Art of Travel: An American Girl in Paris (Part Une)

The first thing that everyone asked me when they found out that I would be in Paris for a semester was, “ Why Paris?” to which I of course responded, “because it’s me!

I guess that would make more since if I introduced myself. My name is Hillary and I am Junior at NYU. I came to New York City, from Atlanta, GA, which was a huge move for me in itself. When moving to New York went so well, I knew that I had to study abroad at some point during my collegiate career. And it was pretty obvious, that place would have to be Paris.

I have always been simply fascinated with the French language and culture. Early on in middle school I knew that I would not be taking Spanish, like most of my friends. I had to take French against the advice of my mother, who questioned the practicality of learning French when I would not have many opportunities to practice my speaking. I, of course, knew better. And since my fashionista dreams started early as well, I knew that I would find myself in Paris at some point or another. After taking French, in school since then, I took advantage of the new availability of a minor in Gallatin and decided that I would minor in French. The rest of my concentration is Fashion, Public Relations, and Marketing. So maybe now you can see more clearly how obvious it was to me that Paris was the only place for me to go.

Now, after month of careful preparations, here I am in beautiful Paris and I can’t wait to see where this new experience is going to take me. I want to return to New York fluent in the language more than anything and I want to take advantage of as many cultural opportunities as possible, including the impeccable fashion, maybe even getting to experience Paris Fashion Week. I am hoping that I will be able to make some French friends as well, as I don’t want to fall into the habit of only hanging out with my American friends at school.

I had never been to Paris before I landed on Tuesday, so for now, I am just taking my time and taking it all in. Like any new place, I am a bit overwhelmed, but I know that I will adapt once again, just as I had to do when I moved to NYC.