Crack down and get fluent while befriending French people! Past Review
By Kristen N (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS., Carleton College) - abroad from 09/06/2014 to 12/20/2014 with
France Study Abroad Reflections: Comprehensive Reviews of Past Programs
The biggest thing I gained was a new and more open cultural perspective, which comes mostly from the Cultural Patterns course but also through my interactions with French students and my host family.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The professors are fantastic. They're tough graders, but very dedicated to ameliorating their students' writing and speaking skills. Classes are not easy but definitely accomplishable. The real work, though, comes with the language contract and speaking french all the time. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They're decently organized and equipped with every possible opportunity. Everyone is approachable in case of emergency or even for little questions. They do make it seem, however, as if you are wasting your time if you don't do absolutely everything they say, which is a bit stressful. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host mom was wonderful. We got on famously, we ate great meals together, and I still had my own space for when I needed privacy. However, I was housed too far from the city center and that made going out at night expensive and difficult. Taxies in Aix are not cheap, the buses stop running at 8 or 9, and much of the way home wasn't well lit at night. |
| * Food: |
My host mom made great meals. France has awesome food. But we had to pay for lunches every day and dinners Friday and Saturday, and it's just too expensive in Aix for that to work out. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
This program works VERY HARD to get you integrated into the culture. A host family, two language partners, a club, and volunteer work - all obligatory - really get you into the scene in Aix. You also take courses on culture which help you through these encounters and have weekly check ups with administrators to make sure everything's going well. However, the best way to integrate is to go out at night, and I just lived too far away for that to be feasible most nights. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
French health care is a dream. You have to fill out paperwork, but everything is reimbursed. The administrators find you a doctor, help you get the vocabulary of your problem down before you go, and are available to call the doctor for you if you have trouble explaining. My health issues were just preexisting ones, though. There was nothing about Aix that made me or anyone ill. |
| * Safety: |
Aix is a pretty safe town, you just have to be cautious when you go out of the city center at night. There are large stretches of road with no one around, and not too many lights either. |
| 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) |
Aix is such a pricey town. Food is expensive. Taxis are expensive. At the end, I was really struggling. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
They take the language contract seriously. It's not easy, but very rewarding. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I had taken a 300 level French course at Carleton before going abroad. |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Being abroad itself is taking a great opportunity. Don't spend the whole time fretting about how you could have done better. Keep busy and enjoy yourself. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
