I'm starting this blog the same way I began my India travel blog, with my favorite quote. The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page. Call it wanderlust, searching for yourself, or just being young and restless, but I strongly believe in the importance of exploring. There is nothing more rewarding than traveling to new places and learning about other cultures, languages, traditions and people of the world. It's been two years since the last time I lived overseas and I'm ready for my next adventure.
Where am I headed this time? The city of love, lights, arts, fashion, charm and culinary genius. A city bursting with history and joie de vivre. Paris. A lifelong dream of mine. I may have actually cried when it hit me that my dream was going to be a reality. Six months in Paris. How did I get this lucky?
But as much as I'd love to pretend I'm just going to be wandering around the city for half a year consuming endless bottles of wine and all 246 different kinds of cheese, I do have a plan for my trip. I'm participating in a language-intensive program for the month of July to help me sound less American as quickly as possible. I mean... to improve my French speaking skills before the fall semester. Then I get a quick break in August to hangout with Mom & Dad before diving into classes in September. For the fall semester, I'll be taking classes in the international security program at Sciences Po. And I'll admit, my inner foreign policy nerd is jumping & down with excitement at the thought of taking classes about conflict from a non-American perspective.
I have a never-ending list of things to do and see but I'm hoping to spend a lot of my time spontaneously roaming around and discovering everything Paris has to offer. I think too often people worry about getting to as many places as possible (esp. in Europe) but when you do that, you only get a taste of each city. So while I do hope to travel a bit, I want to focus on enjoying Paris and France before I worry about crossing off every other country in Europe.
I will also be continuing my ninja training. After all, Paris is the birthplace of parkour. But considering how much there is to explore in the city, I've decided to continue blogging about parkour separately through Ninja Girl in Training and to start this blog as a way to share my non-parkour adventures (yes, I have those) with friends and family.
I have three days left before I fly out of DC. Three. Days. I'm scared. I'm excited. I'm worried I'm forgetting something. But most of all, I'm feeling completely blessed for all of the people in my life that have helped me get here, and who continue to support me even when I run away to foreign countries for months at a time. I love you all. And I'm so happy I get to share my next adventure with you.
xo A
