Allons-y!
Allons-y! Let's Go!
I've been in Paris for about 12 hours now and so much has happened, it has definitely been a long day.
I arrived and met up with some friends at Charles De Gaulle and we took the RER straight to Cité International Universitaire de Paris. The train ride was very pleasant, and I was able to get a quick glimpse of the Eiffel Tower!
When we arrived at Cité Universitaire, I was amazed at how beautiful the campus was. The campus was originally built after the first World War as a means to join the countries of the world and prevent conflict. So each maison or house is sponsored by a different country! The UCLA Global Studies students are staying in the Maison du Portugal. We also passed by the houses of India, Japan, Mexico, Argentina and more. It is truly interesting to see the varied styles of architecture and design and see the beauty in each culture's building. The Maison du Portugal was built in the 1960s so it has a very mod look to it, it is quite unique.
The room is very simple, reminds me of IKEA style, and uses the space very well. It is such a luxury to have a private bedroom and bathroom! Here is a photo, but I will later be uploading a proper room tour!
After settling in, we were free to explore the city! A group of us went in search for food, but didn't strike much luck around Cité, because many places are closed on Mondays. So we hopped on the RER and went to Saint Michel-Notre Dame.
There was an open air market filled with cheeses, nougats, jewelry, and other wonderful items. I got a sample of some cheese, and it was absolutely delicious! Everything smelled so good!
We had a late lunch at a cute cafe and enjoyed our first meal in Paris! They had es cargot on the menu but I wasn't brave enough to try it just yet, but I know I must while in France!
Afterwards, we walked up Saint Michel and saw many shops, stumbled upon Jardin du Luxembourg which was an absolute beauty! There were children playing with these adorable sail boats, people were enjoying picnics, and we ran into some UCLA students that are studying abroad for Art History. We continued to wander about Luxembourg and just stand in awe of the beautiful architecture. One of my favorite things about France is the way people plant flowers at their windowsills, it adds so much life to a centuries old building.
We returned to Cité for a brief meeting with our TA, and then went to buy groceries at Franprix, a local market. I didn't think that it would be such a challenge, because food is food, but all the labels being in French turned out to be very difficult. Hopefully I bought the correct items! And I'm definitely still figuring out how to be polite when I don't speak French... Working on my accent when I say bonjour or merci. When we walked back from Franprix, it was already 9:30pm and it was still bright as day! This length of daylight will surely take time to get used to.
Tomorrow, we have our orientation with Accent, the student center we will be having our classes at. It normally takes about 40 minutes to get there, but because of the labor strike demonstrations that are supposed to occur tomorrow, we make have to make detours to ensure our safety during the demonstrations. I am interested to learn more about the labor party and why they are striking, hopefully we will discuss it during class.
It was a long day, walked 20,000 steps today! I am quite exhausted, didn't even have the energy to get dinner, so I'm just enjoying some cheese and bread that I got at the market. I can say that I am happy with my purchase! Hopefully tomorrow will be just as exciting as today was!
Check out ieo.ucla.edu for more information on how you can also study abroad in Paris!