Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Keri - Letter to Future Students

Dear Future World Traveler,

Paris is a city you want to see, and study aboard with MIAD is an amazing way to see it right. As a former Paris tourist turned Parisian student, I see the difference now. I went to Paris last summer for about 4 days, and really enjoyed the city. My friend and I walked around, ate at some great places, mainly ordered ham and cheese because that’s all we could read, and we went to all those places you’re supposed to see in Paris. Oh and… I couldn’t tell you anything about those places besides how pretty and grand they were. So my goal was simple: to be able to associate some kind of history, facts, or knowledge behind the amazing places and art pieces I’ve seen. I wanted to connect the textbook with physical sites, to attach meaning, and be able to tell someone else about it.

My expectations were met and exceeded.  The pre-work before the trip laid a great base layer.  However, the best history lessons came during the walking tours (lead by our incredibly capable instructors) and lessons on-the-go in museums, in front of buildings, or at our morning meetings. I was able to connect the words with the sites. We were also encouraged and expected to make our own connections, observations, and opinions. We wrote daily in our sketchbooks with drawings or notes through out the trip. Which leads me to my favorite part – The Sketchbook.

I’ve always wanted to study abroad and learn to draw/paint/sketch my surroundings. I think my dream involved more leisurely drawing instruction, but this was a surprising treat. Though fast pasted at times, I enjoyed recording memories in a different way than just taking pictures and I felt artsy! Haha I’m a communication design major and I think I can draw Ok, but nothing compared to what I would like to be able to do. This was a forced opportunity to explore something in me.  It made me want to draw more. It also reminded me that I just needed to start. Plus, Paris has so much eye-candy that it’s the perfect place to begin to develop this skill. This was my favorite, and something I will keep for all my future travels.

We were given guidance and allowed free time to explore. I’d encourage future students to enjoy both of those. I really liked the private tours and studies as well as the leisurely evening walks around the city with no real plan. I’m a transfer student and didn’t know a lot of people this year, but I liked getting to know these people and will be happy to see more familiar faces in the hallways come fall.
Highlights: going to see a Julius Caesar at the Opera House!, climbing to Montmartre, group dinner the first night & trying escargot, [French] onion soup, really looking at buildings or art instead of taking a picture and moving on, almond croissants,  feeling Parisian with my metro pass, learning about how a museum is curated, seeing The Queens Hamlet at Versailles, the views,  and being reunited with speculoos  gelato (as often as possible).


I will take with me a lot from this trip, but one that stands out is learning about the intention of the artist. It seemed like so much of the art was done on purpose from the curation to the brushstrokes.  I’d like to bring more intention to my own work.

Keri

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