I’ve long returned from my beautiful time of living in Paris… about 6 months ago, to be exact. I’ve yo-yoed back and forth about updating my blog here concerning my time in Paris, thinking it was way too late to have regular blog posts again about all things Paris. But it’s never too late to talk about one of my favorite places on earth. And so I’m resurrecting my blog to talk about Paris: my favorite and least favorite aspects, my adventures and my host family, the things I learned and the things I came to understand through my time there. Continue reading
Author Archives: thecharalife
A European adventure soon? Check.
Looking at my calendar, there’s now only 40 days until I leave for Paris. It’s kind of nerve-racking! I feel like there is so much I need to do before August 24th comes…and I guess because that’s true: I need to start shopping for the things I need. One of my friends is already on her semester abroad in New Zealand (their classes begin in July), and that makes it all the more real for me. As she posts her pictures online, I’ve started thinking, “Soon that’ll be me!” Not in the same country, but still. Continue reading
Paris VII
Since students have “full immersion in Paris university life” with the SBC JYF program, I’ll be taking a few classes in one of the Paris universities as a real French student (!!!). I’ll also probably take a few that are geared toward the SBC students, offered by Sweetbriar, because they seem really interesting too.
The Paris 7 Logo
So, I’ll be studying at Université Paris Diderot, or, Paris 7. I decided to read a little about it before getting there; it’ll help me feel more prepared, I guess. The closest comparison I can find to the University of Paris system is the Texas A&M University system. It was a little confusing at first, but I think I understand it now…
The University of Paris, which people had often referred to as the Sorbonne, was founded in the 12th century. Over 800 years later, in 1970, the University was dissolved and 13 autonomous universities (Paris 1-13) were formed from it. Now, the Sorbonne basically refers to the historical building, and some of the Paris universities have “Sorbonne” in their name, but it doesn’t refer to the same thing as it did just 50 years ago. It’s pretty cool that Paris universities are based in so much history. Continue reading
Paris!…in 3 months
I’m going to study abroad in Paris for the fall of 2011, but if you’re reading this, you probably already know that! … I don’t leave until August 24th, but I’ll be spending a lot of time thinking about the trip and prepping for it this summer, soooo, these are my thoughts! I’ll have a few posts before leaving in August, mainly about the interesting things I find in relation to Paris.
I work at the Center for the Study of Languages Computer Lab at Rice, and our office manager suggested this great site called Paris 26 Gigapixels. It’s basically one very large image made up of about 2300 smaller pictures, and it gives you a great view of Paris. You can even see street names when you zoom in! I thought it was pretty cool. But for those of you who know me, looking at a picture map won’t prevent me from getting lost while I’m there, so I’m just settling on looking at the prettiness of the city on the site and getting to know the monuments. Continue reading