CISabroad - Semester in Paris

Hello,
My experience abroad was amazing. It was my first time being in Europe and since I can remember Paris has always been my dream. It was an undesirable feeling knowing I was accomplishing a dream of mine. The program did a fantastic job making sure we not only felt safe but were safe. The excursions we did as a group was awesome as well. Not many people get the opportunity to go abroad let alone in Paris, France. History is my favorite subject and what better place to see amazing artifacts than here. I gained a new appreciation and love for the history and art of Paris. Everyday was an amazing day.
I think future participants would want to know about the safety abroad which CISabroad did an awesome job doing. We were recommended websites to sign up for to get updates everyday about the activity around us. CISabroad also sent texts making sure we were okay. You also have a webinar to go through that provides additional information. They also should do research on their own or ask their advisors questions about anything they aren't aware of.
This impacted my post-program tremendously. I applied for an Alumni Ambassador position through CISabroad and was nominated for it which I am super excited about. Also, studying abroad made me want to overseas again which I plan on doing next summer. I want to help and encourage others to go abroad.
Some tips would be to get your banking cards situated before going overseas. I unfortunately had issues with that the first week of being abroad. My favorite memory would have to be going to the Versailles Palace. I visited there two or three times because I loved it so much. Such beautiful architecture and history. Also at Versailles, you can go to the garden behind the palace and go canoeing for cheap. That was a wonderful experience.

This program was PERFECT for me. It combined so many essential components of what I wanted from my study abroad program: an apartment in the middle of the city (not a dorm!), integration into a local school, great on-site advisor, fun activities, but loads of independence. Every moment from the planning stages to the end of the semester was seamless with the help of the CIS staff. Cannot recommend highly enough!

Paris is a wonderful place to spend the summer. The culutural scene is beyond compare and the city is relatively safe. I was told that the best thing to do is to get lost ...and I did (of course I kept my apartment address in my pocket so if I couldn't find my own way back I could get help). I saw a lot of cool things I wouldn't have seen otherwise and it gave me the confidence to explore further.

However, speaking French is not required outside of the classroom. Paris is so global I found most people responded to me in English. That's great for beginning French students, not so great when you want to practice your French.

The courses were interesting and the staff was great, but the biggest educational aspects occurred outside of the school. Those came in the social aspects of purchasing groceries, attending the Fireman's ball, visiting museums,riding the metro, sitting in the park, and yes even enduring the "Did you drop your ring?" scammers.

The whole city was my classroom for the summer. A semi-immersion into the French speaking world...I could live among the French, speak their language, and still have the comfort of my English speaking classmates. I think that's why this program is so successful. It allows you to customize your immersion: you can jump in and submerge your entire body or just dip your big toe.

I know this was a summer I'll never forget and one I would like to live again and again.