This weekend is off to a great start, the first stop was a restaurant in the 1st arrondissement called, Poulette. The main attraction was the steak frites

Inside of Poulette

Steak frites Med Rare

Next stop was the Aquarium de Paris, in the 16th. If you present your student ID you get a discount 16€. Lots of fun exhibits and even a touch tank filled with koi fish.

Lots of walking in the aquarium called for some High Tea at a local establishment. Carette, tea and pastries.

Tea Time

Mini Treats

After a long afternoon of snacks and touring the streets, it’s time to go back to home base and make a nice home cooked meal.

Lots of veggies and salad.

This year has been filled with beautiful experiences and so far this trip has been amazing.

Cheers!

Mayra

June 1st 2016

Today marks the first day of the Thomas Ahrens International Work/Study Program.  All the students arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport, some earlier than others… I got to meet Professor Zinder for the first time and she got to work memorizing everyone’s name.

Later arrivals

6am arrivals, studying French to pass the time

2016 Students ready to explore Paris

We all made our way to our home base pretty early and had plenty of time to take a tour of the neighborhood.

Professor Lorenzini, explaining do how the Paris Metro works

Professor Zinder, practicing her memory skills as she hands out maps of the Metro.

We took a mini tour of Malakoff/Vanves and did some shopping at the local market. We stopped at the post office which offers some of the best conversation rates when retrieving cash from the ATM.

The beautiful €500 bill #purple

It was a long day for the students, who are all on New York time but they’ll thank us later. Their jet lag will be non existent. 😉

Tomorrow will be another day full of walking and fun tours and we can wait to get started!!

A bientôt

Mayra

As the end of the school year approaches for New York City College Of Technology we get ready for another year of the Thomas Ahrens International Work/Study Program. The year has flown by and here we are once again, getting our bags packed for Paris, France.

Today marked the first day of the French language and culture immersion. Professors Hoffman and Warner start off the morning by going over assignments and last minute questions before turning it over to Professor Duchamp.

Professor Damien Duchamp went over Parisian Culture, do’s and don’ts and street safety. Just like in New York City, we have to be very aware of our surroundings.

Tomorrow,  we have one more day to prepare ourselves as a group, I have some helpful podcasts and apps below that were really helpful for me.

Here is a great podcast that teaches you basic French phrases.

The Ulmon maps work great offline, just be sure to  open them up before you go so you fully download them.

See you all tomorrow!!

Mayra B.

Bonsoir étudiants!

What a long day! I hope you all get a good nights rest because you’re gonna need it! 😉

Professor Hoffman and I set out for the airport early this morning and met up with Professor Lorenzini.

The common theme of today was fatigue and jetlag, even I was exhausted by 3pm. Once we finally boarded the busi

we were all grateful to be off our feet and on our way to our “home” for the next three weeks, The Adagio Aparthotel.

I cannot wait to begin this journey with you all, above are pictures of our meet up at the airport, waiting for the bus, stuffing all our luggage into the bus and a quick tour of our neighborhood, Malakoff/Plateau de Vanves.
Bonne nuit,

Mayra Bello

Bonjour everyone!

hope you’re enjoying your weekends!

This Friday, we had our first French immersion course where we dove in to all things French. We learned about the beautiful language and culture and got to know one another a little better before our trip next

I have a couple of tips to get you ready for the trip:

Coffee Break French, is a great Podcast that gives you short lessons you can listen to on your own time.  The first 25 lessons cover everything from how to introduce yourself to how to ask for directions.

Dule lingo, is another app to help with practicing key words before the trip.

If you only download one app before you go, let it be Ulmon Paris. This map of the city will allow you to save your favorite locations and pinpoint your current location all without using wifi. Just be sure to set it up before you go. 😉

Have a great Sunday and keep on packing!

A bientôt!

Mayra