Paris or Bust! Past Review

My semester in Paris would not have been nearly half as great as it was if I had not studied with IES Abroad. As my time in France came to a finish in May 2014, and as my departure crept closer and closer, I truly realized how lucky I was that I had picked an IES program. There was not a single component of IES’s structure that I disliked or with which I found fault. The Paris Business and International Affairs program has the most incredible and professional administrative staff, and every interaction that I had with one of the staff members left me feeling happy and supported. When I had issues with my homestay and reached out for help, the director and her employees came rushing to my side, constantly making sure that I knew that I was not alone and that they were there for me in any way that I might need. I also fell in love with the courses that IES’s Paris BIA program offered. I was able to take classes, like “France, the Middle East, and Islam,” that both applied towards my Global Studies major and were extremely relevant within contemporary Parisian and French cultures. Each of my five classes helped me to better understand the society that was around me, and they were led by intelligent and amazingly well-rounded professors, some of whom have solidified themselves as my favorite professors throughout my whole college experience. IES Abroad also designs and offers diverse cultural excursions, which, while studying in a big city like Paris, can really help a student to get to know small towns and lesser known cultural practices. For instance, in Spring 2014, the Paris BIA program offered a trip to the Normandy region, where we were able to go to a powerful D-Day museum in Caen and to the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. The excursion involved such intricate planning that it would have been a nightmare for an individual student to arrange, therefore, we were so lucky that IES offered such an option. Overall, IES Abroad’s Paris Business and International Affairs program has everything that a student could ask for: the staff is phenomenal, the courses are so interesting, and there are tons of ways that the program can help you get to know your country of choice even more! You will not regret choosing an IES program, particularly if you go to Paris! IES Abroad or bust!