Paris is a big, scary, awesome, fun, rewarding city Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The classes are different in that they all only meet once a week, generally for three hours so it was tough to sit through three hour lectures in a foreign language. They did not really have ongoing homework, mostly just a few papers. I felt like that professors were helpful if you went looking for help but were otherwise pretty distant. Registration was complicated because nothing was online, there was a board with all the classes and times posted but no class descriptions.

On-site administration of your program

It is really frustrating to get things done through MICEFA, but it really depends who you are working with. They had a few people that actually seemed to care and be helpful but otherwise, their attitude is you should figure it out. It was a really small program so you got to know most of the people and the staff but they did not help to make the process less daunting.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I found an apartment through the MICEFA listings when I got there but it was intimidating. MICEFA will help you look through listings and sometimes will help you call people but you usually have to, once again, just figure it out. It was really nerve wracking moving to a foreign country for a semester and having no idea where you're going to live but I ended up loving my little apartment. It was at the end of the four line, right near the metro stop which was extremely convenient. My apartment was furnished but I did buy sheets and pillows.

If you have dietary restriction, it can be difficult because they are not very open to substitutions or changing items. I had a friend who was a vegetarian and sometimes she had a lot of trouble finding good, substantial food. I like to eat pretty much everything and it was all usually delicious. The food was definitely one of my favorite things, the biggest problem is the cost. Not only is it euros but most meals are much more expensive anyway. There's not too much midrange priced food. Cafes are generally 10-15 euros for lunch and go up for dinner. We ate a lot of street food because it's affordable but they also have a ton of markets to buy food.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The only field trip I took with MICEFA was to Giverny. It was surprisingly organized and was a great trip!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

In general, it's relatively safe for a big city. You have to be constantly aware of your stuff, I had several friends get stuff stolen because it's super crowded and people are constantly bumping into you or close enough that they can easily jack your stuff. There was an American hospital that was useful but not as much as you'd think being called an American hospital. There were no different health issues though, in fact it's probably better there because they have pharmacies everywhere.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

All my classes but one were for native french speakers. There were a few students in my class who spoke english and would help me out when I was having trouble. It can be hard to find people to practice speaking with but a lot of the french students wanted to work on their english too so that can be helpful. Even though a lot of people speak a little english, most interactions were in french, even my professors were not even close to fluent in english.

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• Apartment

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• N/A

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• Local Students

• It was in Paris

• Organization, staff, planning