Ohé Paris!

In only 21 days, I will be bound for Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France. 21 days! I can't believe the trip is this close, and I don't think it's hit me yet that I'm even going. But nevertheless, I can't wait! My first trip to Paris!

Paris! The city of love. Of art. Of history. Not to mention the food, the culture, and the fashion! And I'm going to be there! For five weeks!

Over Spring Break, I spontaneously decided to apply for a summer study abroad program with Clemson's French department. (Go Tigers!) I'd always wanted to study abroad and this program seemed to fit the bill. Much to my delight, I was accepted into the program and started preparing for the trip right away.

Now, as final exams draw to a close, my first trip to France seems just around the corner. It's so close I can almost taste the cheeses, the wine, and the desserts. Yes, this most certainly will be a wonderful summer!

Did I mention that I will be taking classes at the Sarbonne? Mais oui! As I am a French minor, I will be taking the equivalent of a fourth-semester French course at the Sarbonne in addition to a French immersion course with my Clemson instructor. Elle est très amusant! Needless to say, I am looking forward to improving my French speaking skills.

One of our first assignments is to read A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway, his memoirs from a writing apprenticeship in Paris in the 1920s. In it he states,

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."


Like Hemingway, I know that my memories of Pairs will most certainly be with me for the rest of my life.

The thing I am most excited to visit is not the Eiffel Tower. Nor is it l'Arc de Triomphe. I've been dreaming--and at this point, dying--to see Canov's marble masterpiece of Cupid and Psyche, Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, which was first commissioned in 1787. The love story surrounding this work is my favorite mythology story of all time. I simply can't wait to see the statue in person; it's just so elegant and graceful! I might even try my hand at sketching! (After all, who isn't an artiste when they're in Paris?!)


But, alas, finals are not yet over and I must return to leave my Parisian dream world until next time. Let the countdown to Paris begin! Bonne nuit!