Au revoir, Paris

7:23 a.m., alarm goes off. Wake up, shower get dressed… toast my toast; pack my bag… leave the apartment by 8:20. I walk the seven minutes to Gare de Lyon station, catch line one towards La Défense, make a switch at Châtelet, then catch line four towards Mairie de Montrouge, finally finishing my journey at Saint-Sulpice, where I take French for three hours a day, three days a week. A typical start to a school day, except for the fact that I’m in Paris, France.

I didn’t have many expectations before coming to Paris. I figured I’d meet some cool people, eat some good food, travel around a lot. Little did I know what I was actually getting myself into.

The people while abroad were so much more than just “cool” to me; words really do not do these friendships justice. We danced in the metro, had countless picnics in the park, made family dinners, cuddled on giant couches, and stayed out all night, sleep depriving ourselves to the brim. To Morgan, Emily, Elle, Ali, Cat, Mikaela, Andrés, Sergio, Luis and Alejandro- thank you for being my best friends for the past three months and putting up with me always taking videos of you guys. You guys are the best and I can’t wait to visit you all around the US.

The better the thing is, the harder the ending is, and let me tell you, this ending is HARD. I one by one said goodbye to the Institut Catholique de Paris, where I’ve spent 17 hours per week for the past three months; Jardin du Luxembourg, where we ate lunch everyday after school; my room, with a little white bureau in the far corner and a fireplace at the foot of my bed; and my host mom and her two cats, who sat on the table every night at dinner and were constantly trying to drink water out of my cup.

This post could go on forever and ever detailing countless things I’m going to miss about my life in Paris, but I will stop myself before I get too carried away. I hope you all have enjoyed following my semester, because I sure have enjoyed living it. Au revoir for now, Paris! I now have a quick visit back to London before I head home for good. Don’t worry mom, I’m on my way!

Also, watch my video overviewing my whole semester here: https://vimeo.com/128747758