Wintersession in Paris

Classes start next week but I wanted to give you an update on what I have been doing since I last wrote on the blog.

For the first two weeks of January, I was in Paris as part of the French department’s Wintersession class on Parisien film culture. The class is called Paris, CinéCity and allowed us to discuss Parisien film culture while directly participating in it for two weeks.

Wintersession is the period between Fall and Spring semester where students can either go home and take a much-needed break or take a class they want to explore. There are often trips during Wintersession to foreign countries usually sponsored by a language department. This Wintersession, I know that they also trips to Italy, Greece, and Germany. In the past, there have been trips to Cuba, Russia, Tanzania and more. Most Wintersession abroad trips are every other year. Meaning that the France trip will not be offered next year, but the year after that.

We had to watch 10 films across movie theaters in Paris, ranging from small independent theaters to large multiplexes. We then had to compare the experiences to each other. We were completely free to choose which films and theaters we would venture off to. The trip included morning classes where we would discuss the history of cinema in Paris.

In the afternoons, I would go watch movies in different parts of the city to try and compare each region to another. When my film was done, I would wander the city of Paris and try to pretend that I was not a tourist. It worked many times actually. People would come up to me and ask me for directions in French. Sometimes I knew what they were asking about and pointed to the right direction (in French!). Other times, I grunted and said no like a confused French person would. In restaurants, most people assumed I was a resident. That is, until, I made a mistake that only a tourist would.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip. (I took over 500 pictures during my time there.)

During the trip, I visited all the tourist-y hotspots but also tried to go to places that didn’t have too many tourists. Watching films all the time was a great way to integrate into Parisien culture. There is a big film culture in Paris and it is cherished and protected by many people.

I cannot believe that I took this trip and I cannot wait to go back. I definitely couldn’t have afforded or been able to go to Paris if it wasn’t for this class. So, if you have the opportunity, please take a Wintersession trip.

Until next time,

Laïssa