Comments on: Looking back on my first year in Paris

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 13 May 2010 23:14:16 +0000

Great Article! I am a high school student and just returned from a 2 week trip to France with a group from my school. I spent 10 days living with a family in Marseille and 4 days in Paris. Interacting with locals and especially living with a family was how I learned all the phrases I didn’t learn in school. =]

By: Freddy

Freddy — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:02:03 +0000

Wow, what a great article. I would like to know more about you before you went abroad.

By: sabrina

sabrina — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:29:07 +0000

i spent a year abroad in lyon, living with a family. during a holiday, some french friends and i spent 3 weeks in paris, and i have to say, i came away hating it! however, i am itching to return to france and so this was a very memory inducing read. thank you!

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:26:26 +0000

Merci, J.C.
You’re certainly right about France being more than just its capital and inhabitants. I was lucky enough to be able to travel around a bit (although it was tough on a student’s budget) and actually spent quite a bit of time in Lyon.
Through my travels I discovered that although Paris would always have its own special page in my passport I didn’t want to settle there!

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:56:08 +0000

By: Hannah

Hannah — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:54:38 +0000

I too went to Paris under the guise of education – to study mime in the home of Marceau. What I found there, living alone like you (though I was in an alternately depressing and superbly uplifting 8th floor walk-up garret in the 13th) was also myself.

I worked as an au pair while there, and did a lot of communicating in French with a five year old whose only known English phrase was, “Can I have another cookie please?” Mime school doesn’t really afford one the opportunity to talk a lot, you know?

I remember a number of conversations from the Metro in Paris, and they almost always revolved around literature of some sort, either what I was reading or what they were reading. I found the Parisians (because no, they’re not French, but a breed all unto themselves) to be surprisingly inquisitive and friendly, despite a cold-ish exterior.

By: Heather Carreiro

Heather Carreiro — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:21:15 +0000

I’d like to see a guide on how you “collect nationalities.” : )

By: maya

maya — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:13:14 +0000

i really enjoyed this article, especially your perspective and candidness! what you experienced studying abroad is similar to a lot of what have been experiencing during my year abroad, and i’m glad i’m not the only one going through (or who’s gone through) the “silence of winter in (substitute copenhagen for paris) when you live alone and have only a few friends and no family”, and that, most importantly, things inproved for you! i’m inspired. thank you!

By: Joya

Joya — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:15:50 +0000

I really enjoyed this article. I have always wanted to live in Paris for a year to learn French even if it means going by my self. You showed a completely different side of what living in Paris as an expat is like.

By: Reeti

Reeti — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:20:24 +0000

Absolutely wonderful writing. These lines spoke to me-

“It seemed that the new personality I’d been looking forward to trying on was that of a misanthropic loner, who had to hype herself up for 10 minutes before working up the courage to make a simple phone call.”