An American in Paris Past Review
By Elizabeth S (Art History, Criticism and Conservation., The University of Texas at Austin) for
IES Abroad: Paris - French Studies
I definitely think about my life in Texas more globally. I learned a lot more about the world and new ways to approach my life.
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everyone was extremely nice and helpful. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I greatly appreciated the fact that my host family always spoke French to us and expected us to speak French to them even though they knew English. That and my classes were the best exposure to French I got. They were very welcoming and the apartment was conveniently located. |
| * Food: |
It was very nice to live with a host family that was also vegetarian as I never had to worry about what to eat for dinner. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The excursions to Chantilly and Giverny were fun and a nice way to get out of the city. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt pretty safe, though I know a few people had run ins with riots and police on occasion. However, Paris felt very safe during the day due to the amount of people (you were rarely alone in a street) and about as safe as a big city will feel at night. |
| 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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | nope |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Upper division |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
We were required to speak French, but most people spoke English to each other anyways. However, the classes were all in French, which was very helpful. |
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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | The people in the program are very nice and helpful, so use them as much as possible. Try to speak French with the American students because it is very easy to just speak English. Do something Parisian every day. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Advanced French Grammar |
| Course Department: | French 301 |
| Instructor: | Vassandyer |
| Instruction Language: | French |
| Comments: | The textbook did not contain enough information. It only had a few examples, but little explanation so it was very difficult to repeat and understand the examples. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Contemporary France |
| Course Department: | Sociology 301 |
| Instructor: | Sophie |
| Instruction Language: | French |
| Comments: | Very interesting, Sophie was very easy to understand |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
