Settling In!

Hey! It’s been about a month in Paris so far, and there’s definitely a lot for me to unpack, so I’ll split this post in half (if not thirds). Also, I probably should have written this post sooner, but things got pretty busy in the first few weeks. From here on out, I can definitely be more consistent.

Firstly, for better or for worse, I had very few expectations in the days leading up to this semester. Obviously, I knew I wanted to meet new folks, have a good time, and work on my French, but regarding the details, I got a little lost in the sauce during pre-departure, if I’m being honest. From my perspective, there was a lot of information being thrown at me, whether it was about classes, housing, health insurance, packing, and the like, so it was difficult to retain everything (or anything). 

In these first weeks, I’ve realized how staying here is a prime example of something that you just have to experience for yourself because it’s almost impossible to fully imagine what aspects of daily life, such as the daily commute or the housing situation or what school in the campus site, are like without actually being there and seeing them for yourself.

One of the things that has pleasantly surprised me in these first couple of weeks is the number of other students who are in the IES Abroad Paris program. Throughout pre-departure, I never had a good understanding of how many other American students I was going to be around. In my case, details such as how many other students I would be living near or the class sizes really flew over my head, so when I arrived at orientation and saw a sea of friendly American students, it was honestly a big relief. I would say, based on orientation, there are a little over 100 students in the program with me, who come from a variety of different colleges and states, which has been awesome. As someone who was an orientation leader last year for my home university, I have to say that my orientation in Paris felt a lot like I was a freshman again. Those first few days were great - I was able to meet tons of new people and explore the city a little with them. Even though there were a lot of things on in my mind at the time, such as what I would eat every day, where I could go to the gym, or where I could get work done, orientation was a great introduction to the semester (despite the monotony of the PowerPoint slides we had to sit through). 

Another thing that I was pleasantly surprised with was my housing. My housing is a little special since I opted to live in a residence hall (called The Social Hub) rather than an apartment. However, this building isn’t some typical college dorm - it’s essentially a hotel and has furnished rooms, balconies, a receptionist, a pool, a gym, and a study/lounge area, among other amenities. I know I’m not overselling the luxury of this building, because, in addition to the IES Abroad and other international students living in this building, there are also travelers checking in and out for business trips, vacations, etc. So far, my housing has provided me with almost everything I need, and I’ve been able to shop around a little at the local supermarkets to fill in the gaps.

It might sound like I hit the housing lottery, and, in some ways, I feel like I did. However, what I’ve come to realize from talking to other students in IES Abroad is that, among all the housing options that we were originally offered, there are pros and cons to each option. Although some pros (such as the TV in my bedroom) can definitely outweigh certain cons, this can work in reverse, too, and it ultimately comes down to personal preference. Some advice that I would give to future study abroad students is to try to do at least some basic research on the area where the housing is located as well as what kind of lifestyle you’re looking for. 

For instance, one of the biggest cons to living in The Social Hub is that I’m actually located in a suburb of Paris called Puteaux, which means I live outside of the inner city lines. As someone who didn’t realize how big Paris is, it wasn’t great finding out that my commute, which is a mix of walking and riding the metro, is 45 minutes long. For me, this hasn’t been a massive issue since I’ve been able to stay on top of my sleep schedule for my morning classes, and I’ve also been enjoying listening to some podcasts, such as Modern Wisdom with Chris Williamson and The Huberman Lab with Andrew Huberman. Every time I face the unpleasantry of having to wake up over an hour before my morning class at 7:30 A.M., I have to remember how lucky I am at the end of the day to have all the amenities I have, even compared to other IES Abroad students.

I will admit it was difficult to stay cheery in the last few summer days when the metro was crowded and essentially became a microwave on wheels (no AC), but when I’m able to crawl under my hotel-style covers and watch a movie on my TV at night, I’m reminded how fortunate I am to be in France studying abroad. Needless to say, I’ve settled in nicely.