“Uh oh… how did the Parisians treat you?” This was the constant response I would get from my friends and family when telling them about my study abroad experience in Paris. The overwhelming stereotype of Parisians being snotty and rude towards Americans seemed to be the first impression in people’s heads when thinking about an abroad experience in Paris.
However, they always seemed surprised when I responded “I had no problem with that, all of the Parisians treated me quite well!” And that was the truth! Something I realized about that stereotype was that as long as you respect their culture, they’ll respect you. The UCEAP Paris program does a good job of preparing you for cultural norms to be cognizant of when living your everyday life abroad. For example, you should always say “bonjour” when entering a storeplace or “bonsoir” if it’s the eveningtime.
Another important skill to have when studying abroad in Paris is knowing how to utilize the public transportation. The public transportation system in Paris consists of the metro, RER, buses, and trams - and is an overall great system. The UCEAP program will give you your Navigo pass with the first month uploaded, but you will have to pay for your own monthly pass after the first one is up ( you can do so at any metro station). Once you get used to taking the metro, you’ll love how easy it is to get around the whole city.
You’re living in Paris, take every chance you can to explore! During my program, one of my favorite things to do in my free time was to take the day, get lost, and explore. I’d choose one spot to start at, whether that was Le Petit Palais, the Luxembourg Gardens, or Le Marais. Then I’d keep walking around, seeing what was nearby that was on my bucket list or just stopping in anywhere that looked interesting. For these days of exploring, I loved to take the bus so I could look out the window and admire the people walking around, the architecture, and overall atmosphere.
Pictured below: The gardens of Le Petit Palais 🤍💐
