Hello All!

It's a cool, breezy night here in Pairs and it has now hit me that my trip is quickly coming to an end.

Today, was our last "work day" for Trend Forecasting before our final presentations tommorrow (in front of not only the class of 22 girls and our professor but the Dean of AIU as well). Which I will be honest, these Trend Projects have literally transformed Paris to Hell on earth. This final assignment was a lot of work and not to mention mentally strenuous. I love the professor, I think he is very knowledgable and professional but this European Style of "Expriencial Learning" is DIFFICULT to grasp. Like for our presentation tommorrow, we need to mention where we got inspiration from in Paris by using the photos we took on our walks. Now when we go on these walks half of the time we have 10 mins to look at every detail on every article of clothing while taking mental notes and attempting to take a photo. And most of the time the photos are of the windows so our reflection is in them and not to mention the store owners don't want us to take photographs inside. As for our Zap Books (sketch/ trend spotting note books) you can't memorize everything you see when you leave the store or draw when in the store because you have the same problem: STORE OWNERS WILL KICK YOU OUT! So this class has been a bit irritating and frustrating at times. But when all is said and done....These classes were hard and alot of time was put into them but I am going to miss it. The walking into Mod'Art every morning seeing our Guide Tony greet us and give us the schedule for the day and our professor begin class with roll call. It does get me a little misty eyed.

I think this whole experience of studying in a foreign country and travelling to others has really opened my eyes to the possibilities I have as a young student. I may not know exactly what I want to do with the rest of my life but I do have opportunities, such as this one, to figure that out. For instance, two of my classmates have already graduated with their degrees and worked a little in the industry but because jobs are little to none they have looked into furthering their educations to learn more than what they were taught already. It just goes to show that you never stop learning. Our brains our like sponges and in order to be a well rounded & cultured person you need to explore the numerous opportunities at hand.

Well! All I can say is that if I could do it all again....I WOULD! I hope everyone enjoyed my photos and my blogs (although I wish I could have written more). I really enjoyed your comments on the photos & blogs, your messages and all your support. Two more days in the City of Love & Lights!

Bonne nuit mes amis! Je vais vous voir beintot!

-Tara