Why Let me ask you this: Why not Paris?

Bonjour! Je m’appelle Emily Hardesty et j’étudierai en Paris le semestre prochain. And for those of you who don’t speak French: Hello! My name is Emily Hardesty and I will be studying in Paris next semester. Oh, Paris. The city of love. Who wouldn’t want to spend four months of their life in one of the greatest cities in the world? Not this girl. I am an old fashioned romantic, and I constantly dream about sitting in a quaint little café by the Eiffel Tower sipping a café au lait.

But let me start from the beginning. How did I decide to study abroad in the first place? I grew up in a small, not-so-quaint village called Beecher, Illinois. Yes, you read that correctly. Village. It’s not even big enough to be considered a town. Because I spent twenty years surrounded by cornfields and stranded thirty minutes away from the nearest shopping center, I dream of the day when I can live in a big city filled with excitement, strangers, and opportunities. I am tired of living in a town where I know everyone by name. To put it simply, I want to see the world and understand how the rest of the world lives.

So why Paris? Let me ask you this: Why not Paris? I started studying French my freshman year at VU, and I fell in love with the language. After declaring a French major (and an English major), I knew that I had to visit Paris someday, and what better time than when I am learning French? I will be completely immersed in the language while I am living there. My speaking skills are not quite up to par just yet, and although I am a little anxious about communicating with native French speakers, I am ready for the challenge. It’s going to be tough at first, but who said life wasn’t going to be tough? After I knew I was going to be studying in Paris, I immediately chose the Central College Abroad program for one main reason: it’s in Paris. Since I’m going to be studying in France, I’m going to make sure that I’m living in the city where all of the action happens. It may be the number one tourist destination in the world and full of lost tourists who can’t speak French (hopefully not what I’m going to be!), I think that’s sweet. The whole world wants to visit the most romantic city in the world. If that doesn’t tug at your heart strings a little, you need to go watch The Notebook one more time.

If you haven’t realized it yet, I am so excited for my trip to Paris. I want to see and experience everything I possibly can while I am in Europe. The Nôtre Dame Cathedral, the Musée d’Orsday, the Louvre, and obviously the Eiffel Tower are a few places on my I-have-to-see-this-before-I-die list. Outside of the city, I plan to see the D-Day beaches and the Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, the palace of Versailles, and the Alps in the East. I also plan on traveling outside of the country as much as my budget allows. While I would like to travel to every major city in Europe next semester, I am sadly living on the budget of a college student. (Easy Mac is my best friend.) So, I narrowed my must-see cities in Europe to London, Rome, Edinburgh, Dublin, and Madrid. I’m pretty optimistic that I’ll get to go to all of these cities, but I know they will all be waiting for me in the future after I return home in May.

Sometimes I can’t believe that in less than two months I will be living in Paris. How does a girl from the middle of nowhere get the chance to fulfill her dream of traveling the world? The answer is through extensive planning; a great support system at VU, Central College, and at home; and a student loan. (I’d have to say that last one may have been the key factor!) While I may be apprehensive about living in a huge city where I may not be able to communicate perfectly or I may get lost sometimes, I know that my time abroad will be well spent and will be one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope that students reading this blog will understand the value of traveling abroad and will do whatever it takes to make their dreams of traveling the world come true like I did.

 

By Emily Hardesty, English and French majors, from Beecher, Illinois.  More posts to come!!