Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity

“I came back because of the Paris attacks. I went to France for about half a year, but I was supposed to go for a full year.

I lived in a boarding house with 20 other girls, all from different countries. I roomed with a few of them. One was my cousin, Regis. There was a Mexican and Lithuanian too. We had house moms who took care of us. The moms would switch every Saturday or Sunday.

The education was very different. I had a debate class called Tilt and a class called Global Issues. The classes were much more laid back than here, but obviously, we still had math and stuff like that also. The school was an IB school, so I got college credit.

I think the best part was the experience. Just living by myself was awesome. I completely took care of myself. It caused me to become a lot more responsible and self-dependent.

The worst part was the first two months. It was hard to accept the fact I wouldn’t be able to see my mom for a while. Going home after school was hard too. I would expect my mom to be there, but she wasn’t. It also was hard when I first woke up. Right away, I would check Snapchat stories and see all my friends. I really missed them. Because I missed everybody so much, it was difficult to make new friends. I kept to myself and pushed new people away for quite a bit.

Anyways, the Paris attacks. So, I was with my mom. She had come to visit me for the weekend. We went shopping for most of the day. We got back to our hotel, in Champs-Élysées, around five, right before the attacks happened. The attacks didn’t happen until about six or seven.

Once we settled into our room, the concierge came. He knocked on our door and asked if we were alright. Oh, and some friends from Mequon, the Schlesingers, were there too. They came to our door shortly after the lobby guy and knocked. I opened the door and and just asked how their day was. The next thing I know, Avery was crying and screaming. Gosh, she was so scared! They all were. They just kept saying, “Thank God you’re all okay!” Next thing we know, we started getting all these texts from our loved ones back home. That’s when we finally turned on the news and figured it out.

The Schlesingers left the next day. Planes could go out, but none could come in. All the stores were shut down. Everything was closed. My mom kept pushing me to leave with her as soon as possible. She wanted us both to catch the next flight home. Unlike her, I wanted to stay. Obviously though, I’m back. I love my mom and she loves me. She wanted her daughter home safe, so I gave into her wish. I’m just happy I was able to live in France as long as I did!” (Renata Olavarrieta Maturana, sophomore)