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

My semester abroad in Paris was a blend of breathtaking moments that were surprisingly educational. Some of my favorite memories from abroad was when I was able to gaze at the Eiffel tower while it lit up a dark Paris night, climb to the top of the Notre Dame cathedral to experience a gargoyle’s point of view of Paris, and spend countless days in Montmartre surrounded by artists. Luckily through AIFS, I took weekend trips to Normandy and the Loire Valley. I found myself in complete awe as I walked though the American cemetery that held many soldiers who had laid down their lives for our freedom. Not only did Normandy take my breath away but the Loire Valley did also. I had only dreamed about the beautiful castles I stepped foot in. As you can see I clearly don’t have a single memory from abroad that I treasure the most. What I treasure is the combination of every single moment I lived along the way. All of those memories are what made my experience studying abroad with AIFS the best decision I’ve ever made.

Of all of the programs provided for study abroad in Grenoble, AIFS was by far the best possible choice. The faculty was astoundingly helpful and cheerful. We had more opportunities for internships and teaching. We were taken to hockey games and picnics, we had more involvement with the French community as a whole. I could have not have been happier anywhere else. It was exactly the experience I was looking for!

The staff at Cannes fosters an environment of personal development. Not especially academic, this program allows for a lot of travel and opportunities to form friendships. While I won't remember a lot of the French I learned, I will remember the memories.

The 6 weeks I spent in Cannes, France were beyond amazing. With the school situated literally across the street from the Mediterranean Sea (I could see it from my bedroom!), almost every day after class was spent at the beach. The opportunity to meet others from all around the world who were in my class was amazing, and the teachers were tough but I learned a lot! I loved all of the excursions we could take part in and Sandrine, the AIFS program director there was soo helpful! There was a doctor on site at the school so when a lot of us got sick it was nice to have, and a pharmacy was right across the street. We were close to le suquet, the coolest part of town and a few more minutes away from all the shopping and restaurants you could think of. You seriously can't go wrong with studying in Cannes!

Obviously, Paris is amazing. But it would have been less amazing without the support of AIFS. They set me up in an amazing homestay in the 14eme, helped me register for all of my classes, planned opportunities to fully expose us to Paris, and overall added to the amazing time I had in Europe and ultimately, abroad.

I studied abroad in Cannes in Spring 2013. This experience without a doubt changed my life. It was THE most life changing experience I have had to do, and the simple biggest highlight of my college career.

AIFS has set up one amazing program that guarantees you an incredible time abroad. In my program was about 40 other American students who came from all over the United States. We studied and lived in dorms at the College International de Cannes. There is also an option to live at a home stay, but it is still possible to get an authentic experience without staying with a family.

We took weekend trips, and day trips with AIFS that were included in the cost of the program to places like Paris, the Provence region, St. Tropez, and Monaco! Some weekends I would get together with my friends and we would visit another country for the weekend like Rome, Spain, or Germany. The closest airport is about 40 minutes by train in Nice and not that far.

We had French class 5 days a week, and optional seminar classes once a week. I adored my French teacher, and wanted to take her back to America with me at the end.

My absolute favorite part of the semester was the Cannes Film Festival. During the festival Cannes transformed into a bustling, and vivacious city! My AIFS resident director on campus helped me get an internship with a British film company. I loved every minute of my internship, and got to be an assistant to a celebrity while I was there. My friends and I walked the red carpet, went to premiere parties, and became entranced with all the glamor and excitement.

This experience broadened my cultural and worldly views in ways I didn't think possible. I made amazing friendships that I will cherish forever, and shared memories that I won't forget. If I could repeat my study abroad experience again I would in a heartbeat. Cannes is a magical place, that you won't want to leave!

If I could do another semester in Cannes, I would in a heartbeat.

I chose Cannes in the spring of 2013 because I did not want to be in as big of a city as Paris, but I still wanted that same cultural spark - and trust me, you get plenty of that during the film festival in May.

I studied at the Collège International de Cannes with the rest of the Americans in my AIFS group (there were about 40 of us in all) as well as a bunch of international students from all over the world. My various dorm neighbors were from Mexico, Japan, Iceland, South Africa, and so on. The school has a small campus, so it immediately feels like home. You can choose between a homestay or living at the dorm - I chose the dorm and it's pretty much the standard dorm experience (except that I could see the Mediterranean from my window, a nice touch). The style of the collège is very bright and warm. I liked the food in the cafeteria, but I'm not a picky eater and I know some people were less than fond of it. As long as you try things with an open mind, you should be able to survive. They do serve brunch on the weekends though, which is the greatest.

We had language classes every morning, 5 days a week. Students have the chance to move up in classes, so if you start out at maybe an intermediate French level, you can end up in advanced class by the end of the semester based on your language progression. Classes aren't extremely difficult, as long as you put in some effort and speak up. I was in an advanced class, and we did a little bit of grammar, but mostly we focused on listening exercises and just talking to each other. It was a lot more fun than classes back home, since usually we talked about whatever we liked - like movies, sports, food, and even the occasional explanation of Ryan Gosling's attractiveness (our French teacher didn't see it). Focusing on talking was a major help to my language skills, and I left France very proficient at the language.

You also take seminars that meet once a week. I'd recommend the Société Française class.

Actually living in Cannes is a lot of fun. The beaches are wonderful, and the town itself has a lot of character (especially the old town with its narrow, cobblestone streets). Food along Le Suquet (in the old part of town) is really good. It's only a couple of euros and a 40 minute bus ride to get to Nice, and there you have that city or the airport to go fly off to some other really cool destination.

Cannes was a great place to study in the spring because of the film festival. My AIFS resident adviser, Sandrine, helped me find an internship for the festival that went alongside my journalism major. So for the majority of it, I blogged about the festival and got to talk to, photograph, and occasionally interview some famous actors and actresses at the festival (one of my highlights was actually getting to speak French with Marion Cotillard). The film festival is a ton of fun, whether you intern at it or just go as a fan. AIFS gets you passes that get you into the movies, and you have the chance to go to the premieres and walk on the red carpet.

Overall, it was a great experience, and AIFS was a really good program to go with. Their resident director, Sandrine, was more than helpful. She set up a lot of great excursions every week, like Monaco, the Verdon Gorge, and cool, local towns we wouldn't have been able to get to on our own (as well as the fun, bigger trips like Paris, Florence, London, and Provence). She also helped us out when we were in a tight bind, like when my friend got a kidney infection and we had to rush off in an ambulance to the hospital. She took care of everything.

Anyway, I fully recommend studying abroad. You won't regret it, and the Cannes program is great.

DO NOT TRAVEL WITH AIFS they are incredibly disorganized and unhelpful in times of conflict. They are significantly more expensive and there is NO added benefit to using AIFS. Their staff watches you like preschool children and the glorified dormitory that they stick you in is terrible. Ridiculous rules like no food or drink outside of lobby and they force you to eat in their gross cafeteria. AVOID AIFS at ALL COSTS trust me!!