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A day in the life of Keval Gala

Civil & Environmental Engineering Major, Carnegie Mellon University
CUPA Immersion

My typical Thursday begins at 7:40 am. What I eat for breakfast depends on how much time I have – on a good day, a toasted Speculoos and blackberry jam sandwich! I fill up my water bottle and I’m out the door by 8:30 for my 9am literature course at Paris 8. It’s a short walk to the Place de Clichy metro station, where I stop by the CNEWS Matin stand to pick up the news. The line 13 is packed, but as people eventually get off I’m able to read the interesting articles and highlight the words I don’t understand so I can look them up later. In class we discuss the rewriting of history by postcolonial francophone authors. I take the line 13 back home for lunch, then the line 12 to CUPA for my favorite course, “Réalités et représentations de l’Islam en France.” Afterward I print out an assignment I want to revise tomorrow with Esther, a CUPA intern. I might also visit Simply supermarket to buy some vegan food, trying to fit my weekly expenses into the 30 euros I make teaching English. When I get home my host dad says, “Salut! Tu vas bien?” and I reply, “Oui, ça va, et vous?” I cook channa masala for dinner, then watch a couple Jamel Comedy Club videos on YouTube, check Facebook, and relax before starting my homework. I message Jassem (my French tandem) about meeting up over the weekend and a few CUPA friends about catching a movie. If I’m not too exhausted by midnight, I read some French Harry Potter in bed before going to sleep.

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A day in the life of Keval Gala

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