Pau Tips

I had no idea what to expect going into this trip, which is the reason I’m writing this review. First of all, Pau is an adorable town that has a cute town center and public transportation running through every corner of the city, so I wouldn’t worry about that. The program heads will literally walk everyone to the station where you buy bus passes if you need them. My husband and I lived ~15 minutes away from campus and we walked everyday and were fine! We went for the Fall semester, and the weather was absolutely perfect the entire time. It rains a little, but we loved that. Also, if you go during the summer, be aware that almost no places have air conditioning! Only the movie theater will provide you with come cool air, and movie tickets are really cheap. This program is excellent at taking you on excursions and showing you important French places and history. Go on EVERY excursion and free tour that you can! Even if it’s in French and you’re not that confident! Be ready to make friends because you will attend each excursion with the same people. However, while these people are from all over the United States (and probably have differing cultures), it’s a little easy to only hang out with other Americans and not branch out (as far as social life goes). And that’s not really the point of studying abroad, so socialize with French people and other foreigners! They’re all very nice. That brings me to my favorite aspect of this program, which is the fact that everyone takes a Language Placement test at the beginning of the semester and is matched up with all other foreigners in that school at the same level (except for European students from Erasmus). In my class, there were people from Russia, Japan, Austrailia, Iraq, Brazil, Ghana, and more! We saw each other everyday and we created intense bonds. This was my favorite part of the whole experience, I will never forget those relationships. That said, I do wish I would’ve socialized with more French kids my age, but they already seem to have their own friends at school so they’re harder to approach—Be brave! The teachers are incredibly nice and the classes are VERY manageable. It’s very easy to get straight A’s, (if you do the homework), so don’t worry about that. Don’t worry if you can’t understand your teacher on the first day, you’ll be able to understand every word s/he says by the end of the semester. Almost all host family experiences I heard of were positive, but every single story about living in the dorms was also positive. Other foreigners live in the dorms and that can create even more friend opportunities. Plan a few trips before hand, but you don’t have to book every single thing because plans will change and maybe you’ll want to follow a friend group going to a specific place on the weekend. Try to travel every weekend!! See as much as you can. Consult RyanAir and Flixbus for everything!! Also the trains are very nice and stop through Pau. Learning French will happen if you just try to communicate. Yes, it will be hard and awkward, but once you do it you will gain confidence. Last tip: Get excited to study abroad!! This will give you memories to last a lifetime.