Sweetbriar Junior Year in France: Life in the City Past Review
By Craig l (History, Rice University) for
France Study Abroad Reflections: Comprehensive Reviews of Past Programs
Study Abroad is always worthwhile. Seeing the US from the outside does so much to clear your perspective.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | n/a |
| 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. |
French educational system is totally different from that at Rice. The professors are aloof and do not interact with the class. They walk in to lecture, lecture, and leave. On the other hand, my classes at Sweetbriar were AMAZING! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program had a great staff of Franco-Americans. The only weakness is that the were unwilling to help me with a host-family switch half-way through the semester. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in a great neighborhood (Neuilly-sur-Seine). It was pretty far from the nightlife, but that was fine. The nightbus ran close. My host family treated me as a boarder/client, and that was far less than I had hoped for. However, it seemed that i was not alone. Half the host families were super nice and welcoming while the other half, like mine, were less kind and sociable. |
| * Food: |
Host family dinners were rather bland due to a diet restriction from my host-father's heart disease, and my host mother was on a no-dinner diet. However, lunch at university was excellent; not to mention Parisian restaurants... |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We took two weekend trips with the program; one to Rouen and one to Arles. They were excellent and I wished we had more. We also had weekly events in Paris with Cecile, the secretary, ex: the Catacombs, private-tour of L'Opera Bastille etc. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I had no health problems that needed aid. Safety in Paris is fine, as long as you aren't in St. Denis after dark. |
| 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? | Paris is an expensive city. I'd say I spent 500-600 Euros a month. Food is much more expensive than the US, but so much better. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I knew Paris was going to drain my wallet. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | French 311 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I spoke French with Sweetbriar personnel and host family primarily. It is very hard, though, to speak French with American peers |
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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