The weekend has begun here in Paris, and that means it’s time for sightseeing! The last five days in Paris have been different than any of my other visits here in France. Unlike my other two times in the city of lights, I haven’t been shuffled around from one monument to another every day. It’s an odd phenomenon not seeing Paris “through the eyes of a tourist”. And I know this concept sounds presumptuous because I haven’t even been here for a week yet.

As I am becoming accustomed to life in Quito, my eyes are being opened to the richness and diversity of the Spanish language. In the United States different parts of the country use different words such as soda versus pop, or tennis shoes versus sneakers; however these small differences in words and phrases are nothing in comparison to the diversity of the Spanish language. In Spanish speaking countries differences in phrases are numerous.

The time has finally arrived. In just a few short days, I will be boarding a plane headed for Paris. I keep asking the people around me to pinch me to make sure I'm not dreaming. I depart on Tuesday evening, and I still have so much packing to do. Leave it to me, queen of procrastination, to wait until the last minute to be ready. I know what I need to bring, but it's not technically in my travel bag yet. But that's just a minor detail.

It’s a bit surreal to acknowledge the fact that when I wake up next Tuesday morning, I will be beginning a brand new chapter in my life. Only 18 hours of air travel will then remain between departure and my new life as a foreign exchange student. I have been anticipating this day for a while, and as I pack this morning, the reality of it all is becoming more and more real.