Post by CuriousToronto on Jan 3, 2004 10:16:24 GMT -5
Happy New Year to one and all!
Seeing as this is the very first day of 2004 I thought it an appropriate time to write my reflections on my trip to Europe. As some of you may know I returned to Canada on the 17th of December after having spent a semester studying and living in Paris. Having been back for more than two weeks I feel I have finallly had enough time to let the entire experience sink-in. And to be perfectly honest there are certain aspects of my adventure that I have only come to appreciate now.
I left Toronto at the beginning of August bound for Geneva. I was excited because living in Paris and studying at the Sorbonne was a fulfilment of a dream, I was going to get to travel around Europe, and I was going to see Mohammad again after several months. I think I certainly knew that it was going to be an incredible experience but I had no idea how much I would really learn.
Traveling in Europe for much of August and the beginning of September was incredible. I had spent countless hours planning the trip and I was so excited. Mohammad and I got a chance to visit some incredible places, see some fantastic art, and eat some great food. To be honest it was the kind of trip that you dream of taking. It really went incredibly smoothly and there were no problems along the way.
At the end of our travels we ended up in Paris for 7 days of sightseeing. At the end of that time Mohammad would be leaving to start school in Toronto and I would be staying in Paris. It really wasn't until he left that I felt truly alone. I remember sitting at the terminal that day looking at the departures board and looking at the info for his flight. It felt incredibly strange and somewhat scary to know that there was a plane leaving for Toronto and I was not going to be on board. In fact at that moment I thought the point at which I find myself now (back home) would never arrive. It is not an exaggeration to say that I couldn't even come close to seeing how the next several months were going to pass.
But alone I found myself in Paris. No Mohammad. No Parents. Not a single soul in the city that even knew my name. And to top it all off there had been a bit of culture shock. I assumed that there wouldn't be a difference in between people in Toronto and people in Paris. In retrospect I was being naive! But having had a sister who lived and studied in Japan I figured that was a place for culture shock but Paris would not be. Boy was I in for an awakening! There were differences. Fundamental differences exist in between our values and theirs. I can't say who is right but I do know there is a thing or two we could learn from each other.
Now in terms of the city itself. I honestly didn't think it would be so magnificent! I mean I knew it would be beautiful but sometimes looking around the place (like on the Place de Concorde) it was hard to believe that all that stuff hadn't been masterfully built for tourism. Best thing is I lived in an area (in the 5th) that was perfectly located! I was a 15 minute walk from Notre Dame, I could cross the street to the Luxembourg Gardens, turn the corner and walk about 2 minutes to the Pantheon, and in the midst of the Latin Quarter. It was fantastic - I had a killer view of the Eiffel Tower and I was within walking distance to all my classes!
Speaking of which - studying at the Sorbonne certainly was quite an experience. I learnt more than I could have ever imagined. Sure there are some downfalls to the French educational system but the program I was in was really really great! The methods were excellent and even though I complained a lot those phonetic classes that left my head swimming were a God send! Really I would recommend the classes to anyone. I had been waiting years to go and study in Paris and it was definitely worth the wait.
And lastly I can't end this entry without talking about the people I met. As I mentioned previously when Mohammad left I was very sad and alone. Slowly but surely though I made some fantastic friends. There's Hilda the Irish girl from County Kerry, Vicky the girl from Lester who was always sticking her foot in her mouth and making me laugh, Daisy the girl from Kent (England) who was practically my tail - we were always together, Laila my second room-mate and a wonderful person from Denmark, Ida and Katja the other two girls who make up the Danish triumverate, Alice my first room-mate who is a mixture of a whole bunch of nationalities, and Irene the Chapell Hill student originally from Ghana who could always make me smile. To be honest those people contributed in a big way to making my time in Europe fantastic. I can honestly say I have found some life-long friends!
So in short the last four months have been incredible. I learned so much, saw so much, and ate entirely too many French pastries. And in the midst of all of that my French improved an INCREDIBLE amount!
I'll admit it wasn't always easy but it was worth it and if given the chance I would do it all again in a heart-beat!
