Here we are: my last post of the semester, and, at the time of writing, exactly four weeks until I leave Paris and head back to the USA. The country I left in May 2016 is not the same one I will be returning to in December. Being a dual citizen, a skeptic of the static conception of nationality, and a relatively critical thinker who is mildly politically informed, it’s never been easy for me to fully embrace the designation…
“I need a vacation from my vacation!” is an exclamation I associate with ardent Mediterranean cruise-goers, or perhaps with ambitious trans-continental road-trippers. Either way, someone wearing sneakers and holding lots of maps, enthusiasm waning as sweat trickles down their furrowed brow. The same principle of this ironic need for a respite from a character-building interlude in one’s otherwise mundane life, however, applies also to study abroad. “I need a vacation from study abroad,” one might say, or more specifically, “I…
As the halfway point of the semester approaches, so does the cold. I quickly realized that I did not bring enough scarves, that the leaves won’t be changing color, and that these gorgeous neoclassical facades provide about the same level of insulation as paper. This is excusable, seeing as I’m in Paris. What’s harder to come to terms with is nature’s relentless reminder that my study abroad clock is ticking. The farther we descend into the cold, the more I…
When in Paris, look up. Never mind that the fabled flâneurs of yore have been largely replaced by scowling professionals in navy speed-walking at breakneck pace—what lies above the sidewalks is too beautiful to miss. Take in the towering church facades, the French Renaissance grandeur, the monuments at every corner. Watch for the modest shutters on buildings untouched by Haussmann and the endless repetition of wrought-iron balconies framed by columns adorning those which constitute his legacy. This last image is…
If you’re sick of hearing about Paris, about its flaneurs and cafés and the magic of its lights and about the hundreds of Vassar students who have returned wearing even more black than they did when they left, then you’re in luck. We’re not in Paris. Make no mistake: the Vassar-Wesleyan Program in Paris (VWPP) begins fall semester with a two-week orientation and intensive French language course in Bordeaux. Some context: je m’appelle Antigone, I am a junior Art History…