I don't think a single person that really knows me would describe me as laid back. Honestly I don't like change, I hate when plans don't work out, and I'm very particular about how I like things. I accept these traits about myself as who I am but I also realize that I need to adapt while I'm abroad. When abroad there are so many things that could happen that isn't what you expect. You will miss a flight, get lost, lose something, etc.
From the beginning of my planning for Paris I have tried to adapt my mindset to allow myself to go with the flow and not get stressed when things don't go as planned. I obviously wasn't going to completely give up one of my favorite hobbies: planning. I brainstormed ideas of places I would like to go and things I could do in Paris but I kept it very loose. I didn't want to create an expectation that I was going to do all of these things and then be disappointed. I am continuously trying to keep an open mind about different things that life abroad will throw my way.
This mindset has proved to be very helpful so far. Many people I have seen that go abroad take very easy or laid back classes and have a lot of time to travel because of this lax schedule. this is not the case with my program. I basically have class from 9-5 Monday through Friday only leaving Saturday and Sunday for traveling and sightseeing. This was very shocking to me. I was hoping to be able to travel often and spend more than a day and a half in these new places. On top of that I was hoping the people in my program to want to do the same traveling which isn't necessarily the case. But don't worry I am not giving up on my weekend travels, just adapted. I have figured out trips that I can easily do in just a day or two and occasionally meeting up with other friends to travel with.
Going into the program I knew that the school I am attending is very disorganized which was helpful for me to know in advance. Preparing for this has allowed me to relax and go with it when things are messy. Normally bad communication and poor planning from a school would drive me CRAZY but right now I'm just enjoying being in Paris and the unique experience I'm having. Whenever I want to complain about something I stop and think about the fact that I'm in Paris. I may not have an oven to cook in but I get to cook in Paris!
My tips for going with the flow:
1. Always look for the positive and think about what you GET to do
2. Don't go into things with too many expectations or pictures of how things will be
3. Keep plans flexible
4. Adapt but don't give up completely