Blonde and Abroad: The Tales of a SoCal Girl Living la Vie Parisienne: Final Post: Reflections, Rendez Vous, and Relaxing Strolls

My two months stay in Paris has come to an end. While time usually does fly, it did not for me during this particular stay. That's because I made the most of every day. I cherished being in Paris and used my two month stay to only explore Paris, but also other parts of France. (This is quite different from my exchange counterparts at HEC, who traveled almost every weekend to other parts of Europe.)

Also, because I've already spent extensive time in Paris, I didn't feel a need nor an urgency to see all the Parisian sites. Instead, I would wake up leisurely, complete personal or school-related tasks in the morning, take my time strolling through various arrondissements and gardens in the afternoon, read books at cafés, and prioritize times spent with locals, HEC peers, or sometimes by myself in the evening. There were also very few moments of feeling rushed or stressed during the trip. My academic load was purposefully lite, which allowed me to immerse myself with locals and HEC students, in Parisian life, and in other endeavors of my choosing.

Each day, I felt alive, content, and in love.

The photos shown below were taken at random points throughout my stay in Paris. They represent the various places and sites that I would visit (often by myself) in the afternoons. The walks during which these photos were taken were reflective, mediative, and perhaps healing. From these walks, I reflected on:

1) My experiences in Paris represent some of the best moments of my life: getting engaged to Ben; numerous visits with family over the years; staying with my two host families and greatly improving my French and learning about French culture with them; interning at the US embassy; attending Women's World Cup, Euro Cup, and PSG soccer matches with close friends and family; speaking French all day and night; exploring Paris by foot, etc.

2) Studying French will continue to be my lifelong passion: I absolutely love speaking, listening, writing, and reading French. After 20+ years of education, French remains my favorite subject. In the near future, I'd like to take the official French language certification test to validate/showcase my language skills. In the longer term, I'd like to take translation courses, get an official masters degree, and would consider becoming a translator as my retirement gig. That said, I'll continue to read, watch French films and TV shows, take classes, and travel to France hopefully once a year.

3) The connections that I've made with French people in Paris are deep and marvelous: Muriel, Ally, Gautier, Arthur, Clara, Isabelle, Laure-Anne, Brigitte, Marie, Victor, Nicholas, Amy (to name a few...)

4) There is still so much more to see in France: While I've visited a lot of France, there is still so much more to see, such as Marseille, Nimes, Corsica, Languedoc, Colmar, Dordogne, Puy-en-Velay, Lourdes, etc. So much for beauty, history, nature, and wonder to visit!

5) "Il n'y as pas de hasard; il n'y a que des rendez-vous": This was a phrase that was told to my parents and me at Brasserie Lipp by an intriguing French woman named Annette. Further online research showed that Paul Eluard, the 20th French surrealist poet, wrote it in one of his poems. It translates to: "In life, there isn't chance, only meet ups." In other words: meetings, introductions, or run-ins with other people don't happen by chance; they were meant to be. I find that this phrase best captures a lot of what I have experienced not only in Paris, but also in life.

Enjoy these final photos and à la prochaine (or, see you next time), Paris!