PS: I would also like to thank some people on this board (especially Kim and Dustoffmom) who helped me SO much in planning this trip!
Seeing as this is the very first day of 2004 I thought it an appropriate time to write my reflections on my trip to Europe. As some of you may know I returned to Canada on the 17th of December after having spent a semester studying and living in Paris. Having been back for more than two weeks I feel I have finallly had enough time to let the entire experience sink-in. And to be perfectly honest there are certain aspects of my adventure that I have only come to appreciate now.
I left Toronto at the beginning of August bound for Geneva. I was excited because living in Paris and studying at the Sorbonne was a fulfilment of a dream, I was going to get to travel around Europe, and I was going to see Mohammad again after several months. I think I certainly knew that it was going to be an incredible experience but I had no idea how much I would really learn.
Traveling in Europe for much of August and the beginning of September was incredible. I had spent countless hours planning the trip and I was so excited. Mohammad and I got a chance to visit some incredible places, see some fantastic art, and eat some great food. To be honest it was the kind of trip that you dream of taking. It really went incredibly smoothly and there were no problems along the way.
At the end of our travels we ended up in Paris for 7 days of sightseeing. At the end of that time Mohammad would be leaving to start school in Toronto and I would be staying in Paris. It really wasn't until he left that I felt truly alone. I remember sitting at the terminal that day looking at the departures board and looking at the info for his flight. It felt incredibly strange and somewhat scary to know that there was a plane leaving for Toronto and I was not going to be on board. In fact at that moment I thought the point at which I find myself now (back home) would never arrive. It is not an exaggeration to say that I couldn't even come close to seeing how the next several months were going to pass.
But alone I found myself in Paris. No Mohammad. No Parents. Not a single soul in the city that even knew my name. And to top it all off there had been a bit of culture shock. I assumed that there wouldn't be a difference in between people in Toronto and people in Paris. In retrospect I was being naive! But having had a sister who lived and studied in Japan I figured that was a place for culture shock but Paris would not be. Boy was I in for an awakening! There were differences. Fundamental differences exist in between our values and theirs. I can't say who is right but I do know there is a thing or two we could learn from each other.
Now in terms of the city itself. I honestly didn't think it would be so magnificent! I mean I knew it would be beautiful but sometimes looking around the place (like on the Place de Concorde) it was hard to believe that all that stuff hadn't been masterfully built for tourism. Best thing is I lived in an area (in the 5th) that was perfectly located! I was a 15 minute walk from Notre Dame, I could cross the street to the Luxembourg Gardens, turn the corner and walk about 2 minutes to the Pantheon, and in the midst of the Latin Quarter. It was fantastic - I had a killer view of the Eiffel Tower and I was within walking distance to all my classes!
Speaking of which - studying at the Sorbonne certainly was quite an experience. I learnt more than I could have ever imagined. Sure there are some downfalls to the French educational system but the program I was in was really really great! The methods were excellent and even though I complained a lot those phonetic classes that left my head swimming were a God send! Really I would recommend the classes to anyone. I had been waiting years to go and study in Paris and it was definitely worth the wait.
And lastly I can't end this entry without talking about the people I met. As I mentioned previously when Mohammad left I was very sad and alone. Slowly but surely though I made some fantastic friends. There's Hilda the Irish girl from County Kerry, Vicky the girl from Lester who was always sticking her foot in her mouth and making me laugh, Daisy the girl from Kent (England) who was practically my tail - we were always together, Laila my second room-mate and a wonderful person from Denmark, Ida and Katja the other two girls who make up the Danish triumverate, Alice my first room-mate who is a mixture of a whole bunch of nationalities, and Irene the Chapell Hill student originally from Ghana who could always make me smile. To be honest those people contributed in a big way to making my time in Europe fantastic. I can honestly say I have found some life-long friends!
So in short the last four months have been incredible. I learned so much, saw so much, and ate entirely too many French pastries. And in the midst of all of that my French improved an INCREDIBLE amount!
I'll admit it wasn't always easy but it was worth it and if given the chance I would do it all again in a heart-beat!
PS: I would also like to thank some people on this board (especially Kim and Dustoffmom) who helped me SO much in planning this trip!
