GPS requirement for school: SLO 9: “The narrative should address how the student 'crossed borders' - how the cultural differences impacted the study.”

While in Paris, I definitely did accustom to a few of the cultural differences and learned the local way to do things.  One thing that I found different and had to kind of adjust to was the time that people generally eat dinner.  Typically at home most people eat between 5-7, but in Paris, they tend to eat dinner a little later.  An example that portrays this is once again, Pizza 30 (where we often went for a quick dinner if we got out of class late), was closed everyday between 1 and 6 because people don't usually eat dinner until after 6.  I guess it wasn't really hard to adjust to this because we typically didn't get out of class until 6-8 anyway, but I did find that I would start getting hungry about 5-6 seeing as that is when I typically eat dinner at home.  I feel like people are up very late in Paris, which makes it easier to understand why they eat dinner later.  When I came home it was kind of weird adjusting back to eating dinner at the same time as my family did because I had gotten used to eating a little later from being in Paris for a month.  It took me a little while to get back on my normal schedule once I returned home.  One thing that I had to try to adjust to was the metro.  Taking the metro is the absolute worst, I don't know how people do it every single day of their lives.  I guess you could say taking the metro is one "cultural difference which was hard to resolve".  People pushed, shoved, ran, fell, leaned, and basically just invaded any personal space you had.  I honestly don't understand how people can be so extremely rude to other human beings.  Don't get me wrong, there were a few kind people who offered me their seat when they saw that I had crutches, but the majority of the people were just flat out rude.  At first I was just personally offended, but towards the end of the month I started to be a little pushy back to them, but not near as pushy as they were.  Overall I learned a lot on how much cultures differ and how difficult it is to adjust and accept other cultures, but I also learned how informative and amazing it is to travel and learn how other cultures work.  Although there were some tough times and things that were hard to accustom to, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!

GPS requirement for school: SLO 10. “Show an awareness of environmental and cultural responsibility.”

I don't really know exactly how to answer one of the questions in the description, "how does my being here affect people who live here?".  I ran into a mixture of answers to this question, so I will just describe my experiences with both sides.  Some people that I met loved getting to know us Americans and talking to us as we did them, but others were just rude and wanted nothing to do with us.  The employees at Pizza 30 which I discussed in one of my previous posts, loved hanging out with us and helping us learn french and the French culture and they also loved asking us questions and getting to know the American culture as well.  The things that they found kind of odd about our culture was how little we cared about soccer and how we drank coffee.  Every single place we went to eat, hang out, anything, had the world cup soccer games on the TV and when we didn't seem to care about it they thought it was strange and asked what kind of sports are more popular in America.  We explained to them that football is one of the biggest sports here that people get really into.  On one of our last days in Paris, we were at Pizza 30 and the one guy who always chatted with us asked us about drinking coffee and gave us a free cup of espresso.  The cup was so teeny tiny and when we were discussing that, he asked us how we usually drank coffee, so we explained to him that we typically drink regular coffee with sugar and milk or some type of creamer in large servings instead of very strong espresso in very small servings.  He found this to be very interesting and I also enjoyed getting to try the espresso, which was actually delicious!  Seeing as majority of the people I encountered spoke at least some english, I think that most of them do kind of embrace aspects of the American culture and seeing as there are McDonald's pretty much within walking distance of many places it is evident that they are embraced in our culture as well.

GPS requirement for school: SLO 8: “Demonstrate the ability to collaborate effectively across cultures.”

On one of the last few days in Paris, I had the amazing opportunity to work the Henrik Vibskov fashion show, which required me to work with people from multiple different cultures.  This made the experience of working a fashion show in Paris during men's fashion week even more amazing.  I will admit trying to communicate effectively with people who don't speak english that well became difficult at times, but we worked through it and made it work!  One way that we made this work is by using a lot of hand gestures and trying to explain things in depth on both sides, which was extremely helpful.  I found that using visuals and talking with your hands is one of the most helpful things when being in a foreign country where you are constantly trying to communicate with people in different languages.  Also, one of my classmates was from Romania, so I got to learn a lot about her culture and also got to help her with her english and learning about our culture.  When we first started, she wasn't that great at speaking english, so working on class projects with her was a little difficult at first, but she got a lot better and towards the end it was so much easier to communicate with her for school work and just everyday conversations.  It was a cool feeling knowing that I helped her in little ways with learning how to effectively communicate in english and it was also interesting to ask her about her culture.  When we would ask her certain things about her culture and we found them very different from ours we would try to understand and do things the way she would so that she would not always feel like she had to adjust to our language and culture, but that we were also trying to learn and adjust to hers.  An example of this is eating habits....she said she puts ketchup on basically everything, so I tried some odd combinations of food with ketchup that she found totally normal.  Like I previously said, it is definitely challenging to work with individuals from other cultures, but if you try your hardest, you can make it something wonderful.

GPS requirement for school: SLO 5: “Demonstrate familiarity with communication styles and values of one culture other than their own.”

