My first week in Paris was a rollercoaster. After two weeks of rain in Amsterdam, I have been ITCHING for summer weather. And luckily, Paris provided me with just that. The weather has been pretty nice and I have been able to wear all the summer wear I brought. Just to recap, last week I spent some time familiarizing myself with the city and my bed (lol). I thoroughly enjoyed the scavenger hunt where I got a good first look at the city and how to get around. It was a good experience because it reminded me of how I would navigate the MBTA system in Massachusetts.
This past weekend, Jenny and I planned the ultimate Paris staycation. We realized with the scavenger hunt and other activities that we had not explored the city so we decided to tackle it. Friday we went to Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, a luxurious mall with gorgeous architecture, and explored the downtown area of Paris. we visited landmarks such as Trocadero, Arc de Triomphe, and Petit Palais. Visiting the Petit Palais was nice since it was modern and older art which was cool. I also saw so many beautiful pieces and I really liked the concepts behind them. They also had a lovely garden, that I got to sit in before it started raining. After this, I read in the Jardin des Plantes which was very calming and grounding. Lastly, we ended the jam-packed weekend with a day of shopping at the local flea markets. We did a lot of walking so we rewarded ourselves with a picnic by the Seine and had the best cheesecake I have ever had.
But enough with the fun stuff, let’s talk about project progress. I was a little worried about how our project would come out since we had so many unanswered questions while seeing the other teams prototyping and gaining progress. We worked through our questions to ensure we fully understood our project and what we planned to do within the remainder of our time. Upon conversing with Yousra and Dr. Wettergreen we realized we needed to brainstorm a solution that would encompass the information we now know. Luckily after discussing as a team and weighing our options we werw able to map out a potential solution that we will begin prototyping. The hardest part for me was communicating the ideas I had from my head to paper. One because I am not a talented artist but I also struggle with communicating the images that I have in my head. Like when trying to iterate the idea we were brainstorming to prototype it took us an hour to try and understand what I envisioned for the open/close element of the design. I would say my strengths lie in brainstorming and planning out while being realistic about our deliverables and expectations of the project.
And to end off this blog post, I will say my favorite part about Paris is being able to find local experiences to enjoy the company of those around me. Special shoutout to Jenny and Winson who have dealt with me as a teammate and house mate lol. I have shared so many laughs and real conversations while enjoying the little things which makes this experience extra worth it 🙂 ! 