This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at San Francisco chapter.
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Paris for over a month. Time has gone by so fast. I already feel like I’m running out of time to check items off my to do list. I thought now would be a good time to look back at the past seven weeks and think about everything I’ve done. I’m sorry to say I haven’t made the most of my time here. I plan on changing that, though, with these seven steps.
1) Meet people from different countries
It’s really easy to navigate toward people who are from San Francisco. There are around a dozen of us who came from SFSU. It’s tempting to attach myself to people who come from my city. It’s easy, familiar and safe. However, I’ve tried hard to branch out and meet people from different countries. That is why I’m here, after all. I’ve found that hanging out with people from completely different cultures feels a lot more satisfying.
2) Be willing to experiment with your food.
I promised myself that when I came here I would try to be open to the idea of eating escargo. I haven’t yet, but I’ve eaten some funny looking dishes. Just the other day I had a pistacchio éclair. It isn’t the most daring, but I believe in baby steps. It’s important to branch out with food especially. Food differentiates one culture from another. No matter how funny it looks or how difficult the name is, I try hard not to order the same things twice.
3) Cancel Netflix
This was the hardest thing for me to do. I cancelled my subscription just the other week. There were many nights that I sat in my bed and binged on Netflix instead of going out. I treasure these nights, but I realized that it’s a major distraction. My shows will be there when I return to California. Right now, it’s important to focus on enjoying the French culture. It’s easier to do that if I don’t have access to my favorite shows.
4) Spend less money at the bar and more on culture
There’s nothing wrong with going out a couple of nights a week and hanging out with friends at bar. I’ve noticed, though, that’s all some people do. They go out every single night to bars and clubs. Sure, you meet a lot of people that way, but you can bar hop back at home. Spend a couple of nights during the week trying out a new cafe or visiting a museum. It’s important to go places that aren’t available back at home.
5) Just get out of your apartment.
I found some of my favorite restaurants just by wandering around. It’s easy to visit the tourist spots, but some of my favorite bakeries and shops have been the lesser known ones. I didn’t go to ‘Yelp’ beforehand. I just put on my shoes, opened my apartment door and walked out. You’d be surprised what treasures you can find in the corners of streets.
6) Make a timeline of things you want to do.
This may seem a little to ‘schedule-like,’ but there’s so much to do, it’s nice to have a guideline to go by. For example, for my timeline, I wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower before September, as the weather would be its warmest. I didn’t go to the Louvre until mid September on a day that was cloudy and cold. You can’t predict the weather beforehand, but if you really want the midday picnic by the Eiffel Tower, it’s probably best to do it before the cold weather kicks in.
Paris will overwhelm you with all there is to do. It’s so easy to fall into the same habits as I had back home. I could easy shop at the local Forever21, eat at the McDonald’s (which serves a better cheeseburger than any I had in the US), stay in and binge on Netflix. However, I need to remind myself what I’m here for.