During my study and life in Paris, I met many students from other countries who came to the Paris College of Art (PCA) to study abroad like me. I became good friends with them. We discussed works of art in class together, ate local specialties together, and went to famous local museums and castles together.

Communication was a little difficult while studying at PCA as courses were taught in English and English is not my native language. The professors, however, helped me a lot and would patiently point out the deficiencies in my work and guide me to correct them.

During my semester in Paris, I learned how to make a book, and learned a lot about design, typography, and paper type selection. I also learned how to make a virtual brand, which includes designing a logo, choosing color palette, choosing brand fonts, poster design, product pattern design, making virtual brand webpages, making virtual brand Instagram homepages, and making virtual brand Motion Design Videos. Although I already have experience in this area from MSU, I feel PCA design concepts are more detailed. Every pattern and product design needs to have the concept and meaning behind it, which deepened my concept of the theme when designing products.

The life experience in Paris can be regarded as a kind of exercise for me. I never thought of going to a foreign country alone away from my parents like this time. This is a very big challenge for me. Living in Paris, I learned to blend into the local people's dressing style, taste the local food, learn to ride the subway in Paris (this is another huge challenge because the Paris underground transportation system is really huge!), learn to buy food and cook by myself, and learn to take care of myself. I feel that I have grown a lot and become more mature during this semester.

To be honest, most of Paris still uses English. Although the English of the locals is not very good, they can still understand what I want to express. I also studied elementary French courses at PCA, and I can say basic greetings, but it is more difficult for me to communicate in French.

I learned from the host culture that every building in Paris, including museums and castles, records the history of France from ancient times to the present. This is a metropolis of culture and design, where I learned a lot about French history and celebrities biography.

Before I came to Paris, I always thought that the place where the professor taught would always be in the classroom, but after I came to Paris, I found that, whether it was history or design courses, the professor would lead the students to visit the local museums, while visiting and taking pictures While talking about relevant knowledge, this gave me a new idea of education in Paris.

My story records every bit of my life in Paris, and other students can think of themself when they see my story. I believe that my story will make my parents and friends proud, it will excite donors and alumni, and it will show that I have made substantial progress in my professional academic field experience.

Name: Caiyin Liang
Status: Senior
Major: Graphic Design
Hometown: Guangdong, China
Program: Paris College of Art