Au revoir, Paris

Au revoir, Paris. Goodbye, Paris.

Dom Tom was not lying when he said that this summer would go by fast.

It's now July 29, I'm checked out of Cité Universitaire, in fact, I have left Paris, I'm now in Dublin, Ireland for the next few days and then off to the UK until August 10 when I return home to Los Angeles.

I think it will take me time to process the past three and a half weeks and all of the incredible moments that I got to experience during my travel study.

I am so grateful to UCLA IEO and ACCENT for putting everything together, from our stay at Maison du Portugal, to our ACCENT cards that got us into everything for free, to our Navigo pass, to the wonderful meals in Paris, it was all such a delight.

The icing on the cake was our final class excursion-- a Bateaux Mouches boat ride down the River Seine.

The Bateaux Mouches is a huge boat that takes you along the Seine in a loop so you pass by the city's most famous sites such as the Notre Dame, Musée d'Orsay, and of course, the Eiffel Tower.

It was so beautiful to see everything lit up at night, and to see the city from a different angle.

The city is so well lit, and the water reflects the city in a way that a famous painting Impressionist would-- capturing the lighting and mood but not necessarily the concrete details of the scene.

It was time for #sarahontheseine to finally became real.

It was a joyous moment.

I am also so grateful to our professor, Dom Tom, for caring so much about us and our time here in Paris. He is an incredible educator and I am so thankful for his insight and his wisdom in Francophone studies in the realm of globalization.

Poor Dom Tom made it out to the Bateaux Mouches, even though he just tore his ACL, while playing soccer with some of the students from the program. Praying for a speedy recovery for DT!

I am also so glad to have gotten to know, Lizzie, our TA who has helped me develop my paper ideas, as well as recommended me to go to Musée de l'Orangerie, which turned out to be my favorite museum in Paris! She has been so kind and so approachable this whole time, and I will truly miss running into her at Cité or catching her in the kitchen for dinner.

One of the students in our class had a great idea to get Dom Tom a soccer jersey gift as our way of saying thank you for all his hard work. Lizzie did her magic and was able to get "Dom Tom 16" patched on the back of the jersey! It looked so cool, and I think DT will really enjoy it. He said he will wear it during rehab, and that it will give him motivation to keep pushing through.

This has been the best summer of my life, and I feel so blessed to have such an amazing opportunity to learn and experience this life in Paris. I hope to hold onto these memories for the rest of my life, and that I will cherish my time with Global Studies Paris, for many many years.

À plus tard et merci beaucoup, Paris! See you soon and thank you very much, Paris!

Je t'aime! I love you!