Truth be told, I am and forever will be the WORST packer known to man. I just always feel the need to bring everything I have with me. I always find an elaborate excuse to justify the item as well. I thought I packed so well for this trip, only bringing practical clothes and my essential toiletries, but I was wrong. I pulled up to the check in counter and ended up having to pay the over weight baggage fee, which trust me you DO NOT want to do because its not cheap. Long story short, I know you'll hear it over and over, "Don't overpack!" but seriously don't!! Not only is it not worth the money to pay for an overweight bag, but now I'm stressing on how I'm going to get everything back to the US in September. Make sure to stalk the weather before you come to get a feel for what it's going to be like. It's a bit chilly here but when the sun is out it makes up for it. Remember, Summers here aren't like summers at home.

I also really recommend getting to your location a few days before the start of classes, with another person going on the trip, so you can shake off any jet lag, get familiar with your surroundings, and most important get familiar with the Metro. This is what Taylor and I did, classes at ESCE start on Monday, July 1st and we arrived in Paris on June 28th. Our flight was delayed 3 hours so when I finally arrived in Paris, I was exhausted. On the 28th we took it easy and walked around our town, Vanves, a bit and got to sleep early. Today we were able to master the Metro and spent all day around the Eiffel Tower and the surrounding areas! I couldn't imagine feeling as tired as I did on the 28th and having to go right into orientation at school!