Some study abroad destinations may be closer to home, but that doesn’t mean the experience can’t be new and exciting. Now let’s hear from Kiara, who studied in Paris.
Hi! My name is Kiara, I study European Studies: French Pathway at King’s which has offered me the chance to study for a year at Sciences Po Paris. For those of us on the European Studies courses, we don’t choose our study abroad locations, but I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to study at not only one of the best political sciences universities in the world, but also in such an incredible city! Paris is just wonderful- when you are there for an extended period, you can see why it is the top tourist destination in the world. Everybody wants to get a taste of Parisian life! And living there means I get to experience the city in a more profound way than those just visiting would.
I applied for the GMEB primarily because I believe commitment to inclusivity among the study abroad cohort is important. This bursary is a substantial amount of money that really aids your experience and gives you the opportunity to get more out of your study abroad. In the same way that everybody does, I really wanted to get the most out of my time away and having extra financial aid definitely helps with that. It adds a sense of security that means you can enjoy your time abroad to the fullest and see places and do things you otherwise may not have been able to do! Overall, the GMEB is a great initiative!
With the help of the GMEB, I was able to enjoy all the aspects of Paris that I wanted to! I have enjoyed incredible food, seen amazing sights and been to expositions that provided great learning opportunities for me as someone who studies culture and history. One of the most valuable experiences I had was when I went to the Institut du monde Arabe in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. This museum is not free entry, and I therefore had to pay to view their expositions, but it felt particularly special to me to visit this museum being half Arab/north African and always wanting to learn more about my culture and background! In the museum, which I highly recommend to anyone visiting Paris and which I will surely be visiting again, there was amazing middle eastern art, and coins on display showing the various currencies that have been used in the middle east and north Africa for thousands of years. There was a section that focussed on the Maghreb region in north Africa which I found pertinent due to my Moroccan and Algerian heritage.
This part of the museum meant a lot to me as I’ve never been able to go to north Africa and it made me feel like I was there. In the souvenir shop I bought a book by Kamel Daoud who is an Algerian writer. This is just one of the ways the GMEB enriched my experience in Paris, and I am very grateful to have had such a lovely experience!
