A Day in The Life of A Travel Study Student
- g2travel
- Jul 6, 2017
- 3 min read
During Travel Study, your daily life looks a little different than it does on campus in Los Angeles. There’s a multitude of new, exciting things to do and places to explore, paired with going to class and devoting time to school work. It can start to be quite the juggling act! However, finding a schedule has helped me significantly balance everything and maximize my time.
Morning
I usually have been waking up around 8:00 or 9:00am to get my day started. My roommate Natasha and I operate on the same schedule which has been nice, too. A French breakfast is very simple and usually consists of toasted baguette with jam or a croissant with coffee. We often pick up a fresh bread right out of the oven from the boulangerie around the corner and some fruit from the grocery store. After breakfast, we work on homework– lately this has been writing papers, reading, and preparing for class discussions.
Homework takes a few hours, but this can be a little bit more or less depending on the assignments and workload for the week. Our professors are very receptive to our feedback and the amount of homework they give – they want us to make sure we can enjoy Paris, too! For both of the advanced curriculums in Travel Study Paris, French Language and Culture there is class three times a week which allows us to plan our homework easier.
Studying in the park was always a viable option, too!
Noon
After preparing my assignments for class, I like to do a fun “Paris” activity. School doesn’t start until 3:30pm so this leaves plenty of time for exploring. This can come in many forms such as exploring a museum, going to one of the many parks, seeing monuments, or simply just walking along the Seine. Sight-seeing around Paris is a great way to learn about the city and balance your school work. During this time, we usually have a picnic lunch in a park or relax at a café.
Here's a few of my pre-class activities so far:
Next, it’s time for school! We attend class at the CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) Center which is located centrally in the city. Though 3:30-6:30pm may seem like a long time to be in class, I assure you it doesn’t feel that way. The class sizes are small (only twelve people in mine!) and you are taking two classes. The first half of class is French 100: Advanced Oral Expression, where we discuss current events and practice grammar, and the second half is French 107: Narrative & Description, where we are currently reading a novel and refining our writing skills.
Evening
After school, we take the metro home to have dinner with our host family. Our commute to and from school only takes 10-15min, which is great! Regardless of where you live in Paris, though, the metro system is highly efficient and very easy to navigate. Dinner usually begins around 8:00pm, so we have some down time until then. I usually use this time to call my parents, take a shower, work on this blog (hehe), or just relax.
Most metro stations don't look like this, but several feature a theme and artistic designs!
From 8:00pm to 10:00pm we have dinner and help our host mom clean up. You can see what a typical dinner looks like if you click here! The rest of the evening after dinner looks different depending on schoolwork or plans with other students with the program. Even though we finish dinner somewhat late, the sun doesn’t set until 10:00pm during the summer in Paris, leaving some daylight to squeeze in some outings. I’m never opposed to an ice cream run at the café below our apartment or a metro ride to the Eiffel Tower to watch it sparkle!
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