Joining a new community isn't only about work! How do you spend your free time, and what do you do for fun? Upload a photo and include a narrative that describes a moment when you learned something new, tried something new, or connected with someone new as part of your Laidlaw experience.

In my free time, I enjoy reading at the parks in Paris. I really like Jardin du Luxembourg and Jardin Des Plantes. Because I'm usually busy during the school year, I like to spend as much time as possible during the summer to read books I enjoy outside of classes. I also like going to cafes, trying out new restaurants, and watching french movies (as a part of my effort in learning french!). I take a 30-minute walk next to the Seine every night at 9:30pm. 

A moment when I learned something new was when I was talking with some Parisian friends and they explained the French politics to me. We connected when talking about how it seems that both the U.S. and France are very politically polarized. I really enjoyed hearing from them about their views on French politics, EU politics, as well as some of their ideas about the U.S. 

One of the girl I met that night studies English Literature at Sorbonne. We connected over our shared love for Virginia Woolf and Wong Kai Wei's Chunking Express. It's crazy to me how even though there's some language barriers, we were able to talk for an hour about books and films. 

This week, I also met with Diya as she travelled from London to Paris. It's great to have another Laidlaw friend in town! I am grateful that the program brought us together. We had coffee and croissant (apparently the base in the country).