Hey friends! If you’re getting ready to study abroad, you might want to consider paring your wardrobe down so that you aren’t stuck hauling a huge suitcase to the country you’ll be studying in. I’ve created a capsule wardrobe of about 35 items for my upcoming 3 months in Paris. Take a look at it below for some inspiration on what to pack and how to narrow down your semester abroad wardrobe. Bisous, Alexa
Hello friends! I’ll be getting ready to head back to France soon and have been trying to figure out how to pack lighter. You might recall hearing (horror) stories about dragging my ginormous suitcase, that I lovingly refer to as “Big Red,” around Europe. It’s a monstrosity and I really don’t want to travel with it again anytime soon. So, I made a promise to myself to only pack in a carry-on suitcase and backpack for my next 3 month trip/semester abroad. If you’re getting ready to study abroad or go on a long-term trip, check out how I manage to fit everything in a carry-on suitcase here:
Hello friends! In honor of Bastille Day yesterday, I decided to talk about my favorite things about France. From the fresh baguettes and pastries to the awesome public transportation system, there’s so much I love about living in France. Check out my top 5 favorite French things in the video below:
Hi friends! I’ve been back in the U.S. for about a month now and wanted to post a quick update on what I’ve been up to. Life this past month has consisted of coming home to Indiana, starting work and planning my return to France. I’ll be going back for the fall to work with Asbury’s Paris Semester. It’s the same study abroad program I did back in 2015 so I’m very excited to go back and help out with the program this time around. I’ve been working part time as a Content Writer for a local marketing agency and also growing my freelance business and working on YouTube content. I’m happy to be gaining great experience with the marketing side of writing. But most importantly, I’ve gotten to spend some much needed quality time with my family and my dog. You can check out my latest video below where I give my tips on how to survive post grad. Bisous, Alexa
Hello friends, It’s been quite a while, but my time here in France is coming to a close very soon. With just four weeks as a teaching assistant left, I’m trying to squeeze in as much travel as possible. Back in February, Jane and Kira visited and we embarked on a #SquadEuroTrip2K17. We hit Paris, Copenhagen, London and Dublin. It was a whirlwind for sure. Check out some of my photos from the trip and watch my travel vlogs below. Bisous, Alexa
Here’s to the new year.
All good things must come to an end. Unfortunately for Kira and I that meant saying goodbye in Paris last weekend before Kira headed home to spend Christmas in Kenya. But before she left, we got to enjoy my favorite city together. Somehow we managed to drag all of her bags and art supplies from Hyères to Paris with success. We hopped on another train (this time a not-so-high-speed one, thanks to an accident which resulted in a delay) for our last Mary-Kate and Ashley adventure. On Friday night, Hillsong Paris was hosting its annual Sisterhood Women’s Conference. The event was in the most beautiful theatre where they served some pretty delicious pumpkin soup and had nail, hair and makeup stations set up if one so desired a miniature makeover. It’s always so good to get to go back to Hillsong and sing familiar worship songs in French. After the service, we headed back to our hostel to watch the first episode of “Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life.” No spoilers here, but we were satisfied …
A trip to the land of chocolate and peace.
You know when you haven’t seen a close friend in a long time? When you finally see them again, you talk as though no distance or time has separated you and it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That’s how it felt to be back in Paris. The schools in France were just on vacances which means that I had two weeks off to do whatever I pleased. I hung out around Hyères for the first week, during which I watched way too many “Friends” episodes and went on a couple of day trips with the other assistants. We visited Aix-en-Provence and Toulon for a day. The greatest discovery from the Aix trip was definitely the lavender. They produce it in the region so we found some for cheap. I’ve been diffusing it like crazy. For the next portion, I made my first trip back to Paris for a four-day weekend. I hadn’t been back since I left last November at the end of my study abroad. It was a breath of fresh …
My biggest fear, like many other humans, is the fear of the unknown. Unoriginal, I know. But it absolutely terrifies me to walk into new situations, even the simplest ones. I get a huge rush of anxiety when starting new jobs, going to new schools and traveling to new places. Although I’m a relatively social person (though people falsely mistake my quiet demeanor for shyness on a regular basis), sometimes, meeting new people can incite small bouts of anxiety too. Both of the two times I’ve come to France, I seriously considered not going. Because of this fear. I considered cancelling this most recent move to France every single day leading up to it, on the plane ride over and even in the first couple of days I was here. I sat in my Airbnb on day two, searching madly for flights home. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited for the chance to live in France again and to have the opportunity to spend my first year post-grad traveling and learning a language, but I was equally …
