Greetings from Cluny!

We met under the clock tower at Gare de Lyon, a train station in Paris. We said our timid “hellos” and made small talk with one another. Then, we boarded the train and headed to our home for the next two weeks! To our surprise, we were welcomed to Cluny with an indoor picnic prepared by Dr. Healey, head of the Rutgers Study Abroad Department in France. She greeted us with an excited smile.

Our little picnic consisted of beautiful desserts made from a local pastry shop. She picked 9 different desserts, each equally beautiful yet distinct. I rather fancied the macaron one filled with pistachio cream, but we seemed to have formed an unspoken democracy and split each tiny pastry into 6-8 portions to share. I have never seen such manners when it came to desserts! Aside from the sweets, which I was obviously most eager to talk about, we also had a beautiful tomato quiche from the same bakery, salad, and some red and white wine. We were also introduced to “sirop”. Simply, it was lemon syrup added to water. Almost like a soda but more refreshing! 

After we finished our meal, Dr. Healey gave us our assignment—French dining etiquette and directions on how to order! Why can’t all studying be this interesting? I am rooming with Viki and Sasha. Both seem very sweet, and I’m excited for the switch since I had lived with Khamoshi and Jamie at the hostel in Paris. We all unpacked our things and took a brief tour of Cluny. I still can’t believe I am in France. I’m here, but it still hasn’t hit me! The start of a beautiful journey!

Tip of the day: you do not pronounce the last letter in most French words. For example, sirop is pronounced “sirah”.