Bonjour Paris

Katherine Seel
 January 8, 2017
It’s hard to believe that in a few short days I will be traveling over three thousand miles from my home in Connecticut to Paris for a semester abroad. This day seemed so far away back in June when I found out I was going to study abroad in Paris, but now it is finally here. Am I packed? Mostly. Have I forgotten something? Most likely. Am I excited? Absolutely. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Katie and I am a junior at Penn State University. As sad as I am about leaving Penn State and all my friends behind for a semester I could not turn down this amazing opportunity to study in Paris. I have been to France twice in my life, once to Paris and once to Nice. Both times I visited the beautiful country I have found a new appreciation for France. My first time to Paris was when I was in middle school with my family. I remember how much I loved Paris, from the shopping to the museums and all the café stops in between, it was by far one of the best trips ever. I had the opportunity to travel to Nice with my family two summers ago. I did not know what to expect when visiting Nice, I haven’t heard much about nor did I know what it looked like. When I got there my views on Nice changed. The scenery was spectacular, everywhere you walked there was either a beautiful building, a cute street, or an amazing view of the French Riviera. These two trips made me fall in love with France, which is why I decided to study abroad in Paris. I wanted to be back in a place that I love and to able to explore more of the both the city and the country. As excited I am for being able to live in a beautiful place for four months, I am a bit nervous for the language barrier. I do not speak that much French. When I went to France before I had the comfort of my family to rely on, there were five of us to figure out how to get somewhere or to get something. However, now I will be traveling on my own and I do not know how to converse with anyone other than “bonjour.” I hope that I will be able to learn quickly so I can be able to find my way around as well as have conversations with people in French. But for now, I will stick to my google translate app and hope it helps me get through the first few days.

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Katherine Seel

Hi! My name is Katie, I am currently a junior at Penn State University majoring in Marketing and minoring in International Business. I love running, photography, cats and dogs, and exploring new places. This semester, I could not be more excited to study abroad in Paris. And I cannot wait to share all my experiences with you.

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Penn State University
Major:
Marketing
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