Much of my first week in Paris was spent walking around and familiarizing myself with everything. That includes the metro. One of my proudest accomplishments in my time abroad was the fact how I never got lost while riding the metro. Although I nearly had a heart attack when one of my classmates got her hand stuck in between the closing doors of the train in an attempt to push them open so another classmate could get off. Not to worry, though, she was perfectly fine.
Paris had been having strikes since December of 2019 that carried into the new year involving transportation workers. This meant that some bus and metro lines were not running. The program staff informed us of an app called Citymapper that gives you a route to your destination by metro or bus. The app would account for the bus or metro lines that were not functional. This made it exceptionally simple to navigate the city. The one downside is that this app is Paris-specific, so it didn't do me any good when I would travel to other cities.
The metro system in Paris has a pass called Navigo. My program had sent my host mom the paperwork to apply for one, so all we had to do was go to an information booth and we received our Navigos. The plan I bought allowed me an unlimited number of rides on any line for a base price of around 70-80 Euros a month. I would purchase one month at a time. There was also a weekly renewal option, but I decided to go with the monthly plan so I wouldn't have to worry about reloading it as often.
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Another matter I had to take care of was the cell phone situation. This had been a big stressor of mine for months. There are two options that are recommended. One, I could have kept my US phone number but made it an international plan. Or two, I could purchase an international phone plan in France. I opted for the second option. My thought process was that the French phone plan is based in France and would probably be stronger and more reliable. Additionally, US carriers' international phone plans can get pricey. However, before I left the States I had to "unlock" my phone so when I got to Paris I could switch out the SIM card (the card inserted in an iPhone that holds critical information such as your phone number). There is an interesting process for this. For a link to Apple's rundown of it, click here. My personal experience is as follows:
First, I went to my domestic carrier: T-Mobile. I had to make sure that my phone was completely paid off. They also had to check that I had the phone for more than 40 days. They told me to expect an email from them in a few days with an "unlock code." This code took me to the next step where I connected my phone, by cable, to a computer with access to the iTunes store. From there, I uploaded all of my information to the computer. Then, and this is the part that baffled me, I had to erase and clear my phone of all photos, music, and other personal information. After that, I re-downloaded everything back onto my phone from the backup I made. It's an interesting process to say the least. Fortunately, everything worked out. My advice is, if you ever plan on changing providers, start the unlocking process EARLY. Build in buffer time in case something goes wrong like a misunderstanding or miscommunication. Had I waited another week, I would not have had enough time to get my unlock code before I left the country. This would not have been the worst thing in the world as I could have done the entire process from France, but I wanted to get it done and out of the way before I left.
When I got to France, I went to a carrier called Free Mobile that was recommended by the IES staff. It cost about 20 Euros a month. The whole process is just a simple swap of the SIM cards. I was ready and had a plastic bag that I put my T-Mobile SIM card and my receipt from Free Mobile into for safe-keeping. This way everything was together and in a safe place.
Just a final note on this subject, even though Free Mobile is a French carrier, the service worked just as well when I would travel to different countries in Europe.
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One last subject matter concerning logistics is money. More specifically, cash! Before I left, my parents did research and provided me with a card affiliated with Bank of America. Apparently there is a relationship between BoA and a French bank called BNP Paribas. There were other options, but they had a more expensive charge for cash withdrawals.
Click here for a page about Global ATM Bank Alliances that breaks everything down rather nicely.
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My goal in writing is to share my experiences with friends and family as well as provide helpful information for travel enthusiasts and students who are wanting to study abroad in the future. If there is a topic I did not touch upon that is of interest to you, please reach out to me at michlovichcarmen@gmail.com. Stay tuned for a post about my first few weeks in Paris along with lots of photos coming soon!
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