Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, France

Paris, January 18th, 2022

Did I think of everything? ID card? Bus ticket? Toothbrush? Surely, I must have forgotten something! These thoughts run through my head while I am at the bus station at 1:23 am at night with 0°C weather, waiting to board the bus that will take me to another country, to a new life. As the bus arrives, everything suddenly happens very quickly: loading my luggage, showing the Covid-Pass and the ticket, boarding and off I go.

It is a bit crazy how I am boarding in one place and will get off in a completely different place. A city that I only knew from stories so far. “City of love”, they say. “It will be so expensive!”, “Watch out that nothing gets stolen on the metro!”, “Such beautiful buildings.”, “You have to go to Jardin des Tuleries!”, “And drink a lot of hot chocolate”. If it was not clear until now: Yes, I am going to Paris. One year ago, I decided to apply for an Erasmus semester, because I want to have international exchange and get new perspectives on social work. I chose the Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, a renowned university in Paris, where social work, or “Carrières Sociales” is taught among others. I am curious, what impression I will get from the city, the people and the university. Will my expectations be fulfilled? Or will I experience the city very differently to what has been described to me? What people will I meet? What will it be like to study in French? All these thoughts are running through my head while the sun paints the sky pink around 9am and we cross the border.

Shortly past 13:00 the bus arrives at the bus station Paris-Bercy-Seine. I feel an excited tingling in my stomach. Soon I will be walking through unknown streets, breathe in new scents, hear people talk in a language that is still foreign to me, the sounds would be new. But all these impressions will become my new reality. With my backpack on my back and a small daypack as hand luggage I start into this new adventure.

I step out of the station and am greeted by sunshine and a lot of new impressions: on a bench to my left, two men are sitting and smoking, a woman behind me is on the phone, a married couple is rushing towards the entrance carrying three suitcases behind them, a dog is peeing on the handle of the sports facility in front of me where around 20 people are doing push-ups, sit-ups and other exercises, on the right a pedestrian sign and behind that the two guys that boarded with me in Frankfurt. They also seemed as if they had to orient themselves first. Orientation. This is important now. First, I sit down on a bench in the neighbouring park to let the impressions sink in. First step achieved: I left the building and found a place that gives me security and orientation in this moment. “Many challenges will be ahead of you, Lea”, I think to myself and take a bite of the sour dough bread, that will probably be the last one for the next months.

Next step: take the metro. I heard quite a few horror stories and must say, that I really have respect. In this moment, I remind myself of my motto for the upcoming months: be brave. I want to be brave to try new things, to walk up to people that I do not know. I want to be brave to learn a new language. Be brave to find a room. Be brave to board this metro. To be brave you do not necessarily have to bungee jump or run through the woods at night. Being brave starts where someone leaves their own comfort zone. And that is the moment where you start to surpass yourself.

Be brave. I am curious, which situations will require courage, how I will handle them and grow with them. I make a commitment to always carry courage in my pocket und take it out in the right moment. Over there, I see the metro sign. So, I shall start:

Be brave.