Spending a month in Paris
I was lucky enough to spend a month in the marvellous city of Paris during the summer of 2017. When my college in Mumbai approached me and a couple of my friends with the proposal of studying at Telecom Ecole de Management for a summer school program back in February — I was a bit sceptical. Belonging to an engineering background, Paris isn’t renowned for it’s start-up ecosystem/technology in the world [But they did recently launch this amazing campus called Station F!]. But on the other hand, I realised that:
The experience of meeting other students from all over the world and even studying subjects which I wasn’t exactly familiar with could provide me a new perspective on life.
And somehow, following the ‘Do More’ mantra, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and go for it.
Well, safe to say — I’m happy that I went ahead with my decision. I really enjoyed my time in Paris. The best part about spending so much time in a tourist city is that you really get to know the place. Most vacations in Paris consist of tight schedules and simply visiting all the famous monuments of the city over the course of two to three hectic days. But having the freedom to take my time and explore the city almost every evening after the classes ended really made all the difference. It allowed me to dive deep into the streets of Paris and explore the French culture.
Before going, I had a few goals in mind:
- Explore the city of Paris
- Make use of France’s central location and travel to nearby cities & countries
- Learn something new from an academic perspective
Firstly, Paris truly is a city meant to be explored. I thought twenty or so days might just be enough to see everything, but I still feel like I missed a few spots. You can never be bored of it — whether it’s staring at the Eiffel Tower from every possible angle or just walking down the gardens of Luxembourg.
It’s a must to try the golden triangle of French Cuisine — bread, wine & cheese.
Since France’s location is such a plus, travelling to Belgium & Switzerland was pretty convenient.
Europe really is a marvellous place to travel, every street seems to have its own history. I really appreciate that as a continent, they’ve embraced their historical architecture and still follow it to this date instead of constructing concrete jungles and skyscrapers. (I say this with a pinch of salt because our hotel was on the 5th floor and there were no lifts X_X)
Coming to the academic program, I think I was quite satisfied with the knowledge that was imparted to us in a matter of a few weeks. Being taught by a Harvard educated lawyer who was a senior to Barack Obama certainly was an experience of its own. The most thought provoking subject turned out to be Design Thinking. Being a designer personally, I related with the concept & art of empathising with users, listening to their stories — conducting the perfect user interviews and then designing products which they truly love. Those classes have truly got me thinking and I can proudly say that I’m a design thinker now.
The end of my trip was spectacular, it was purely by luck that we happened to be in the city for Bastille Day. And believe me when I say this, we got to experience the once-in-the-year fireworks show at the Eiffel Tower from the best possible view — the Champ De Mars gardens.
And if that wasn’t enough, I also attended the Coldplay concert at Stade de France for my last night in Paris. What an amazing show it was! (P.S: Loved the xylobands!)
It marked the end to a great trip, an even better experience and left me wishing for more. I’m excited for where my life takes me next.
