My GW Study Program in Paris has been nothing short of magnificent thus far. The GW program sets up many events throughout the semester to integrate students for living in the city, as well as to meet the other GW students in your program. We have had multiple lunches and dinners, tickets to a French movie where we got to meet the main actress, an amazing champagne tasting tour and my personal favorite, a weekend visit to the beautiful Mont Saint Michel. The program goes above and beyond to ensure students are acclimating well and learning all the tricks and tips of living in Paris.
When I first arrived, I had the notion that Parisians can be mean, especially to Americans. In my personal experience over a month into living here is that this statement couldn't have been more false. Everyone is so kind and almost everyone here speaks English, so don't fret if your French is not up to par. Most French people will try to speak English to you anyway if they can immediately tell you are not fluent.
Acclimating to life in Paris really was not much different than life back at GW, aside from the language, of course. There are some differences such as restaurants taking much longer (you have to ask for the check yourself), and for school you have to somewhat teach yourself , especially when it comes to due dates for assignments and tests, as teachers won't remind you about them.
There are endless amounts of things to do in Paris from the museums, food, arts and history, you will always have something new to explore. Paris can also be a hotspot for other major world events. The Rugby World Cup has been going on in Paris this fall, and Paris Fashion Week just happened too. Paris can get a bit pricey, so I definitely recommend finding cheap street food options, a local boulangerie, cheaper grocery stores such as LIDL, and cheaper neighborhoods such as Latin Quarter to explore with your friends.
Making friends in a new environment where you may not speak the language can be daunting, but remember that there are so many others in the same boat as you. Don't hesitate to make new friends at school or while you're out exploring the city. Offer new people places to go out, get food, or even just to find new things to do in Paris, and I'm sure they'll want to join.
Traveling throughout Europe is also much cheaper than the states, so take advantage of it if you can. Whether by bus, train or plane, Paris is accessible to every other major city in Europe, and I recommend to travel somewhat early so that you don't travel during the weeks all of your assignments or finals will be due.
Stephen Shaw
Fall 2023
GW Paris - Universite Paris- Dauphine (GW Study Program)
School of Business
International Business Major