the assistant director. On our walk we ended up seeing the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I was immediately overwhelmed with emotions and I started to tear up because it didn’t feel real. The Eiffel Tower has been a big symbol for me for most of my life. The thought of seeing it in person is what helped me get through a lot of hard times in my life and it’s what motivated me to work hard in my French studies. I knew that studying French would be the key to getting to France one day and be able to see and touch something that was absolutely completely out of reach growing up.

I wasn’t able to see the Eiffel Tower up close yet because parts of the metro were closed down due to some strikes that had been occurring. But I can promise you that I will be returning and I’m most likely going to fall onto my knees and sob once it’s right in front of me. Notre-Dame is so much bigger than I had originally thought. I can’t wait to see inside one day after the restorations from the fire are done.

Petit Itinéraire (Little Itinerary)

• The first night we ate dinner at Le Baricou: : brioche bread with vanilla ice cream for dessert

• Breakfast (hot chocolate, bread/croissant, cereal, yogurt) & lunch at MIJE
• Meeting with the group in the morning: discussion on how to greet and interact with our host families
• Two tours in French: Le Marais & L’Hôtel de Ville de Paris
• Saw the Arc de Trimphe
• Dinner the second at Fuxia (Italian Restaurant)

A tiny bit lost in Paris

After the tours, some people decided to nap again and a small group including me, decided to go with the assistant director to see l’Arc de Triomphe. Everything was fine until we got to the metro. We didn’t realize how pact the train car was, so the door was about to close behind me and leave one of the girls (Claire) behind. I told the assistant director very quickly I would stay with Claire. The two of us took the next metro, but we realized we didn’t know what stop we had to go to. I heard the assistant director say something about the Champs-Élysées, so we got off at that stop. We were hoping to see them as soon as we got there, but they weren’t to be seen (they ended up getting off at the next stop on the line).

Claire was having a hard time trying to get a hold of our assistant director and we didn’t have access to GPS on our phones, so we decided to walk down the street that led to the Tombeau de Napoleon (I did not know that that’s what it was at the time). We didn’t realize l’Arc de Triomphe was in the other direction. We stopped once we got to the Pont Alexandre III (bridge), mostly because it was the closest view we have had of the Eiffel tower so far. I started to tear up again. At that point I felt like we got lost for a reason. We stayed and admired it for a little bit and then started back on our hunt for L’Arc.

We walked towards the direction of the Eiffel Tower and then turned right down one of the streets back towards the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. At some point we decided to look at the map the directors gave us. We didn’t do that at first because we didn’t want to look like tourists and draw attention to ourselves. I decided to look up at some point and look down both sides of the street where we were and said “Oh my gosh Claire, it’s right there.” On our way towards l’Arc de Triomphe we stopped at the toilets by the shops. You have to pay two euros to use the freaking bathroom there. I had to go really bad so Claire paid for me since I didn’t have euros yet and they didn’t accept card. I made sure to venmo her later that night.

After leaving les toilettes, somehow Claire’s phone was able to receive a call from our assistant director. This woman is so adorable, she was so worried about us. We knew she was probably freaking out right after the doors of the metro closed. The group was able to meet us by the Sephora not very long after the call ended. They had already seen L’Arc de Triomphe, but they were fine with going back to see it again. This also worked out because they went to go see the spot that Claire and I had the view of the Eiffel Tower earlier. We didn’t go onto L’Arc, but I’ll be able to do that another time when I’m in Paris.

Chartered off to Rennes

The third day, we started on our way to Rennes. We ate breakfast at MIJE and then loaded onto the bus. We made a stop in Chartres and had a guided tour in English of La Cathédrale Notre–Dame de Chartres. The church is so stunning and I’m happy to have heard some of the stories that are pictured in the stained glass windows. I hope to return and explore Chartres more and see the Cathedral again.

After arriving in Rennes, we were dropped off at the University where we will be studying. Our home-stay hosts were waiting there to take us home. Tune in for the next blog to read about how that went.

À bientôt!

– Nicole