An Introduction

Hello, my name is Courtney Gatch. I attend Valdosta State University and I'm working towards a Bachelor of Arts degree with a minor in Entrepreneurship. I was born and raised on the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia. I have a doggy named Liberty Bella, she'll be 9 years old this July 4th.

My ALL time favorite super hero is Batman. I also really enjoy the Joker because he's not the typical villain, he doesn't really have a reason to do what he does, "I just do" (The Dark Knight, which is also my favorite movie). I like video games like Minecraft, Mario, and Portal. I'm also a big car fan as I grew up watching my dad race his car down the drag strip every Wednesday night. I love all things Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler/Ram/Jeep etc. My favorite tv show is a mix between Lizzie McGuire, Boy Meets World, and Scooby Doo. I'm not big on horror movies, but I'll watch a good thriller with the right set of people.

I'm looking forward to this trip. I'd say I'm really looking forward to learning about a new culture, seeing how the French live and interact. I'm also excited to study the art. I've learned about most of these pieces in my previous art history classes, but to be there in the city where some of them were created and to get the same feeling and perspective that these artists had while creating their masterpieces is such a honor to me. I'm also looking forward to the food. I've mostly enjoyed the typical American cuisine my whole life, and I'm counting on French food to be a good bit different than what I'm used to.

However, there are some things I'm not looking forward to. The first would be the mode of transportation over there. I've never flown before (other than around the Savannah area), so I've never had to go through the whole luggage and security ordeal. I'm also not too excited about not seeing my family for 5 weeks, I've gone longer than that being that I go to school three and a half hours away from them. But I won't be able to hop in a car and drive to see them. It'll be different. I'm also worried about the language barrier, I've never studied French before. I've actually taken Spanish as my second language (didn't know at the time I'd be going abroad to Paris), but I'm nervous about the fact that I won't be able to understand anyone and they won't be able to understand me.

Overall I think this will be a life changing experience and I look forward to the trip!