Living in Paris

Overall, my time in Paris with IES was a great experience. The IES Center is in a great location on Rue Daguerre, which is a really cool market street. There were always plenty of options for lunch - especially bakeries with traditional French sandwiches and pastries. As far as classes go, the professors were all very nice and willing to talk to us about differences between France and the United States. One of my favorite classes was “Paris Museums” because we spent time in class learning about French art history and then on some evenings during the week, we went to museums to see the actual artwork that we learned about in class. It was so helpful to go through these museums with a professor that could actually tell you about what you were looking at. I probably would not have visited all of the museums we went to on my own, so the class was a great way to see more of Paris. Taking classes solely in French and having to write papers and give presentations in French was also a great way to improve my French and really feel fluent in the language.

I also had an internship while I was in Paris, which is one of the best things I did. I worked there 2 afternoons per week after my classes and all day on Friday (there are no classes at IES on Friday). It was great to get to work with French people and learn about the differences between business culture in America and France. They kept me busy with a variety of tasks including translating documents, designing the newsletter, and posting things on their website and Facebook page. This was such great work experience for the future as well!

My homestay was also a pretty good experience overall. The apartment was in a very nice neighborhood in the 16th arr. and was located very close to two different metro lines, which made getting around the city very convenient. My metro ride to my classes everyday had an above-ground portion that went right by the Eiffel Tower! My host mom was a really good cook and was very nice. However, I was a little disappointed with my homestay overall because I had put on my homestay application that I would prefer to be treated like “family” as opposed to like a “guest.” Although I felt comfortable in the apartment, I never really felt like family and, apart from the required 3 dinners per week, I didn’t feel like my host mom really made much of an effort to show me and my housemate around our neighborhood or Paris at all. But overall, I felt safe and comfortable in my homestay.