À Bientôt

Dear Paris,

If you don’t remember me, my name is Jenna Hughes and just two weeks ago I was running around your streets. I was making memories, trying to use French to the best of my abilities (even when I sucked) and becoming more and more confident in myself. However, now I am writing to you from the U.S.A. ( sadly :/ ).

I just wanted to say thank you for everything. Thank you for helping me to meet Max, Silvia and Izzy     (some of my newest and closest friends ). Thank you to my history teacher, Fabrice, for always making history class fun and exciting. Thank you to Le Cimetière Montparnasse for being the first place I visited in Paris. Thank you to the Les Frères Blavette on Rue Daguerre (or as my friends and I like to call it, the ‘blue café’) for the countless in-between class snacks. Thank you to the lady in the papeterie who taught me that a journal for class notes is called un cahier NOT un carnet. Thank you to the random men who would jump on the métro and play songs on the accordion at any time of the day. Thank you to the uneven roads and sidewalks that caused me to fall nine times (and yes, I kept track because it started happening so often). Thank you to the Eiffel Tower for always brightening my day. Thank you to the countless art museums scattered throughout the city for making sure I was never bored and always had something to do. Thank you to the restaurant, Bistrot Victoires who introduced me to salmon tartare because as it turns out, that is one of my new favorite meals. Thank you to the man at the crêpe stand who taught me that strawberries in a glaze are called les fraises concentrées. Thank you for baguettes that could be found at any boulangerie throughout the city. Thank you to my host mom Claire who practiced speaking French with me at our dinners together. And most importantly, thank you for helping me become the person that I want to be, confident and fearless. 

And this isn’t goodbye forever or even goodbye. This is simply see you soon or à bientôt. I will be back, I promise.

Avec amour,

Jenna  :)

Studying abroad was one of the best experiences I have had to date. I gained so much new French knowledge, made amazing lifetime friends and grew as a person in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I can not recommend studying abroad enough, so just do it! Wherever you decide to study, whether it be in Italy, Japan, Australia or any other country, I wish you the best of luck!

And thanks to everyone who has supported me through this journey and followed along as I have documented my experiences through this blog!

For the last time,

Bisous, XOXO