To most Canadians, the thought of living in Paris seems fanciful and extraordinary. Narrow cobblestone roads, high heels and scarves, and restaurants serving luxurious meals. This is Paris right? Well, so far, over the month that I have been here in Paris it’s been that, but it’s also been much more. As part of one of Redeemer’s semester abroad programs (“Redeemer in France”) I have been privileged to be able to visit one of the most remarkable cities in the world. Paris offers so much to see and the other three students on the program here can attest to the fact that after more than a month of sight-seeing and travelling in between classes, we still haven’t been able to see it all...or the half of it for that matter! Our program, known as “Les cours de civilisation française”, runs from February to May with a normal course load of classes ranging from Art History to French Phonetics.
During the first and second weeks we have been here, the four of us Redeemer students visited the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Latin Quarter, the Sorbonne, the Jardin des Tuilleries, etc. etc. Having our French professor Dr. Rusthoven around for the first week was really a blessing, since she knows her way around the city quite well. Apparently she has been organizing the Redeemer in France program for 19 yrs now.
Here in Paris, we've also been connected with a great local church called Rue de Sèvres (Baptist evangelical) named simply after the street it’s on. It's a really amazing place, the people there have been the most welcoming to us out of anyone yet that I've met here in Paris. They've really taken us in with open arms. It's a small community by numerical standards back home; there are maybe 150 people or so in the parish. But in France most Protestant or evangelical church communities are very small. In fact Rue de Sèvres is one of the bigger ones in Paris! On Tuesdays I usually go to their young adult’s night and on Sundays they have two worship services that are great as well. I've already made quite a few friends in the church and some outside of it as well! Paris has been great so far, and classes are zipping by. It’s true, the students who went last year told us before we left to enjoy our time in Paris because it will go by fast! Now, off to do just that...
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