Work experience student Philippa Carr, 21, has just returned from seven months working in Paris, as part of a French and history of art degree. She describes her experiences of living in a foreign country.

I ARRIVED in the French capital with very little idea of what to expect from my year abroad. With a limited grasp of the French language, and no experience of teaching, I certainly felt out of my comfort zone.

I came to Paris to work as an English Language assistant in the English equivalent of a secondary school – a lycée.

Fortunately, my school was in an excellent location, in the 13th ‘arrondissment’ of Paris, just a stone’s throw away from the famous Latin Quarter.

I was also lucky enough to live in one of the trendier districts of the city, the 5th, in a traditional Parisian apartment overlooking Notre Dame cathedral, which I shared with another erasmus student.

Living in such an attractive area of Paris, it was hard not to be charmed by of the world’s most beautiful and romantic cities.

Working at Lycée Rodin was certainly a new and challenging experience.

Having felt initially overwhelmed at the size of the school, and the number of pupils in each class, I was relieved to discover I only had to teach 15 pupils at a time, rather than the 50 the other teachers had to work with.

I definitely felt the nerves as my first class of 16-year-olds walked into the classroom, chatting and gossiping away in slang French, which I could barely understand.

However the prospect of having a young English girl working in their school was exciting enough to hold their attention and I managed to control the class for the full hour.

After just a few weeks, I soon got to grips with the lessons and the pupils, and I quickly felt confident enough to use my authority to deal with a few of the more highly strung students.

My working week was only 12 hours long, leaving me plenty of free time to explore the many sights Paris has to offer.

As an art history student, I couldn’t have been happier with the opportunity to explore Paris’ endless museums, buildings and exhibitions.

The Musée d’Orsay became a firm favorite, and with free entry to almost all the museums, I must have made at least a dozen visits to the museum, which houses an impressive collection of Impressionist works.

As well as the art and architecture, I certainly enjoyed French cuisine, and quickly found there was more to French food than just bread, wine and cheese.

Whilst forming the staple part of most meals, I was surprised to find in addition a wide variety of meats, fish vegetables available.

Duck à l’orange and smoked salmon galettes (a savory crepe) soon became popular choices for me.

I was delighted to discover that the archetypal image of Parisians going to collect their morning baguette from the local boulangerie on their scooters, a copy of the daily newspaper in hand, really does exist, and is definitely one of my favorite images of French way of life.

Living in one of the fashion capitals of the world, it was hard not to be influenced by the ever stylish, chic Parisians.

Always immaculately dressed, in expensive looking, well tailored clothes, Paris is certainly no place for tracksuit bottoms and trainers, not even in the early hours when popping out to collect your pain au chocolat.

I wore tracksuit bottoms once in my entire 7 months and have never felt more out of place – definitely a major fashion faux pas on my part.

Parisians also don’t ‘do’ color when it comes to clothes – even in summer months, blacks, greys and blues are the predominant colors worn around the city.

However, Paris is far from a depressing city.

With so much culture, fashion and cuisine on offer, it is easy to understand why it attracts visitors from all over the world.

I found the city inspiring and thrilling, and feel very spoilt to have spent 7 months in such an amazing city.

Working as a language assistant was a rewarding experience, that has given me confidence and a sense of achievement.

Despite living with an English girl, and working in English, my language skills improved considerably and it was satisfying to be able to express myself to locals in French.

I would strongly recommend to everybody to take a year abroad if they ever have the opportunity to do so.

Although daunting at times, the benefits certainly make any initial nerves and doubts worth the effort.

If you make the most of every situation, and embrace the new way of life, it would be hard not to fall in love with such an enticing city.

I am in for a shock when I return to gray, windy Leeds for my fourth and final year at university; I think I can safely say, without hesitation, that I would much rather be returning to the French capital and spend another year living as a Parisian.