Aix-en-Provence is Amazing! Past Review
By Emma G (International Business., Trinity University) - abroad from 06/07/2010 to 07/16/2010 with
France Study Abroad Reflections: Comprehensive Reviews of Past Programs
I would do it again. Obviously there were some things that i didn't like or that bothered me but overall the city was amazing, my french definitely improved and i plan on doing a semester abroad somewhere in france again.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Very large workload, grading was hard, huge difference between the french teaching and american teaching. But we were able to tell them what we needed work on and what we wanted to learn. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The director is...difficult. She can seem rude. The secretaries and everyone else were really nice and friendly. They were small and friendly classes. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Residence Tivoli. My host mom was old but she was so sweet. She took me out to see a lot of places which a lot of other host parents didnt. I couldn't walk home at night and had to take a taxi which got expensive but some nights she could pick me up at 10:30 or 11 if i wasn't staying out late. Really small apartment. <br /><br /> Like i said before i couldn't walk home at night but during the day i usually walked to school, or my host mom would drive me because she worked just around the corner. I didnt need to buy anything and she always made me dinner even when she's not supposed to on friday's and saturday's. |
| * Food: |
food was ok. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Definitely go to the Calanques in Marseille, they are little cave beach inlet things and they are beautiful, but its a long hike! And go to the Cote d'Azur (Nice, villefranche, monaco, cannes). ALso go to the Luberon which is where all the lavender fields are, and where they make the honey, wine, and olive oil. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
My city was really safe, i felt completely comfortable, but when we went to paris for the weekend we were harassed a lot. I didn't go to a doctor or anything but they gave us a form to give them so we could be reimbursed, and the people who did need medical help could just call our school and they would set up an appointment. |
| 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? | I spent a lot of money! Especially on food because apparently Aix is the second most expensive city in France, plus traveling can be expensive. The TGV trains is good but expensive. The bus is cheap though (it cost like 5 euros to go to marseille). Im not sure exactly how much i spent but it helps that host parents make dinner. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Your only there once. you can make up for your spending when you come home. |
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? |
I think my language improved a lot. The home stay is definitely a must because i was forced to speak french at home all the time. its hard to speak to your friends in the program in french all the time but we attempted. The teachers and people at school would only speak french to us, so we did use it a lot. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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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 doesn't mind working, but also really wants to travel around. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Intermediate French |
| Course Department: | Modern Languages-French |
| Instructor: | Multiple teachers |
| Instruction Language: | French |
| Comments: | It was challenging because the whole course was in french. We had local field trips around the city; went to see a museum and the painter Cezanne's studio. The teachers were all very helpful and knowledgeable. Because they were small friendly classes i was able to participate a lot. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Not sure yet... |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Cultural Patterns |
| Course Department: | ? |
| Instructor: | Lili Engel |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Waste of my time. I thought the course was repetitive, and she stereotyped the french a lot and a lot of the things she said we found out from french friends and experience that they were wrong. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
