I'd do it all over again! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Honestly, here's what needs to be said about a classroom educational experience in France: it is NOTHING like America. And that's both good and bad. Overall, I had an amazing experience. All of the professors are native French and just listening to them I found that I could learn a lot about the fluidity and "quirks" of the language. I absolutely adored my language and grammar teacher, however I can't say as much for my other teachers. Rather than a discussion it's a lecture, you will be told a very specific thing, and would be wise to remember it EXACTLY for any and all upcoming tests. (Even if it's an opinion of the teacher!) And that's just how it works there. Work wise and homework, I didn't have a lot of outside work. But that doesn't mean you don't use what you learn in the classroom. You quickly come to understand that everyday life outside the comfort zone of English thinking mind is the real test of what you've learned. I found that if you didn't want to volunteer information/questions, that was fine. I didn't feel the need to overly push myself in the classroom because I considered those lessons to be the foundation and background of what I learned while being outside and talking to people.

On-site administration of your program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The whole semester I kept telling my roommates how much we had lucked out with our apartment! 8 Place des Augustins! 5 roommates, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, terrace, livingroom, eat-in kitchen, laundry. *siiiigh* CEA does an amazing job with pairing people up who get along. My 3 roommates became best friends and then sisters to me. They're what got me through all of the homesickness and cravings for American food. The apartment was a large, 4 story walk-up (be prepared to work those calf muscles!), with warm colored walls, a tiled floor, and welcoming Buddha statue at the top of the stairs. CEA was great with taking care of us as well. Anytime there was a problem, we were just a phone call away from a solution. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that the larger bathroom had no door...only a heavy red curtain... Yeah, you get pretty close pretty quickly with your roommates because of that... For myself and my other roommates that apartment was a safe place where everyone spoke English and we could rest our fatigued translating minds at night. That place was home.

Loved everything. Going out to a restaurant and ordering food was so much fun! When reading the menu there's bound to be a word you don't know and it's like you're getting a surprise when your meal finally arrives! CEA offered so many opportunities for their students to get out and get a taste of Aix! I've had fondu at "La Louge", frog legs (delicious BTW!) at "Carrefour Cafe", and an amazing French dinner at "Mas de la Pyramid" (with Loulou!). But there's also the market every Saturday morning, so many fruits, vegetables, cheeses, honey, meats, pastries, breads, just everything! And it's all fresh, cheap, and delicious! Aix en Provence has so many restaurants and so many opportunities to try new foods, that your tastebuds will seriously miss it when you return home!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

This depended on my day. Feeling integrated into a culture is such a personal thing. I don't think I was mentally prepared for how vulnerable I was in the beginning. When you step into another country, YOU'RE the foreigner. It feels like everyone is in this exclusive club and you're just looking for a way to get in, but you'll come to realize that you're never really a part of that club. And that's okay. There is no room for guile or pretense when you're the foreigner; everything else is already so different and so new that you can't be anyone but yourself. You'll find yourself emotionally and mentally stripped of all pretenses. But it's a very liberating experience. I can personally say that I found out more about myself in my time spent in France than I have in the last 22 years of my life. You find your place in their world. You'll see a lot of the same vendors and shopkeepers, and eventually they nod about you in acknowledgement. You become comfortable enough to start a conversation, to joke and laugh, and you make friends. You find yourself in the market on a bright and beautiful Saturday morning arguing with the ever ancient M. Bernard that he's only overcharging you for the strawberries because you're American; his wrinkled eyes light up as he tries to hold back a smile and comments about your American wit, but you get the strawberries for a reasonable price. And if you don't find that you're coming a part of the world around you, then CEA is right there. I don't know how many times it was just so good to talk to Vivienne about a problem and have her walk me through it step-by-step. And the weekly happy hours at Carrefour Cafe, when there was 30 of us all in a room being loud and American, that was a regular and comfort-zone kind of thing. Becoming integrated with the local culture is all about the person and their personality and ability to handle new things. I myself miss the medieval city that had become like a home to me.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

If you were sick they took care of you. If you just needed medicine and couldn't function enough to get out of bed, they wrote down your symptoms and brought you medicine. You were never without a mother-like figure there.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

The exchange rate was what really hurt me. Went to pull 100 euros out of an ATM and really it was the equivalent of $135. There are cheap places to shop, but it wasn't until I had been there for about 2 months that I had really found them.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

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• Apartment

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• Local Students
• Americans

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• The roommates who became sisters to me
• The food!
• Every day life

• Having a door for the bathroom...

The Outright Urbanite