Starting Off the Semester with a Paris Boat Tour and French Food Festival

After the Fall semester orientation and registration session on September 9, entering and continuing students gathered for a Paris boat tour on the Seine river, that took them past the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame and Ile Saint-Louis. This outing was organized by the Graduate Student Association at AGS, as a nice way to start the semester and to allow all students to know each other better.

The following day, students went to the Cheese and Wine Festival (Foire aux Vins et aux Fromages) in the small town of Antony in the greater Paris area. They had a chance to taste various French wines and cheeses as well as typical French recipes such as snails, "tartiflette", and "aligot". This outing has been organized by AGS every year for five years, and has become a traditional part of the "orientation weekend".

Sarah Pedersen, graduate of the M.A. in International Relations and Diplomacy at AGS and now academic coordinator of the program, says: "This is a great way to introduce students to the French culture and cuisine in the informal environment."