A Year in Paris with Duke in France - Part 1

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Where were your favorite places to go in Paris?

My favorite coffee shop in Paris – say it with me, friends and Hinge dates! – is and will always be Partisan Café Artisanal (3è arrondissement). Yes, yes, the google reviews give it a not-stellar rating of 4.3 stars; yes, the wait can be long sometimes; yes, the salomon-wearing, toweringly-tall instagram models/influencers carrying Balenciaga handbags CAN make you feel intimidated. However, the vibe is exceptional, the bar flow (the synchronization and streamlined consciousness of the baristas behind the bar) is impeccable, and they make a hell of a good cortado, if you ask me (and you should ask me, I was a barista for a year at a specialty coffee shop and worked in a three-michelin-starred restaurant).  

There are many things that make Partisan special, but one of those things is the indoor/outdoor construction that creates a miniature ecosystem on the corner of la Rue de Turbigo and la Rue Saint-Martin. I can hop over a little black metal stool and voilà, I’m outside. The Instagrammability of its industrial style also attracts a very international clientele, so you’ll always be hearing languages you don’t recognize, as well as the unmistakable near-shouts of American tourists.

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Of course, another reason I love Partisan is the people watching, or, rather, the outfit-observing – so many stylish people concentrated in one little cafe. When you come to Paris, you quickly learn that the way you dress is extremely important. If you’re lost on style-inspo, come to Partisan for the perfect example of how cool Parisians dress. I’ve made so many great memories here – come for the cortado and matcha white chocolate cookie, stay for the sick outfits and natural light.  

Why did you decide to attend Duke in France/EDUCO?

Frankly, I always knew that I wanted to study abroad in Paris. Growing up, I was lucky to come to the city multiple times, and I knew from a young age that it was somewhere I wanted to live, at least for a little while.

I specifically chose to spend a year abroad because I think that a semester really isn’t enough time to understand what it’s like to really live in Paris and to understand what being a Parisian really means. When you spend a year abroad as opposed to 4 months, you start to consider the city your home; your host family’s apartment, your apartment; the metro stop of your lodging, your metro stop.

You start to think that eating with only a fork is crazy (it’s much easier to eat à la francaise, with a fork AND knife!!), that needing a cart at the grocery store is irrational, that wearing active wear for any other reason than exercise is a crime.

Spending this much time in a new culture shifts your thinking and exposes you to new ways of living, introduces you to ideas that maybe you find that you agree with more than the ideologies that you currently possess. If you’re interested in some serious self-development and growing your expanses of knowledge, I recommend studying abroad for as long as possible.

I’m academically driven, but I’m more interested in gaining interesting experiences than amassing more hard knowledge – I suppose that that’s another reason why I decided to do this program. By getting out of the classroom in the Old Chemistry building and out of my home country, I’ve had so many incredible adventures and met so many interesting people. Thank you, Duke!! 

What was a class activity that stood out to you during your program? 

This fall semester I took an incredibly informative and thought-provoking sociologie course (De la culture des Lumières à la culture populaire : Une histoire théorique, esthétique et politique de la modernité à Paris) with Professor Florent Jakob, one of the best – if not THE best – professors I’ve ever had.

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Throughout the course, we ventured outside of the classroom into the city, taking tours of specific arrondissements and quartiers relevant to our coursework. One of these excursions followed a reading from Walter Benjamin’s Paris, capitale du XIXe siècle, in which he discussed the idea of the modern metropolis, the birth of the myth of the big city, and the fetishism of merchandise.

The last phenomenon, we learned, began in les passages in Paris – covered corridors lined with independent boutiques and cafes, symbols of luxury and elegance that take you back to the early 19th century.

Thanks to this course and Professor Florent, my classmate Sophia Ristreppo and I (our third classmate being sick for the excursion) got a private tour of the most central passages in Paris, observing details in the architecture and design of the corridors that we would have never remarked otherwise. Since our tour, I’ve followed the same path that we took with multiple friends, who are always just as amazed as I am at the detail and sumptuousness of les passages, hidden gems of Paris.  

How will this program affect your next steps after graduation? 

Thanks to AP credit, overloading for a few semesters, and taking a few summer courses, I’m graduating one year early and have chosen to spend my last year (3rd year) studying abroad.

Before starting this program, I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do after graduation, but, thankfully, that idea was solidified thanks to networking with connections in Paris that I had from my stage over the summer (at a three-michelin-starred restaurant in the south of France).

Decidedly, at the end of the program, I’ll be starting a master’s degree in Hospitality Management at EHL in Lausanne, Switzerland, the #1 ranked hospitality school in the world. My participation in this program has helped me enormously in arriving at this decision. Paris is a capital of luxury hospitality, and seeing firsthand the level of exigence, detail, and personalization in luxury properties and restaurants solidified my desire to pursue a career in luxury hospitality. Plus, I’ve gained a C2+ level of French through the program that will help me in the future when I apply for jobs in Europe.

Additionally, I’ll be able to add work experience in France to my CV in my future job search (through stages I’ve done while studying abroad). Even though courses in hospitality or restauration aren’t offered at Duke, studying abroad and studying a foreign language has allowed me to create my own path in a field that I’m passionate about. You can create your own path, and studying abroad might be a stepping stone towards your unique goals! 

What advice do you have for other students considering this program? 

Don’t stick with the other Americans!! Ok?? Do not do it!! You are stunting your language learning, your reception of new ideas, and are probably being immediately classified as a dirty American tourist.

Spend time alone, eat meals alone, sit in a park alone, and open your ears and your eyes. Be the main character in your own film. Blast some angsty music in your headphones and take a walk along the Seine. Go embarrass yourself on some awkward Hinge dates. Talk to the barista in your broken French. Don’t use your American friends as a crutch in this big, new city.

I know it may be intimidating and seem too hard, but, trust me, no one cares about you, is looking at you, or is judging you (ok, maybe the really trendy French girls who take a long look up and down of your outfit).

Going out on your own armed with your non-fluent French is like going to the gym for the first time. You’re not quite sure how the machines work, you’re a little uncomfortable showing your untoned arms, and you think everyone is staring at you. Similarly, no one cares; you’re doing this for yourself and it’s going to do you some good.

So, get out there, be adventurous, take advantage of the time to do some self-exploration, and immerse yourself in French culture.