I learned a lot about the french communication styles.  One thing that I really noticed was how much they talk with their hands, I thought a lot of people in America (including myself) used a lot of gestures when talking, but that is nothing compared to the French.  Another thing that I thought was interesting was the fact that they are very distinctive between "good evening" and "good night".  Here for example, when I am at work and it is 6 in the evening I will often times say "have a good night" instead of "have a good evening", but when I did this in Paris (in french of course), they would correct me and tell me to say "good evening" because saying "good night" meant that you were going to go to bed.  I found this very interesting seeing as here in America, we often use these sayings interchangeably.  

GPS requirement for school-SLO 4: “Knowing that communication styles vary by culture”

The communication styles her are definitely different than they are in the US.  The biggest difference that I have noticed every single day is how little they value their personal space.  I have never been touching so many strangers at once which I know sounds weird, but there is no other way to describe it.  The metro is by far my absolute least favorite thing about Paris for oh so many reasons.  The metro is pretty much almost always packed with people literally busting out of the doors when they open, which is quite a challenge let me tell you (especially when you are on crutches).  Not only are you like literally laying on complete strangers and not to be rude, but a lot of the time they smell quite unpleasant.  The metro has so many different odors going on that it is just a space filled with bad, bad smells and sweaty people touching you.  I can't be on it for too long without needing to get out of there and be in my own personal space bubble.  After being here for a while and riding the metro every day, I really appreciate the fact that I can have all the personal space I want at home and when I need to go somewhere I can go in the privacy of my own good smelling car.

SLO 3: gps requirement for school

You know how at a restaurant or a store in America when we go to pay for our items we either put it in the little folder thing (at restaurants) or at the store we just hand the cashier our money, hand to hand?  Well that is not the case in Paris.  At the bakery we visit frequently, when I go to pay for my items there is a little glass dish laying on the counter which you are supposed to place your money in and then they put your change in that same dish instead of handing it to one another.  I did not even realize this until probably a week ago and then felt a little embarrassed that I had been doing it wrong the whole time.  These glass dishes are not just used at places such as the bakery...they are used in majority of the restaurants or cafe's as well.  I find it strange that they use them at restaurants instead of the little folder things we use in America, so it is interesting to see how many little but important differences there are culturally.

Being a tourist

Yesterday was probably my best day here!  We decided to go to the world's largest Chipotle, and the most touristy thing of all, the Eiffel Tower.  Taking the metro to Chipotle was a little challenging because we had to go to places we had never been before and get off of our first metro at another metro stop that had metro lines 8 and 9.  Once we got it all figured out we were so excited, so we got on our "layover metro" if you will, and then realized that the stop we were supposed to get off at was currently closed for some unknown reason.  No worries though, we just got off at a stop near the one we were supposed to get off on and found it from there!  After Chipotle we headed over to the Eiffel Tower!  We waited in line for quite a while and then finally got to go up in it.  We went all the way to the top and had a blast!!!  The city is so beautiful especially at night (by the time we got up there it was close to midnight) and I am starting to enjoy my time here a lot more.  Granted there definitely were and are on a daily basis still some challenges along the way like walking a lot which caused my foot to hurt and swell up today, but hey what am I gonna do?  I have had to miss out a few things here solely due to the fact that my foot is fractured, but when I do have good days, it just makes them seem like extraordinary days.  I only have 2 more weeks to be here which is a little bitter sweet, but I honestly cannot wait to be home!

The world's largest Chipotle!!! It was soo good!

We were so excited when we first saw the Eiffel Tower from afar!

The Eiffel Tower is way huger than I even expected it to be..and it is absolutely gorgeous at night!

selfies with Val on the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Definitely finding out who my friends are while I'm here..these 2 are my favorite to be with :) and to think..Katie and I never really talked to each other in class or anything before this trip and now we are like bffs.

The view from the top!

such a beautiful thing to experience at night.

GPS requirement for school: SLO 1: “Demonstrate facility in a language other than English”

After being here for 2 weeks it is starting to refresh my memory of my 4 years of french classes and I am also learning new words too! When we first got here I just got super frustrated when I was somewhere and they didn't speak any english and I couldn't figure out what they were saying in french.  Now, I try as hard as I can to figure it out word by word and go from there.  At one of our favorite restaurants to go because it is close to our school and it is good and inexpensive, is Pizza 30.  There is one guy there who now knows all of us because we go there so often and he speaks french and english.  He won't let us order in english because he wants to help us improve our french, so a few nights ago when we went there for dinner, he didn't let us use any english and made us say our orders correctly all in french and he spoke back to us in french.  I can now say that I have had a conversation all in french and understood it all for the most part at least.  Two weeks ago when I first got here I would not be able to say that I could have a conversation with my waiter in french, so I consider this an accomplishment.

