You'll understand why Paris is *Paris* August 13, 2025

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

My course with Middlebury and at the Sorbonne were not intense at all. My Middlebury courses required little work outside of the class apart from exams.

On-site administration of your program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Host family: I chose to move from my first Host family because they did not allow me to use the dining room or the living room - leaving me to stay isolated in my room anytime I was in the apartment. Finding a new host family was not too difficult, the company Middlebury uses called Host Family In Paris was very responsive to my concerns and put in a lot of effort to find me a better suited family.

The dining plan with the host families consists of choosing how many days to eat a meal prepared by the family. I regret not choosing to eat more meals with my host family. Breakfast is included everyday, which for my family gave me options including espresso, yogurt, fruit, granola, toast, and eggs.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

With the host family, my friends at the Sorbonne, and other outside organizations I participated with and even sometimes at local restaurants or boulangeries, everyone seemed to be aware and acknowledge that I was a foreigner - from my accent while speaking French, my lack of knowledge on some French works or confusion by what people were saying, or unawareness of certain cultural aspects. And, constantly experiencing new things made me feel like a foreigner. However, for the most part that did not create a barrier preventing me from participating in the local culture and I did eventually develop habits that made me feel as if I were integrating more.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

N/A

Paris does not have a great reputation concerning safety - it is better than you think! Instagram slightly freaked me out beforehand talking about scams and dangerous people on the metro, but truly as long as your attentive you will survive any scams you encounter without losing anything, and you will encounter them far less than you think. Different areas have different concerns for safety, so look into that especially with housing before you go. I did not engage very much in night life, so I do not have much advice besides do not take night buses and stick with people whenever possible. And the metro at night is much safer than you would think. I have heard some horror stories, but everytime I used the metro around 12-1 am, it was always decently crowded.

It was difficult joining another school's abroad program since it was a little difficult making friends when the majority of students arrived with friend groups. Additionally, I was disappointed with the execution of the language pledge. I expected people to not follow it religiously, but it seemed like most students did not care about practicing French with each other and very much preferred to speak English with each other. I feel 50/50 about this program's "hands off" approach. I understand them wanting us to immerse ourselves in the local culture, but I would have liked more travel related events or better ways to make friends with other students. There was one singular overnight travel event in January and a couple of day trips, but otherwise events were few and far between or unappealing to most students.

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

Paris is expensive, but if you go out your way to pack food rather than take out, then it is not bad. Universities also have very cheap cafeterias that include full meals for 3 dollars - they are not always good, but it is food.

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

We signed a language pledge . . .

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• My French class
• Host family (the second one)
• Middlebury faculty

• language pledge enforcement/encouragement
• connection between Middlebury students
• course enrollment

The Academic or Linguist