Hello dear reader, it is somewhat weird to write the final blog and say goodbye to this program. I am struggling to choose one specific memory that will last a long time from this trip. I had too many of them, from funny to not so. In both cities and both outside and inside the classroom, but if I had to highlight one specific memory, it would be our trip with the boys to the castle an hour away from Paris. It was fun the whole day; we woke up late and barely made it to the train. We ran 5 minutes to catch it. I got fined 60 euros for the stupidest reason and had to pay it. The castle and walk around its park was the time I think we actually bonded and became great friends with the boys. In addition to it, we had great pizza as dinner and our 3-hour wait for the long train. We also learned the word retardé, which means “late” in French, and took a bunch of pictures on a digicam.
I got extremely lucky with my group and I can call all of them my friends. Everyone taught me something special. Alexis taught me to be on time, Anika taught me to organize and plan stuff beforehand. Ana taught me how to have fun every second of the day, despite class stresses. If I had to choose, Matthew and Daniel taught me how to have fun and enjoy my time. Their way of thinking, relaxing, and just enjoying life was different than I was used to. They are what I call my close friends now, and I learned a lot from them.
One fun day in Paris was the music festival. We all got lucky to be in Paris during this festival and witnessed city-wide chaotic music circles and danced like never before. It was my first time in such an environment. It was a long night and we walked a lot, basically all of the Seine river back and forth. Paris is not Paris without its food, and we had a lot of fun trying out every cuisine there is to try. My favorite is definitely Korean now. From the original KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) to the barbecue and of course its noodles.
Overall, I liked the ISEED program but expected it to be more about experiencing the city in Amsterdam and classroom vibes for Paris. There were definitely moments I would like to change, like the lack of Wi-Fi in Paris and some staying issues, but overall it was a good experience. Classes were fun and easier than what Rice students are used to. They all want you to succeed and try their best. Never think of assignments as stupid or unnecessary — it all makes sense at the end.
My favorite part was walking around the city on my way to the airport. Suddenly, Paris felt closer.