Breaking the barrier and jumping into french culture August 15, 2023

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Class content and understanding everything in a new language was intense, though amount of required homework and exams were relatively light

On-site administration of your program

It was very nice having a local student who went to our university that was helping us with classes, social connections/events, the language, and general advice. The program administration was also fairly organized and comprehensible.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My family was friendly, helpful, understanding, communicative, and overall a delight to live with. I think I was very lucky in comparison to the others with host families in my program.

Food was always delicious and I never felt obliged to eat something I didn't want to. My host family exposed me to many different French cuisines which was fun as well. They also told me from the start that I could take any food I wanted from the pantry and eat with them whenever I liked (even though my contract was technically only 4-5 meals).

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Full integration with French students was tough because of the language barrier and the fact that they knew I was a "temporary" student there. Overall though, I regularly had pleasant interactions with the bordelaise people. Culturally, I always knew that I was a bit different to their cultural standards but that never bothered me nor strongly changed how (I feel) others interacted with me. Overall I felt very comfortable socially, but I don't think I can say that I fully integrated with the local culture.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had to go to the dermatologist which resulted to be very difficult to find through the study abroad health care website, so I used my host mother's derm instead. I was able to get the appointment and appointed prescriptions fully reimbursed with the study abroad insurance though, which was better than I was expecting.

I did a lot of walking while I was in the city, alone and at night as well. I always felt safe though there can be some sketchy people on the streets depending on the areas. As long as you keep walking and don't pay any attention to those people though, you should be fine. I only had one worrying interaction with a man on the tram who was clearly not well mentally. Apart from that there is a LOT of catcalling.

I loved the city of Bordeaux, it was very easy to move around and people were always nice - in and outside of the university. I also got along very well with the other Americans in my study abroad group. My host family was amazing and I know I will keep in touch with them for years to come. There are surprisingly a lot of things to do in Bordeaux every weekend and I find it a much easier space to make close connections with people and the area in comparison to Paris which is massive and has much more students in its study abroad program.

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

It really depends on how much food your host family is providing for you / how much food you need to buy for yourself as a result. It also depends on how much you are traveling outside of Bordeaux. I was able to save a lot of money because I was not buying as much food for myself nor traveling at the beginning, but going out on weekends (to bars or clubs) resulted to be a bit expensive.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Select all that apply

• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• the city
• my host family
• the people

• host family matchmaking (I was lucky but many other students did not connect well with their host families)
• prior warning about french course organization and expectations
• helping exchange students make local friends

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