First of all, I would like to thank you for clicking on this blog link, and especially this ‘About Me’ page, despite my very cheesy use of puns and literature references.
Second of all, allow me to introduce myself!
My name is Danielle Levsky, and I have been granted the amazing and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study abroad in Paris, France, through an International Studies Abroad (ISA) program with La Sorbonne. I cannot tell you how excited and nervous I am for this trip, with all the many adventures and probable mishaps it will entail. I’ve left my family in Chicago, my classmates, professors, and friends at the University of Pittsburgh, and my magazine staff at The Original Magazine to pursue this journey, so in order to ease their worries (and possibly my own), I made this blog.
As Pitbull said, “Now we’re international, so international”
I’ve been to Europe a few times before to visit family friends now living in Dusseldorf, Germany. With them, we’ve traveled to Paris, Carcassone, Barcelona, Girona, most of Tuscany, Rome, and Amsterdam.
In this blog, you will find posts about…
- A tedious and well-documented observation of French culture, as well as how it stands in relation to the way my Russian-Jewish family dealt with a) The French, b) Europe, and c) The French.
- Zee American vs. Zee French.
- Expectations of studying abroad vs. Reality of studying abroad.
- Culture shock!
- Really, really great (bad) puns.
- My visits within France and out of France.
- My experiences and visits to/with friends from the U.K, Poland, and Germany.
- How one can successfully live off of bread, wine, and cheese for four months! (Disclaimer: Don’t do this.)
In this blog, you will not find…
- Re-enacted scenes from the infamous movie “Eurotrip.”
- Especially the one concerning hitch hiking to Bratislava.
So why Paris, you may ask?
Growing up in a first generation Russian-Jewish family, I grew up speaking Russian at home and English at school. The very beginnings of my bilingual language experience taught me that if you were going to make language mistakes, you would have to do so in the privacy of your own home. I will tell you now: kindergartners are ruthless creatures when it comes to a little, brown-haired girl in pigtails stumbling across her words in a thick, Russian accent. But, within a year, my accent was gone and my confidence was high. I have first hand experience in the process of language immersion and know that, no matter how long I study French in the United States (Approximately 8 years now), I will never be fluent or rid of my accent until I immerse myself in the language.
A study abroad student’s promise
I’ve been warned that Parisians will not speak to Americans in French, but as you will come to find in this blog, I am a persistent and stubborn femme. Here is my vow: I will speak to Parisians in French or Russian, but never English.
I will post at least once a week (Pics or it didn’t happen!), if not twice, and do my best to make you laugh and cry as you read about my experiences.
Now, as the French say…
Bienvenue!
Blog content, writing, and posts are copyrighted by Danielle Levsky; all other content is copyrighted by its respective authors.
Copyright © 2013 Danielle Levsky – All Rights Reserved.
Paris Is Always a Good Idea 