Hello Everyone and Happy 2013!!
Here I am again to share more experiences with you! I cannot believe it is already January! My birthday has already passed, exams are done and Christmas is over. Isn’t it crazy that everything that is so good simply flies by?
I have to admit that I am having the best time ever here in France on my exchange. I dedicated the month of December to travelling around Europe. So I went to Seville in Spain for about a week and stayed at a friend’s house who I actually met here in Paris at a gathering. Actually, that’s one thing about exchange: you are always meeting new friends and people tend to be super friendly!
Also, two of my friends and I decided to go to Budapest for four days. We simply decided that it would be cool to experience the culture and we loved it there. We stayed at a hostel for just 10 Euros a night and it actually looked like a hotel! It was so incredible. I made friends from all over! We got back to Paris and went straight to our final exam. Thank God our flight was not delayed!
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A lot of people are leaving this month. It’s very sad and a bit tough for all of us who are staying. During Christmas, those of us who stayed in Paris gathered at a friend’s house and had dinner together. We even had “dinde” (turkey in French).
On New Year’s Eve, we went to a friend’s house who has a view of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.
After Christmas, my little residence room became a hostel! I had a Brazilian guy (who is a friend of my friend from Brazil) staying with me for four days. He was backpacking in Europe so my friend asked me if he could stay at my place for a few days. The day he left, I found out that my Greek friend got kicked out of his apartment four days before his flight back to Greece because there was a mix up when he was supposed to move out. He and his girlfriend stayed at my place for these four days before their departure. The day when they left, a Brazilian friend of mine, who had me over in Spain, came to Paris for Christmas and New Year’s, so he stayed here for approximately 19 days. The day he left, a Canadian friend of mine, who I worked with as a res fellow, called me asking if he could “crash” at my place because he was travelling around Europe! He stayed with me for about six days and then he went back to England where he is doing his exchange through Carleton too!
Therefore, today is officially the first day I am alone in my room since December 15!
January is exam time for some people for the Fall term, and I was lucky enough to have only one after December. One of my classes started last week, however the majority of them start on the week of the 21st and some don’t even start until February 8! “C’est dingue, non?” (It’s crazy, eh?).
This week I have been going to university to go to the gym and I actually found myself guiding the new students around because they all look so lost! My school also receives exchange students in January now. It’s great the feeling of knowing where everything is and simply being able to help others.
I had quite a few highlights in the past few months. I also went to McDonald’s with a Québecois friend (French is his first language). I was a bit nervous ordering because I didn’t want the guy who was taking my order to say “Pardon, vous voulez quoi?” (Sorry, what would you like?), but I did my order and even chatted with the guy in French and he understood everything I said, without either of us having to repeat what we said. I felt SUPER proud of myself! Then my friend went to order with his Québecois accent and the guy kept on saying, “pardon…pardon…” so my friend finished the order in English. It was quite interesting to see that.
Ok, I guess this is it for the moment. I have some things coming up but I will share them with you all in a few weeks!
HUGS DE PARIS!