First Week in Nice!

It’s officially been one week since I’ve arrived in Nice and it has been a whirlwind of adventures – both good and bad. Nice is one of the most beautiful cities I have visited. I live in an apartment with a beautiful view of the city, and I already learned to navigate my way through Nice. Even though it’s been a week, I’m starting to feel like a local!

I was nervous for the school portion of this trip because of the adjustment to new, foreign curriculum. But, the teachers are great and it truly helps that the class sizes are small because we get one-to-one interaction with the professor. It also helps that the classes are held in English. The way the courses are set up includes a portion of class time inside the classroom, and another portion going and exploring the city which I enjoy!

The food is also amazing! Nice is located on the coast of the Mediterranean so there is fresh seafood, fruits, and vegetables that are delicious. Every night, my classmates and I will go try a new restaurant – and so far our favorite has been Bistro de Jennifer which has amazing pasta and hilarious servers who make us laugh all dinner. The best part is eating gelato for dessert!

Now – to the part that hasn’t been so fun. Before parting for this trip, I did not verify that my phone and credit cards would work. That was my first mistake. So I get to Nice, and rely on wifi in order to use my phone. Due to cell phone provider issues, I was not able to use my American phone in France and had to buy a new phone which was an unexpected expense. In addition to that, the only credit card I brought with me is not accepted by the majority of businesses in France. I had emergency cash, but I wasted it all on the phone I bought! Once I figured out how to withdraw money, there was a national holiday so I had to wait yet another day without money. I was lucky enough to have classmates who graciously let me borrow money. This whole situation lasted about 4 days, which had me very stressed and didn’t allow me to fully enjoy my time here. This can 100% be avoided, if you verify these details before parting for your trip so I highly recommend you speak to banks and cell phone companies!

Despite this, I truly am having a great time. My classmates and I have gotten very close and we plan many things together. For example, we all took the train to Monaco and saw the Formula 1 Grand Prix! It was very hot and it started pouring rain after the first lap, so we left early. But, it was a great bonding experience. I feel like I’ve lived 10 lives in this past week with how crazy everything’s been, so I am looking forward to some consistency in the next few weeks!