Gotta do this more often...

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So I've been here over a month! Crazy! Life here is going very well, pretty busy and active and all that good stuff. I'm settling in pretty well--it was definitely a little difficult at first, getting used to studying abroad here and not being in Senegal, which I still miss very much. But Paris obviously has a million and one things to offer and I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to live here for the semester and benefit from so many amazing cultural experiences, in France and in Europe in general. Sometimes I do have to remind myself that, but every time I get active and out doing things in the city I feel so happy to be here.

I'm just starting my third week of classes and things are going well at Sciences-Po. I'm taking 5 classes, 2 lectures: Religions and Societies; and Political Behavior, Attitudes, and Forces, as well as 3 electives: Political Urbanization in Paris; Music, Politics, and Subjectivity; and French Language. In general I'm pretty pleased with my courses, though none of them have blown me away yet. One of my lecture classes is A LOT of work, but otherwise they aren't ridiculously demanding. I have a few major assignments in each, but not a lot of homework so I have yet to feel very busy academically. At Sciences-Po the lecture courses and their corresponding discussion classes count for 9 credits, while the electives are only worth three credits, so I have a lot more work in those two classes, but like I said, I haven't really felt the pressure yet. It depends on the class, but there are definitely a lottt of foreign students. Two of my electives are mostly exchange students, but the lectures have more French students. It definitely is hard to meet French students here because the only real interaction I have with them is in class when people don't really talk because we're busy concentrating on the professor. Plus, I can't say that the French students at Sciences-Po are the friendliest people... but hopefully I can make some friends over the course of the semester, maybe through some sort of club...?

Unfortunately my schedule isn't great--I have three classes in a row on Fridays and my two earliest classes at the end of the week, but the earlier half is pretty lax so I guess that's good. The good news is classes only meet once a week (lectures twice), so my schedule really isn't that busy and I'm hoping it'll make it easier for me to work if I find some people who need tutoring. To get to school I normally take the RER (commuter train that goes through Paris) because its direct, although I normally don't take it during rush hour so the trains don't come very frequently. Otherwise I can take the metro but I have to transfer and its farther from the building where I have most of my classes.

Other than school, I've been pretty busy. My French friend Melia, from my grandparent's village in the south, came to visit this weekend which was very fun. We did some sightseeing, shopping, saw a very bizarre French movie about potentially gay twin brothers (they failed to mention that on the description), and went out on the Champs Elysees. All in all a very typically Parisian weekend, and now I'm pretty exhausted haha. I've been going to various exhibits and walking around a lot, though I should try and do more of that on my own. I have yet to really explore the Marais, a supposedly adorable and fun neighborhood, so I'm going to try to do that this week. Sadly life here is very expensive, but I'm somehow staying on budget so that's good news. Gotta keep track of my expenses though, because now that I've been here awhile, I'm starting to plan my trips...

I was hoping to go to Scotland to visit Caitlyn in two weeks but the cheap plane ticket I found tripled over night, so now I'm waiting to see if it goes back down last minute. If not, I'm going to try to go in May. Otherwise trips to Prague and Madrid are in the works... I should be booking my flight to Spain to visit Emily and Isabella pretty soon, and I'm working on Prague in May with Caitlyn. Sarah and I are also planning our spring break trip which is very exciting!!! We found a relatively reasonable way to do Paris - Munich - Salzburg - Vienna - Budapest in 10 days, and it looks like its probably going to happen! I'm so excited to visit that region of Europe since I have never been there before, and we would take trains all the way to Budapest which should be a great way to see the countryside. I can't wait for Salzburg!!! Haha... mostly because of the Sound of Music. And Budapest for the renowned hot baths! Cannot wait, it really should be amazing and its so much fun to plan. Train isn't the cheapest mode of transportation, but it is very convenient for this type of trip and cheaper as you add more destinations which is nice.

Well that's about all I can think of right now... Feel free to ask questions because they help me think of things to write about! I miss everyone back home and around the US! xx Kim

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