It’s one of those days outside where your mind flashes forward to summer vacation. It’s a sunny, 50-degree afternoon in February in Boston, which is about as rare as me being productive on a Saturday. It almost always doesn’t happen. But that is something I hope to change this summer.

Now you must think I’m crazy – if I can’t be productive during the school year, how (and why on earth would I want to) be productive over the summer, on a Saturday of all days? But being productive at school and being productive on a summer abroad are two entirely different things, and it is one of the many reasons why I’m so incredibly excited for my six weeks abroad to start my summer.

First, a bit about my plans. I am traveling with Tufts University to the gorgeous town of Talloires, France, which is situated close to Lake Annecy and close to the Swiss border. Talloires is an hour from Geneva and three from Paris; it is also twenty minutes from the city of Annecy, which is known as the “Venice of France.” Talloires is decidedly quieter and more pastoral than Paris, and while I never would have anticipated favoring that arrangement, I find myself clamoring to get to Boston Logan and wedge myself into an uncomfortable seat for a long night of travel. I am finally ready to face the fact that my language skills are imperfect, though I fancy myself still fluent in French. I am excited to learn about environmental economics and policy in a setting beautiful enough to make people doubt global warming. And, most of all, I find myself ready to explore, to check items off of the large bucket list that has been filling up since December. 

The List

1. Explore Geneva multiple times on my own, as it is a city with great personal significance to me.

2. Independence. I have always pretended to be an independent college student, but my naïveté leaves much to be desired on that front. Getting into Boston more is a perennial resolution, but invariably it gets put on the backburner in favor of burning the midnight oil. I only have six weeks in Talloires, so taking time for some excursions, beyond what is included as part of the program, must be a priority.

3. Learn some form of skiing! Talloires is quite close to the beach at Annecy and to the Alps, so there is no excuse not to learn to ski or to water-ski, neither of which I have done before.

4. Master the art of eating (and perhaps cooking) like a French person – large lunches with small, late-evening dinners. I sense that the large lunches won’t be a problem, but eating late may be more of a challenge. (And, if I can learn to make crepes or croissants while I’m there, that would be a plus! ;))

5. Be able to benefit my host family in some way, and be able to adequately thank them for opening up their home to me for six weeks. I want to learn as much as I can from them, but hopefully there is a benefit to someone other than myself. 

Those are just some of the items on my bucket list. I’m sure that the list will grow quite a bit in the three months until I move into my new home. If you have any suggestions for things to add to the list, or things to make sure to see in Geneva, Annecy, Lyon, or surrounding cities, please comment.

You've made it! Paris the city of love, romance, and trendy fashion. It's too bad that all your clothes are wrinkled, stained, and torn from your past two weeks across Europe. Parisians judging you? Dior not letting you through their doors? Have no fear! You can look the part of the poor yet chic student traveler by following these tips.

1) Add scarves, pashminas, earrings, and hats to your outfits. Accessories hardly take up any space in that backpack AND will distract people from your unwashed hair!

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Let me stop you in your tracks: no, an English-language comedy club is not illegal here en France, so that's not exactly the reason why the place is hidden. The venue, rather, is a tiny club you'd never expect to find at the top of a rickety, winding staircase, whose entrance can be found off to the side of a grander entrance to a large theater below with a posh restaurant sandwiched vertically in between. It's the kind of place you could walk past for years and never realize was there, the kind of place it takes knowing someone who knows to ever discover. Luckily enough, I'm starting to become Parisian enough that this time I knew someone who knows. Thank you, tongue-twisters.

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They do it every year, but for me, it never gets old: the French celebrate April Fool's Day with fishes (the poisson d'avril). Why? As it turns out, the origins of the tradition aren't very clear. It may be a celebration of the end of the sign of pisces, the last winter zodiac, or it may have roots in the Lenten tradition of eating fish and abstaining from meat during the forty-day period preceding Easter. It seems the real explanation may be lost in time. Whatever the reason, the French celebrate April 1 by sneakily pinning paper fish on the their friends' backs. Victory is measured by just how long said friend will walk around before realizing he or she is sporting the April Fool's version of a kick-me sign. (And no, before you ask, this post is no April Fool's joke!) Some boulangeries even get in on the fun, making seasonal fish-shaped pastries and chocolates. I can't help but wonder how many French people actually stop to think about how weird this tradition really is. And then I inevitably wonder—how many April fish moments did I celebrate back in the States without ever thinking twice?

Valentine's Day is finally over, much to the relief of many stateside. Here in Paris, however, the day passes remarkably unnoticed. Sure, storefronts fill with hearts, and the pastry shops may display a few extra red- and pink-frosted sweets, but despite the commercial infiltration, the holiday hasn't taken root culturally. Couples aren't expected to exchange gifts or insist on a special dinner out. In such a romantic city, the notion of a single day devoted to love just has not caught on. That's not to say that couples aren't fond of expressing their affection, though. While the kiss for which this country is famous can be seen on sidewalks across the city, my favorite sort of public affection in Paris takes a different form: a padlock. It seems that carving initials in trees has fallen out of vogue. These days, lovers declare their undying affection with a personalized padlock secured along a selection of bridges that traverse the Seine, such as the Pont de l'Archevêché (shown above). The cynics among us may note that unlike the carvings of yesteryear, the modern sentiment of devotion can be annulled quite easily with the simple turn of a key. Nonetheless, the padlocks crowded along the bridges still contribute to the fanciful romance of an afternoon's meandering along the banks of the Seine, even after years of calling this city home.

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