This past fall, Amherst Junior Priscilla Tyler was abroad in Paris, and it was the experience of a lifetime, check it out!
What is your most cherished memory from being abroad in Paris this past semester? My most cherished memory from being abroad in Paris is walking down the Champs d’Elysées with my mom who came to visit for a few days. She studied abroad in Paris 35 years before me and it was her first time back since her time in France. It was incredible to walk the beautiful streets of Paris listening to her stories and sharing my own. We went to most delicious dinner that night together and it made me appreciate being in Paris in that moment so much. It was also great to see her after three months without my family!
What is one lesson you learned? One lesson I learned is to take risks. Going abroad to a big city like Paris really put me outside my comfort zone, I’ve never been one for big cities but I couldn’t have loved my time there more. I took a risk by choosing Paris and also by doing a homestay and I am so happy/proud of myself for stepping outside my comfort zone. I learned a lot about myself by taking risks during my time abroad and it was a great way to take a step back and analyze where I was in my life, what I was doing right, and what I wanted to change. Risk taking can be intimidating but it is the best way to make progress and it is a lesson I will carry with me forever.
Did you learn a lot about French culture and society? I learned an incredible amount about French culture and society. I learned the ins and outs of the language- how the French pronounce certain words, how to speak fluidly and sayings they have that we don’t learn in America. I learned all about French cuisine and wine, I actually took a class on French wine and stayed at a vineyard for three nights! I took a course on the history of Paris through its monuments, where we would learn about the historical buildings, museums, gardens, castles, etc. throughout the city and then visit them every Wednesday. That was a pretty cool experience to walk around the city learning about the history as we went. I also took an art history course in the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, where I learned about French culture through the art of the 18th and 19th centuries. I did a homestay instead of living on my own and that was definitely an amazing experience, my host parents were hilarious and living with a family really immersed me in French society and challenged me to practice speaking the language on a daily basis.
What did you miss most about Amherst? Without a doubt I missed my friends the most during my time away. Since I play lacrosse here at Amherst my teammates are like my second family and it was definitely hard to be away from them for so long. Keeping in touch with everyone via Facebook and Viber just wasn’t the same so when I returned to school in January it was amazing to see everyone, not just teammates but all of my friends!
How do you plan to live it up at Amherst this spring? Since I’m in season it’s going to be a busy spring but I plan on working really hard to do as well as possible on the lacrosse field and in my classes. I also plan on spending as much time with my friends and teammates to make up for the four months of lost time together. Also, I plan on catching up on all my shows I couldn’t watch abroad since Hulu and Netflix are blocked in Paris!
After being abroad, what is your one piece of advice for us gals here at Amherst? After being abroad my one piece of advice for everyone back at Amherst would be to cherish every moment you have here. Amherst can definitely get small at times; in Val, in the gym, in classes, but being away for four months really made me appreciate how lucky I am to be at such an incredible school. Its crazy that I only have less than a year and a half left here and I don’t think we take the time to appreciate this place enough. Once we leave we can never return as students, we can never play another lacrosse game, we can never go out in the socials, we can never live next door to seven of our best friends. So my advice would be to savor every moment and appreciate your time here.