And I think to myself, what a wonderful world!

COUNTRY: France
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Language Immersion
WRITTEN BY: Allie Boyd

It seems so incredible that two weeks ago I was saying my goodbyes to family and friends with both excitement and nervousness. The journey is already a quarter of the way through and it seems like only yesterday I took my very firsts steps in the très magnifique city of Paris!

I arrived a day before Holly and didn’t waste any time ! I spent my first day in Paris walking though the beautiful, elegant Parisian streets, passing the sophisticated men and women, and gazing at the mouth-watering pastries and macaroons in little café windows. I think you get the best view of Paris by walking its streets. You catch portions of the language, the style and beauty of the city. After all the days and nights of dreaming of the magic of Paris, I was so excited to finally be there and experience it all. It was so much more than what I expected!

After an excellent walk through Luxembourg Gardens I eventually made it to Notre Dame. After marvelling at the building I went inside and decided to attend the mass service. It was entirely in French but it was a wonderful experience to witness. Towards the end of the service, I decided to head back to FIAP to see if Holly was back after I embarrassed myself by not knowing how to take part in communion. It was an amazing first day in Paris and I was so excited for the following week and all the amazing things I could do.

Having little background knowledge in French other than a basic knowledge and some 'key phrases' from the first semester at university (which have not actually come up in a conversation), we were very nervous for our first day at Paris Langues. At 9am Monday morning we waited anxiously to take our French level tests to see what class we would fit into.

We both came out saying how we thought we knew more than we actually did and we were both placed in a great beginners class. Our teacher, Claudine, was so lovely but only spoke to us in French! Over the week, hearing French continuously became easier to understand but the work on verbs and grammar was extensive and at times quite difficult to understand. But we did feel like our vocabulary was improving every day and that we could construct some basic sentences with the help of our classmates. In our class there were people from all over Europe. We had lots of fun getting to know them and learning about their individual country’s culture. They were so patient and willing to help us out.

Our classes were from 9am-12pm, which meant we had all the afternoons to explore and wander the streets of Paris. Everything is incredibly beautiful and so old. Being from a small country town, I was completely fascinated and enriched by everything I saw, as everything in Australia is so new in comparison! Every piece of Paris holds a unique history and story, and I was enchanted by the gothic architecture and detail in every building, garden or statue. It was also lots of fun to try out some of my French in some of the cafes and patisseries. My favourite was a place called 'Paul', which is all over the city and j’adore the pain au chocolat!

We visited some great places like Luxembourg Gardens, Notre Dame, Arc De Triomphe, the Louvre, Catacombs, La tour Eiffel (of course!), and went on a cruise along the Seine River! It was an absolutely incredible experience and we felt so independent and grown up.

After an incredible week, we had an early night on Friday so Holly could prepare for the next part of her France journey: meeting the host family in Le Mans, while I decided to stay in Paris for another week at FIAP.

Best week ever!