An Immersive Language and Cultural Experience Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

In terms of learning French, my educational experience was excellent. I also learned a lot about the differences between the French and American ways of teaching psychology, which was interesting. However, I think the number of weekly hours required by the program was excessive. I had to take 6 courses to meet the hour requirement, which was a lot of work. Especially because my discipline of choice, psychology, was completely different in France from what I had studied in the US, having so many courses was pretty overwhelming. I think taking 4 courses instead of 6 (with less hours of coursework per week) would have given me more time to explore Paris and complete my coursework without as much stress. I know most of my fellow students in the program felt the same way, so I strongly recommend reducing the required hourly coursework.

On-site administration of your program

I felt very supported by the Middlebury staff and program!

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I was mostly satisfied with my living arrangements with my host mom. The apartment was small, but I was located really close to my university (a 15-minute walk!), which was perfect. My host mom was also mostly vegetarian, which worked well since I'm a vegetarian. It was occasionally difficult to live in such close quarters with my host mom and the other student who lived with us, but it was overall a positive experience.

Like I mentioned, it was great that my host mom was willing to cook all vegetarian meals for me! I found Paris to have lots of diverse food options, which was really nice. While I wasn't a huge fan of traditional French cuisine, there were plenty of options for me.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Programs like the parrainage/marrainage and the Tandem language partnership were great ways to meet and spend time with French students. This was an awesome way to make French friends and learn more about the culture. I also just really enjoyed talking to people I met while out and about: waiters, cashiers, etc.-- I found everyone to be very friendly and eager to talk to me in French. I didn't make any good friends in my classes, but students were friendly and helpful when I had questions.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I was only sick one time at the start of the program, and I was able to see a doctor. I had a fairly good experience and was reimbursed for the doctor's visit.

I felt very safe during my stay in Paris. I never worried about being physically harmed while out and about. The only incident I had was when my phone was stolen on the metro by a pickpocket. It was subtle and went unnoticed by me until after I exited the metro. I didn't feel that my personal safety was harmed, but it was unfortunate to lose my phone. I'd recommend to other students to be watchful of their possessions and to always zip up jacket pockets containing phones or valuable items.

I mostly loved the program. Like I said, I would just reduce the academic hours to make it less insanely stressful.

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

Paris is very expensive. I was given a stipend from Pomona College that covered most of my food costs, but I still had to be cautious about spending.

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

We were supposed to speak French the entire time. This was really helpful for my language learning.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans

• Exploring Paris
• Speaking French
• Making friends

• Less academic stress