Light at the end of the tunnel

     Well, we are already on day 6 in Paris and things are getting better day by day!  I re-fractured my foot that was previously broken, so it's pretty safe to say that everything has gotten a lot more challenging, but I'm doing it! Seeing as Paris is a "walking city", it is terribly difficult for me to get around and keep up with our group, but luckily some fellow classmates have been extremely helpful and sympathetic. I also have to move dorms because the current dorm I am in, Fondation Biermans-LaPorte is about a 20 minute walk from the school (and that's without crutches...) so that is also something I didn't expect to have to do, but hey it'll be better in the long run no matter how much of a hassle it is now. Today was the first day that I have felt pretty good about being here. We went to the Louvre and got to see some amazing art and architecture which was super fun. Once again, it was pretty tough with my foot being fractured because the Louvre is full of stairs and stairs and stairs, but I did it because I want to make the most out of this trip even though I am just going to have to accept the fact that it is not going to be up to my expectations because there are some things that are just out of my control (which kills me). After the Louvre we went to dinner at Cafe Palais Royal where I got something other than cheese, bread, or pizza to eat! Is it bad that I am in France and can't stand to eat another piece of bread with cheese and it's only day 6?...Let's just say someone better take me to dinner when I get back to Ohio..a realllllly good dinner..I mean if you're reading this right now you have a few weeks to plan it all out....so my expectations are high...
     Joan, the director of PFI literally saved me from going insane within the first week of being here....she even sat at the emergency room with me for 7 hours. If that isn't caring about your students, I don't know what is. I could not be more thankful for how sweet and helpful Joan was (and still is every single day) when I was a total disaster of panic, worry, and homesickness. She even called my mom to talk to her and make sure she was ok and knew what all was going on. While we were at the hospital, my professors Aundrea, Diane, and Lori all called Joan to check on me multiple times. If all of the professors here didn't care as much as they do, I may have been on a plane back to Ohio yesterday because I could not have done it alone. Joan has made me feel a lot more at home here because I can talk to her just like I talk to my own mom..don't get me wrong, I'd much rather have had my mom here, but since she couldn't be here Joan was the next best thing.
     All of the classes I am taking are amazing and I've already had the pleasure of meeting 2 amazing people who came to speak to us, Godfrey Deeny and Joann white, the director Joan's daughter. Tomorrow is our "free" day, but we have to go to some designer shops and analyze certain aspects of the business..I am extremely excited to bop around to all of the designer shops even though I won't be able to afford the millions of dollars worth of garments, jewelry, shoes, and bags that I know I'll desperately want.
     Overall, a lot has gone wrong within the past 6 days and I won't lie, I definitely wanted to go home until probably ehhh yesterday maybe? But now I am starting to enjoy Paris a lot more even though it is still tough with my fractured foot and all but I mean that's just the way my luck goes, I've learned that I am just going to have to accept that or else I will be miserable throughout life. At this point I have learned to laugh at all of the unfortunate events that have happened so far in Paris and am going to make the most of what little time I have left here.

My nasty foot the night that I realized something was seriously wrong and I should probably go to the ER....I'll just look at it as a good story to tell later, right?

Beautiful scenery at the Louvre today! ( I look like an old lady with a cane....)

In a city this beautiful, how could I not choose to get out and enjoy it

Day one: The day of unfortunate events..

       Day one: Total array of emotions..We did finally make it to Paris and got all settled in to the school, so that's a plus! But it wasn't all that easy.. It started off on a bad note with our first layover in the Dulles airport which is quite large. We ended up having ehh about 20 minutes to get to our terminal and board the plane (stressful to begin with) and once we did breathe a sigh of relief when we got to our gate, we then shortly discovered that our gate was changed to a gate on the COMPLETE opposite side of the airport (thanks to our new friend Jim or else we would have totally missed the flight!). After sprinting through the airport we surprisingly made it to our new assigned gate on time and boarded the plane! After that we thought it would be smooth sailing from there, only to find out that once we got to the airport in Paris our shuttle had taken one of our passengers (she arrived earlier than us and was going to wait for us to take the shuttle with her) before we got there. All heck broke loose between me, Val, and Kassidy seeing as we were exhausted, stressed, nauseous, and hungry. We finally found an english speaking man in the airport who let us use his phone to call the shuttle and THANK GOODNESS they came back to get us. The ride was a little frightening though...apparently driver's here in France don't fear being in car accidents....(pretty sure my life flashed before my eyes on that shuttle ride).
        Then comes what we had expected to be the fun part of the day: arriving at Cite Universitaire! Well, what do you know..that was a mess too. We couldn't check in when we got there around 12:30 and we had orientation at 2.  After a little while we got all checked in but at this point we had no time to shower, eat, change, fix our hair or anything, but we thought who cares it's just orientation..no biggie....but we were wrong. Little did we know that we were taking a field trip to the Louvre directly after our orientation. So away we went, all airplane smelly, messy hair and makeup, and no food in our systems. The Louvre was amazing except for the part where me and 4 other girls lost the rest of our group....No worries we made it back ok!        
        Most people who study abroad say that the first day is amazing and you are in that "honey moon stage" where everything is new and wonderful, but I on the other hand had a total opposite experience. I hated everything about my first day in France. Not that the school or people are bad, but there is no sugar coating it..it was a bad day filled with many tears. Not being able to communicate with people from home is the absolute worst part about it (yes, I miss my mom already).  So it's safe to say that the experience of the first day was very unexpected but I can confidently say that I think tomorrow will be 100 times better :)