Please note that our group in France has had wi-fi connectivity issues, and thus, their blog posts are being posted as they come in (sometimes out of order!). Thank you for your understanding.

Written by Sydney LeGuillow ’19 to recount Wednesday, March 7, 2018:

This morning, I took two trains to school with Fanny. After a short breakfast and tour of St-Do, we attended English classes for their second and third periods. Our first lunch at school was full of variety, and we enjoyed eating in the student section of their cafeteria.

Next we met our guide, Chloe, who introduced us to the neighborhood of Le Marais. Highlights included seeing St. Paul – St. Louis as well as a quick introduction to Paris street art. We will get to see more of this later next week.

Our evening was so fun! We took the train as a group to walk Champs-Élysées and to see the Arc de Triomphe. There, we enjoyed a photo shoot and went into the Adidas store with Tristan, Alister, Fanny,  Gabby, and Violette.

Then the real adventure began…when we entered our metro station, Fanny immediately knew something was wrong:  there were 1000+ people waiting for our same train. Fanny instructed me to just push past everyone. Although we got to the front of the platform as soon as the train came and people poured out, I was pushed in every direction; ultimately, I was only able to get one foot on, so we failed at our first attempt to board. The next two trains were not for us, and then finally ready to take a run for the opening doors, Fanny and I managed to get on.
You would think that was the end of the excitement, but NO! We continued to get shoved in our backs until I was on the people around me like white on rice! I felt really uncomfortable having people that close to me, but I held my belongings tight and stayed alert. After the first stop, a couple ended up on me, literally, and the lady, though slightly shorter than me, had her head pressed firmly against my shoulder as she she began to make out with her boyfriend…it was so extremely close to me! I had nowhere to put my face but up towards the ceiling in fear of joining their party! I have to admit I was glad to get off that train and have a place to just breath.
Here’s to more great adventures in Paris!