Paris: The city where no one smiles :) Past Review
By Jared S (French and Linguistics, The University of Texas at Austin) for
MICEFA: Paris - Study Abroad at University of Paris east Créteil / Paris 12
Absolutely, I learned so much and there aren't words to describe it any other way.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Paris XII - Val de Marne and Paris VII - Diderot |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Paris XII was ridiculously easy. It is engineered for students looking for an easy time and an easy entry into the French language if you don't think that you're ready for a complete immersion class. Paris VII was like taking real classes. My teachers were very responsive to their students. The only issue, like in many foreign countries, is that that there really isn't any sort of syllabus or easy to understand flow of the class. You just have to be there everyday without fail and ready to work and take notes. Of course, the classes are only one day a week, so you have to be ready for long hours of sitting in a class room and working hard on whatever is going on that day, and many professors will just sit and lecture for 3 hours. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They were pretty effective, just a few issues with getting to talk to the right people. But they were very nice and it was a very small organization. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was also a teaching assistant so I lived in a logement de function where I worked with another teaching assistant from Mexico. |
| * Food: |
The food was delicious! I love pastries :) |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The country is fun and as long as you get out and explore it's an amazing place, though the greves do make things difficult since everything gets shut down. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I got sick a few times since I was teaching students with questionable hygiene but aside from that, it was just fine. I did almost get mugged one time, but in general, I was pretty safe. Just know your surroundings and don't look like someone with a target on them. |
| 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? | Just be careful what you buy and it's ok. |
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? |
It was total immersion. You go, you speak, you learn! |
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? | Really, all you can do is jump into it and you'll be fine. There is no use worrying since something will always go wrong. |
