My time in Paris honestly flew by so fast. And honestly, I spent the whole day sleeping recovering from the terrible 8-hour plane ride. But even with that, a lasting memory that I will have of Paris is seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. It was honestly so surreal to get jump scared right when we turned the street corner and to see it sparkle like we see in tiktoks in person was really cool. I also enjoyed the ENGI200 experience because it made me realize how much I enjoyed engineering design. I used to think that since I had no desire to be a stereotypical engineering major, it may be difficult to find interest in merely the minor. But honestly, through this iSEED experience, I realized that there is no other space I would rather be in.
I honestly feel like there is not just one person that left a mark on me. Through each conversation and every laugh, the group gave me valuable experiences and unforgettable memories. I want to shout out my Derry girls (Justine, Jenny, and Winson). They made my trip special by being so willing to go on silly little adventures and helping me reach 16k steps each day. Even at the end where Winson and Jenny were definitely fed up with me they were amazing teammates that I enjoyed working with. Our process was interesting since it took us so much time and thought to create a functional design that would meet Yousra’s needs. From the ramen and gelato team meeting to the many Leroy Merlin trips our team produced a functional prototype within three days which I was really proud of.
I also really enjoyed the Paris food scene. From the very first day, I knew I would be in for a treat, and only had one bad meal during that whole two weeks. I would say I was surprised at how much Asian cuisine was available in Paris. When I saw Chinatown, I thought it was so interesting to see. Especially being from Massachusetts, where it is common to find authentic Asian cuisine which was nice to see abroad. I also can not forget the Kayanes Boulangerie that provided the residence 6 group with breakfast every morning. ESPECIALLY, the chicken sandwiches, or in French they say un sandwich de poulet. The man who owned it was so sweet and always made my mornings because he was so kind to us even though we did not speak fluent French.
I would definitely recommend the iSEED Europe experience to anyone with an open mind who is interested in immersing themselves in the area that they are in because in Amsterdam you get to learn a lot about the people and the environment. With that knowledge, you learn how to orient yourself in Paris while applying the methodology that we learned in Hesam’s class.
I honestly just loved the entire experience and I can’t wait to use the information that I gained as I continue my time at Rice and while completing the engineering design minor.
[My pictures wouldn’t upload :(]