Zakhar Paulousky, CIEE Open Campus Block in Paris, Fall 2025
Though we all live on the same floating rock, lives differ significantly across the world. This is the case for my life studying abroad in Paris versus my studying at Pitt. My days varied quite a bit, and I will try to describe how some of my more average days went.
The biggest part of my daily life was classes. Even if I only had them three days out of seven, they still took up 6 hours of those days, on top of going to the study center, as well as doing homework. From time to time, I would go to the library if I really needed to study in a quiet spot, though libraries in Paris tend to be smaller and more crowded, and often they’re designated for specific subjects, which I find quite interesting!
When not in class, I’m looking for something to occupy my time, which can be surprisingly hard, despite the fact that Paris is such a historic and grand city. A lot of the time I would try to go to a park or just walk around new neighborhoods in the city. Otherwise, if it’s raining or too cold (which rarely happens in the mild Parisian winter), I can go to one of the numerous museums scattered around the city, which often are also free or discounted for people under 26 or students!
Another big part of my daily life is food. I am very lucky in this aspect because a significant chunk of my meals are provided for – my host mom will usually cook dinner for the family, and my program offers us lunch quite often. For breakfast, I do as in the US and buy cereal or toast and make some in the morning. Lunch outside of school is the only meal where I would say things are a little interesting. Given that Paris is such a big and international city, there are cuisines present from around the world. Thus, I try to taste different restaurants when I have the opportunity to.
Overall, that is a little glimpse into my everyday life in Paris. Though to many of us, the city might seem as nothing but a glorified Disneyland, it is very much still a city, a place where people live and work, and having studied there for a few months really highlights that.
Leave a Reply