Since I last posted, I've been very busy. For one thing, the end of the semester (much like at home) also means final exams and projects. As of today, I have completed three exams, one group exposé, and a dissertation...and I only have one more group exposé to go! I have to say, I'm a lot sadder than I usually am at the end of the semester. I expected to learn a lot in my classes at I.C. Paris, but I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I have. I was really blessed in terms of teachers, and learned as much (or more) from my interactions with them and with the other international students in my classes as I did from the actual academic work. It's been an amazing growth and learning experience, and I'll be sad to leave ICP with it's beautiful old buildings.
In addition, there has been a lot of coming and going of friends - both sad and happy. Starting with the sad...I've already had several friends leave Paris to return home. My friends Becca, Jessica, and Susanna from Hillsong have all headed back to their respective cities, as has my friend Kaellen from Marquette, and, most recently, my friend Kimmie from home with whom I traveled to Italy. With Kaellen, I was able to go with her to the airport to help her with her luggage and to see her off - since she was so much help for me when I first arrived. Even though I know I'm going to see her when I get back to Milwaukee, it was still very strange and sad to see her go when I've gotten so used to seeing her around! Kimmie was my most recent departure - I met her at the train station this morning to help her make her way from train to metro to the RER that would take her to the airport. Despite her excitement to see her family and to sleep in her own bed, Kimmie was as sad to go as I was sad to see her go! Talking to her about how's she's going to miss France, her friends, and her host family was very surreal for me because that's where I'm going to be in just a few short weeks. I can't believe it!
Now for the happy! These last two weekends I've been able to welcome friends from Marquette who are also studying abroad and who wanted to come visit Paris. (Who wouldn't?) Two weekends ago, my friend Sarah who's studying in Spain and her friend Kasey who was visiting her came to Paris for the weekend. I met them at the bus station, found them delcious French breakfast (consisting, of course, of pastries and yogurt), and gave them tips for navigating the city that have really helped me. After finding their hostel, we went to St. Michel via the scenic route along the Seine where we had delicious lunch crêpes before they went on the guided tour they had checked out. I wasn't able to see them after that - but Sarah told me they loved their time here in Paris and were able to check out some of the sites I had recommended.
This past weekend, my friend Will from Marquette who is studying in Munich came in for the weekend. Despite some hiccups trying to find his hostel - which turned out to be two rented rooms filled with bunkbeds in a house owned by a lovely Korean family that wasn't actually inside the city limits of Paris - we had a lovely time. To conserve metro tickets, and because the weather was so lovely, we did a lot of walking...so by Monday I was exhausted! We packed a lot of sight-seeing into a very short amount of time, working our way through all of the main sights and through some typical French experiences I have enjoyed and wanted to share with him. We gawked at the Eiffel Tower, climbed up the Arc de Triomphe, walked the Champs-Elysees, walked along a good amount of the Seine, took pictures of the Louvre pyramids, ate a picnic in the Jardin de Luxembourg, and checked out the Musée Rodin and the Musée d'Orsay, among other things. We were also able to take a night-time boat cruise on the Seine like I had just done with my host family - and we both agreed that was one of the best parts of the trip. Paris is so beautiful at night - truly the city of lights! It was also nice to enjoy the sights while seated!
After 4 months and at least 3 lengthy, individual tours of Paris...I think I'm finally ready to show my family around! I hope they're ready for my Paris Tour 2.0 - it's new and improved! I also hope I'm ready...I can't believe that they'll be here exactly two weeks from today...and then my trip will be over! I'm definitely not ready to leave yet, even though I miss my family and friends from back home. Well, I have at least two weeks and then travel time on the Rooney Family European Tour to prepare myself...we'll see how that goes! In the meantime, I'm off to see some more sights and cross them off my list since it's the Ascension - a Catholic (and apparently French?) holiday where no one has to work or go to school. Time to go enjoy and make the most of my day off! Much love and à plus! Just so eveyone is jealous of me (if you're not already...) I'll leave you with a picture of the sun setting over the Seine.
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