We have reached the end of the line. In just a couple of days, everyone will be going their separate ways. I can’t believe that I spent a month in Europe with this group of people. I will definitely remember this Paris experience from the things I have gone through outside of class. For the most part, I did not feel like I was very touristy because during the two weeks, I mainly did the day to day things with people from the program. I spent lots of time getting to know the Marai and the 4th district as that was where both hostels were. In the end, I manage to pinpoint all my favorite spots nearby and visit them without navigational help. Surprisingly I did a lot of shopping and looking around especially near the end of the trip as I wanted to get the right gift for my family and friends. My most outstanding memory of Paris has to be visiting the Eiffel Tower both during the day and night. While the group never went up the tower, watching it from the ground still amazes me. It didn’t help that during the night of the Eiffel Tower trip, the public transportation stopped running so three other students and I walked around an hour alongside the river to get back to our hostel. It was definitely a team effort as everyone walking had different battery charges so we had to ask ourselves what the most optimal use of charge would get us back to our rooms.
In addition to wonderful sights like the Louvre and the Arc the Triomphe, Paris also brings many cuisines cooked by Michelin star chefs. As Paris is a very diverse city, it also brings different options at various price ranges. No matter what your budget is, there will always be something delicious to try. A classic French cuisine is a crepe which I personally believe is a staple to living affordably in Paris. I have had so many crepe meals over these past two weeks that the person at the crepe restaurant remembers people from the program. My go to would be the combo that they offer. I would be able to put 3 different topics on a savory crepe while also getting a sweet crepe with butter and sugar. For merely 10 euros, I would be very satisfied with my meals and the memories it brought along. They were so good, I even had to get a crepe meal on my last day in the city. Another food that I would definitely recommend is escargot. If you have never tried snails before then Paris is the place to try. With the mixture of the oil, the snails I had were cooked to perfection and made me want for more. These escargots brought back memories of my first time in Paris when I was 13 years old. I would order a large bucket of snails and try to pick them out with a fork. Luckily I feel like I have mastered the technique of picking snails out of their shells, but I also think that restaurants made it more customer friendly with the tools they provide.
To a person who is considering this program, I would definitely recommend it to you as it was a great opportunity to take Rice courses in a new environment and also get the chance to explore the city. I spent so much time walking in and outside of classroom time on the streets. My two weeks in Paris didn’t really feel like I was taking a course, but rather solving a challenge in a new city with its unique constraints. It was also very nice that the students would be allowed to explore after hours of the class so, sometimes, the group would finish class and then rush to see the catacombs. Once again, I definitely explored more of Paris than I expected as shopping around for prototyping materials can really show you different aspects of the city. This experience was also great because I had already known the students I was working with in the past week so there was no strange unfamiliarity with the people in the group. If I had the chance, I would go on this trip again.
