AIFS Abroad: Study, Intern, or Study & Intern in France

If you want an authentic French experience, come to Grenoble. Grenoble is absolutely breathtaking. The mountains are great for hiking or skiing. It's amazing to go running along the river. If you are an active person, you will fall in love with Grenoble's outdoor activities and more. Even if you aren't very active, you will be charmed by Grenoble's architecture, friendly atmosphere, and the weekend markets. I learned far more than I ever expected in coming here. I went from not being able to speak French hardly at all to having conversations about politics, home improvement, and cultural differences. You will get out what you put in to it. That is the most important thing to remember when you come here or if you go anywhere in general to study abroad. If I could choose where to go for another semester, I would probably still pick Grenoble. I've met so many great international students here. We will be friends for a lifetime. Come to Grenoble, and you won't regret it.

An amazing experience. Living on the beach, staying at a small school with students from all over the world, and taking rigorous but fun academic courses. I became very close with many of the people in my AIFs group- they are my best friends to this day. Cannes is a fantastic and charming town, and working at the Film Festival was an unforgettable experience. the support staff from AIFS could not be more helpful. I would recommend absolutely anyone to participate in this program- I wish I could do it all over again!

My study abroad semester in Grenoble, France was a once in a lifetime experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. Like many of the students who choose this program, I wanted a truly authentic French experience that I felt I wouldn't find studying in Paris. And an authentic experience is what I got. The city has a population of around 150,000 which I felt was a perfect size for me: not to small, but not to big. My favorite part of living in Grenoble is the fact that the city is surrounded by three different mountain ranges. Every direction that you turn your head in, you can see mountains (if there aren't any 300 year old buildings in the way!) With my study abroad program we were able to take part in several activities and excursions to different places around the city and within the region. These were some of my most favorite memories and things that I got to do while in France. These included snowshoeing in the Alps followed by a relaxing visit to a thermal spa, visiting several vineyards to do some wine tasting, and doing a high ropes course complete with zip line atop one of the mountains surrounding Grenoble. My favorite place that we visited was a monastery tucked away in the Chartreuse mountains (one of the ranges that borders Grenoble.) It was the most beautiful and peaceful place that I have ever been in my life. These experiences along with the day to day authentic experiences of riding trams, visiting cafés, and speaking French made my semester so full and complete. I truly left part of my heart in Grenoble and can't wait until the day that I can go find it again.

I'm so glad I picked AIFS for my study abroad experience!! Danica, Claire and Jane were very helpful in making sure my courses, housing, meal tickets, etc. were all set! They were so friendly and knowledgable making them wonderful resources while in Paris.

They also planned fantastic excursions within the city and within France! We enjoyed shows at the Opera, pastry/cheese/wine tastings, museum visits, walking tours, etc. which were all fantastic. We also had a group dinner at the beginning and end which was really cool to see how people have enjoyed the program and made lifelong friendships!

The biggest reason I would choose AIFS, not only for their quality and all-inclusive prices, but the service was amazing!

Thank you AIFS for making my experience so memorable:)

I am just finishing up my internship in Paris and looking back, I am extremely happy with my time abroad with Global Experiences. An opportunity like this is not easy to come by but this program made it a very real and very rewarding experience. The language program at the beginning prepared me for my work experience later on and the class was overall very helpful. My internship was awesome and I learned a lot about the world of work that I know will be useful when I return home.

The host mother that I lived with during my time ib Paris was amazing and I truly could not have asked for anyone better. She was patient with my French and made sure I was getting the best out of my time there. It helped that she was an awesome cook too!

The activities set up by our program advisor were great. I had some of my best times during them especially during our trip to Chenonceau in the Loire Valley. He chose activities that we would not normally get to do on a normal trip to Paris but that were still great experiences.

I would definitely recommend this program to anyone interested in interning abroad.

Paris was definitely a change for me coming from a small town. At first, this city intimidated me. I remember calling my mom and venting to her about all the things I found different in this city. The first month I was here I attended a language school for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. After that, I did a 2 month internship. It was nice in the beginning to only have 3 hours of school so I could get to know the city. Once the internship began, I started to work 40 hours a week and I did not have much free time. I did, although, learn a lot in the work place, improve my French, make friends, and build my resume and knowledge further. This was truly a life changing experience and I am glad that I decided to step outside my comfort zone and apply to this program.

I had the most amazing experience in Grenoble. I loved walking through town with my friends, having picnics in place Verdun, and hiking through the nearby mountains with my host family. I really liked my teachers and the courses. I wish we had more forced interaction with the French students at the university though.

Honestly, I didn't compare many study abroad programs when I was choosing which program I wanted to go through. When I saw that I could attend the Cannes Film Festival, I knew that's the program I wanted. It was everything I wanted it to be! I was able to travel to several different places in France through AIFS and to a few other countries on my own during breaks. Sandrine and Aude, the AIFS staff that work at the college, are always there to answer any questions about anything regarding study abroad, traveling, or just general French questions! The Cannes Film Festival was really exciting, and although it is tiring, you can get a lot out of the festival if you put in the time with the resources you are given by the program. Cannes is a fairly small town when the festival isn't going on, and although I didn't believe this would happen, I found myself annoyed by all the tourists that came during the festival (which was at the end of the four months I was there). I really felt that Cannes was my town. It was easy to learn where everything was once you go out and explore, and the school is within walking distance from the beach! I also thought that all of the teachers were nice and that I learned a lot in my classes. It was a great experience in every way!