Semester Abroad in Paris, 2015!

My Study Abroad experience was nothing short of life altering. I participated in a French Studies Program in Paris, France. The program has a 100% French curriculum meaning all of my classes, assignments, and exams were in French. There were 44 of us total which meant the class sizes were pretty small, about 8-12 students in each of my classes. The coursework was challenging yet doable, and I admit harder than I expected prior to going. Yet I have no complaints because the curriculum greatly improved my French and I made several lifelong friends in this program. To give you an idea of the classes I took History of Photography, Paris Cinema, History of the Maghreb World, and a grammar class that emphasized discussion of current events and issues in France. The program also offered many excursion events which allowed us to have an even greater appreciation of the city and all it has to offer!

For housing accommodations I lived with a host family in a suburb just outside of Paris. This meant I had an hour commute to school every day which had its drawbacks, but on the plus side I got along great with my host family and I enjoyed the area I lived in. I’m still in touch with my host family and I’m very thankful for how kind and generous my host mom was! The initial culture shock is not easy but my host mom and her son made me feel so welcome. While abroad I also had an internship as an English instructor at French middle school. My job was to teach age appropriate lessons related to American culture to groups of students ages 12-14. My internship was one of the best parts of my experience abroad and I highly recommend doing an internship while abroad! Lastly, during my time abroad I had the chance to travel to Portugal, Ireland, and Belgium. Traveling is definitely one of the best aspects of going abroad but there was plenty to see and do while in Paris. My favorite thing was going to open mic nights with friends to listen to live music!

But the best part of going abroad was simply getting to experience and explore a different city with a completely different culture and language than I’m used to and getting to know the locals that live there. It makes you grow in ways you never thought of and challenges you every day and I’m very thankful I went.