Has a month really passed?
Paris has been a whirlwind. An endless spiral of lights and food and museums that has left me dazed and wondering how I’m so lucky that I got to experience all of it. I just got off the plane a few hours ago, and sitting here in the Boston Public Library typing all this up, I keep expecting someone to come up to me and start speaking in French. My mind hasn’t quite caught up to my location yet.
I’m glad to be home in some ways (I was really starting to miss American-style coffee and my dog) but in others, I wish I could spend years in Paris. I find myself thinking that I could build a life there—if only my French was a little bit better. This trip has really rekindled my love for language learning. I’ve spent the past year immersed in the more technical, analytical side of language through the linguistics program, but now I want to dedicate more of my time to actually practicing my French and maybe learning something new. I went into this trip thinking “it’s fine, they all speak English anyway” (completely false, by the way) and came out realizing how much better travel is if you know at least a little bit of the native language. I think I had a lot more fun and became a lot more immersed in the culture than I would have if I had only spoke English the whole time.
I want to do another dialogue in the future. I love the format of being in a small group focusing on a very specific topic. I stuck fairly within my comfort zone this time, studying in a traditional classroom setting in Western Europe, where the native language was one that I (kind of) already spoke. Next time, I want to change at least one of these things. I would love to go on a dialogue dedicated to learning a new language and a new culture, and really focus on that type of travel. I think that that’s one of the biggest advantages of studying abroad, it makes you realize what kinds of things you want to experience and learn, and you can then put your time and energy into realizing those goals. Beyond just immersing you in something in the moment, it forces you to look towards the future.
One thing that surprised me in this trip was how much I loved learning about fashion! I have never had an interest in the topic in the past, beyond my personal style. I couldn’t care less about what was trendy, what the high-end fashion houses were up to, or what was going on in different fashion capitals around the world. But I found myself thoroughly enjoying the in-depth discussions on fashion history and the complex worlds of street style and haute couture. I think more carefully about my clothing decisions now, and I’m interested in taking up sewing.
In the end, beyond the museum visits and the lectures, beyond the awe-inspiring monuments and the spectacular restaurants, the moments that I cherished the most were the quiet ones. They were few and far between with our hectic schedule, but sometimes we would have a few hours to just walk. To get lost in Paris and find little pockets of the city undiscovered by travel bloggers and trip planners. To sit by the Seine and watch the boats and the people go by. I think this is true for any kind of travel. Don’t try to fill up every moment. Sometimes it’s nice to be unplanned.
