Learning to Walk in an Alpine Paradise

I studied abroad during my junior year, having taken French throughout all four years of high school and several semesters of college. I was your classic Francophile. Thought I knew my stuff. I was sure I was going to be able to instantly, effortlessly communicate my thoughts to the locals in their native tongue. I was wrong.

What I found when I arrived in Grenoble was that I didn't know half as much as I thought I did. Day after day, I struggled: stringing my thoughts into coherent sentences, recalling all the vocabulary words I had learned over the years, making sure my adjectives agreed with my nouns. It was like learning to walk again, but with my tongue instead of my legs. During my first few weeks, it's safe to say that I was completely drained by the time the sun went down as a result of all the mental gymnastics I was performing throughout the day.

But I also quickly found that I had an amazing support system to help me with these daily exercises. Every aspect of the program set me up for success, from my amazing host family (including two host brothers who were my age), to the on-site Resident Directors who took us around the country and explained the ins and outs of French culture, to the knowledgeable university faculty. It wasn't long before I stopped walking and started sprinting.

By the end of my semester abroad I had learned a lot about life in France, and even more about myself. I couldn't have done it without all the behind-the-scenes preparations made by API to ensure that the program was so comprehensive, and of such high quality.

If you're interested in studying in a location that's a little off the beaten path, but is guaranteed to challenge you and improve your fluency in French, go to Grenoble.