American University in Paris

For anybody who's into clubbing, you have to check out Cabaret (next to the Louvre)especially on Friday night, VIP, and Queen on Wednesday nights. Paris is the city of Cafes, and most of them are wonderful. Most AUP students hang out at Cafe Le Marche in Rue Cler next to the campus, they had good food. You cannot miss La Fete de la Musique in June, When all Paris turns into a big music festival, and the Bastille Day ceremonies at the Eiffel Tower on the 14th of July.

During summer session I we stayed at the FIAP, which was pretty far from the university. It was clean, the food was good, but the rooms were too tight. In summer session II we stayed at the MDE which was closer to the university. The rooms were much bigger, but the cleanliness level was bad, and so was the food. Still I would recommend AUP housing if it's your first time in Paris, since it is very difficult to find a place in the summer.

You have to buy the Carte Orange for transportation in Paris. For traveling inside or outside France, renting a car and splitting the cost (if you are 3-4 people) is much cheaper than taking the train. We also used to buy wine and drink it before going to clubs, which saved us a lot of money, since drinks in clubs were very expensive.

Read about France before you go. Get to know about the culture and history. If you do not speak French, you have to learn some survival strategies before you go. Most French people speak English, but you will get much better treatment if you speak to them in French, or at least make an effort. The bouncers at clubs might be a little bit rude, but you will get used to it. You have to dress well though befoe going to a nice club. You will get all the travel tips necessary from the travel office at AUP. And if you are going on a summer session, do not miss the student orientation: It will give you all the information that you need and make everything easier later on. The student advisors are great.

Living in france was a great opportunity for me to practice my French, However I did not get to speak that much French since most AUP students were English speaking. Therefore I had to make up conversations with random people (taxi drivers, sellers at shops, etc.) to practice my French. I regained many of my skills in French speaking and my accent became better, however I cannot say that my French dramatically improved. As for my English, it became a little bit better since most of my friends were American, and I had to speak in English all the time.