While being in Paris so far, my favorite food that I have tried has surprisingly been duck! I have not tried too many things that you cannot find in a traditional American grocery store in my lifetime, so trying different things here has been very fun. I tried duck at dinner with some of my peers at a restaurant called Le Formidable and it was delicious. It tastes like steak to me, so it was not too much of an adjustment, but I really enjoyed it. In general, the food in France is amazing! There are bakeries and pastry shops everywhere with freshly made goods every day. The taste of even the produce here is so much more flavorful and natural than America because they do not use toxic pesticides here. One thing that I have done here to connect with the locals is speaking as much French as I can. The people here act much more open and friendly to you when you begin a conversation in their language. I can at least have basic conversations with them which is not as scary as I thought coming into this trip. I also spend a lot of time outside, which is also what the locals enjoy doing. Sometimes just going and sitting by the Seine or Canal St. Martin locals will just strike up a conversation because you’re right there. On a typical day in France, I get coffee at my hostel and go for a walk around my neighborhood which is the 10th Arrondissement. I often sit by the canal in the mornings when it’s really quiet and watch other people starting their day in the area. We usually have a class outing at some point in the day but a couple of things I’ve done during my free time are going to Versailles, The Louvre, Luxembourg Gardens, thrifting at secondhand stores, and so much more. So far, I’ve enjoyed everything about living like a local in Paris!