Bonjour tout le monde! These last two months have been some of the best days of my life. I have found so much freedom here in France. From using the public transportation system to being able to travel all over France and even to other countries. It’s incredible! Some things I have already learned that are so important while being abroad are;

Being first: Being the first person to talk and open up is often necessary. Here in France, I have learned to really push myself to form relationships. I’ve learned how to ask “what are you doing this weekend” and “can I come?” quite often.

Being curious: At first, I never knew what to bring up in conversations, it is still quite difficult. However, I have learned to say whatever comes to mind. I’ve learned that your questions reflect what is different in your country and your family/friends want to hear those kinds of things! The first week we talked about table manners and how different they are from South Carolina.

Having intention: Everything you do, do it with purpose. My focus right now is language so I try to watch everything in French, read in French, etc. At school, I probably say “parlez en français s’il vous plaît” like 20 times a day. It’s hard for English speakers here because it feels like everyone else speaks English too. I am also in classes with a lot of English speaking students!

Living in the moment: These 3 months have passed so fast! I sometimes forget that I am only here for one semester. . It is sometimes hard to slow down and let things fall into place as they should.

So right now I’m trying to be present in all that I do and accept the differences we have and the commonalities we share.