Grenoble: An Amazing Experience Hidden in the French Alps. Past Review
By Emily E (International/Global Studies., Trinity University) for
AIFS: Grenoble - University of Grenoble - French Language and Culture and Intensive French Language
It's amazing how many things you begin to see and understand about your own culture when you move to another. I am able to view American culture more objectively now and I have a wonderful appreciation for French culture, history, and language. Being forced to speak to strangers in a foreign language and dealing with the other struggles one faces abroad gave me more confidence and more patience and taught me to be more money-conscious. Living in France also allowed me to travel relatively easily to other places/countries (i.e. Barcelona, Spain; Munich, Germany; Salzburg, Austria; Geneva, Switzerland; London, England; and Cork, Ireland) in Europe and experience other cultures, if on a smaller level. It made the world feel smaller and more connected. It also made me more comfortable with different sleeping/bathroom situations and more adept at dealing with problems that come up while traveling. I hope to one day return to France or somewhere else in Europe to live or work (at least for a time).
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The biggest difference, I felt, was that the level of student-teacher interaction was a lot less (because I go to a liberal arts school), but it wasn't really a big deal. The grading system is different, but you get used to it. I also did not find it difficult to adapt to being taught in French, and it greatly improved my listening abilities. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our program director was very involved and very helpful. She planned a lot of interesting cultural events, held very reasonable office hours where one could come by and ask questions or just hang out and have a cup of tea, took care of much of the administrative work for us, and genuinely seemed to care about her students. She was lovely! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I didn't need to buy any extra items for my homestay. In our program, the program director carefully decided with which family to place each student (using the housing form, and she spent time talking with us during orientation before she decided). I think my situation worked out perfectly. It was of course awkward at times and there was miscommunication, but I developed a good relationship with my host mother (there were no children and the husband works in Toulouse and isn't home often). She was always very kind and helpful, but gave me plenty of privacy. She also was an excellent cook and loved to feed me! |
| * Food: |
I don't have any dietary restrictions, but there were 2 vegetarians in my program and 1 person who was allergic to chicken and nuts. The program director was very good when we had group meals at making sure they had other good options, and I believe their host families were accommodating, but sometimes when we went out on our own or when traveling, it was not as easy. There aren't a lot of vegetarians in France, and they love serving ham, but you can still always find delicious options to eat as a vegetarian. France has a lot of amazing food, but sometimes you will eat stuff that isn't great. The campus cafeteria was not very good at all. My host mom made amazing and delicious meals. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Our program organizes two trips for us- one to Paris and one to Provence (Arles, Avignon, and Aix-en-Provence). Our director also organized a lot of cultural events in and around Grenoble (some we suggested, but most were her idea). These included going to a soccer match and hockey game, a wine tasting, a hike to see some interesting caves, a visit to a nearby monastery where they make a special liquor and only 3 monks know the recipe (and we got to taste it!), a dinner with all of our host families, a fondue night, and a visit to a nearby chateau. There were also 3 trips to nearby cities (Annecy, Chamonix, and Lyon) organized by the CUEF that I attended. They also organized a trip to Orange and Avignon and other activities. I only signed up to do parapente (para-gliding), but they also organized hikes and kayaking trips. If interested there were also many other activities and concerts and things that happened at the university where one could meet French students, but I did not attend any. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I didn't have any actual problems. There were times, usually at night and usually at tram stops, where I and other students were harassed by men (sometimes they were just being really friendly, but sometimes not), but I never actually felt in danger. Usually if you ignore them, nothing happens. I don't know much about the crime rate in Grenoble, but because they offer a lot more services than other cities, they have higher numbers of homeless people, so there was a lot of begging going on. I was told they also caused a lot of problems with theft, but neither I nor anyone in my program had problems with that. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | From the money we paid to the program, we were given 35 euros each week to use as a lunch allowance. Of course it wasn't always used just for food. I almost always had to take out more money to use. It depends what you get, but it's not hard to find a cheap lunch, but you usually spend more on the weekends and we also liked to go to cafes a lot and buy coffee or hot chocolate which was usually around 3 euros, plus a pastry sometimes. I didn't really drink, but the other people spent a lot of money on alcohol. Apparently it's more expensive in Europe. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you want to save a lot of money, don't buy alcohol. If not, the cheapest (though definitely not the best) lunches were on campus. You could also buy supplies to make your own sandwiches and what not, which you can keep at your host families house, and have for lunch. Another area where we spent way too much money was in shopping. The only advice I have there is have some self-restraint, remember that when you pay euros, you're actually spending a lot more dollars, and look for the cheaper stores (like H&M). They too have cute clothes. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
the French professors, my host mom, resident director, and other foreign students learning French. Yes, one needed to use French pretty often. I wouldn't say most people spoke English, but a lot of people in France do (at least a little bit). What inhibited my ability to use French was spending too much time with the other American students and speaking almost only English with them. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Someone who is looking to improve their French, really experience French culture, and taste wonderful French food. Someone who doesn't want to study in small town, but is looking for somewhere smaller than Paris or Lyon. Someone who wants to live in a homestay (it's the only option). Someone who loves the outdoors and is interested in hiking or skiing or who just likes living near the mountains. |
