Past Review

By Rachel P (Geography and Cartography., SUNY - Binghamton) for

SUNY Oswego: Paris - La Sorbonne

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

It was very worthwhile. I'm glad I chose Paris, there's so much to see and do here. I became more independent and my language abilities improved a lot. I worked and took classes and met lots of new people.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	0-2 weeks
The term and year this program took place:	Spring 2010

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The homework was really easy, barely anything. I still felt that I learned a lot in class though.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	The study abroad program did nothing online at all, since my classes were all over the place. The only part online is my global studies minor online course, which is going just fine.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I lived with a host mom in Paris. It's fantastic, I am so glad I chose this option. She makes delicious food and gives me my space. She's very friendly and has family around a lot. I feel very comfortable here and I not looking forward to leaving. <br /><br /> Fantastic! Very happy with it. Close to most things, except a couple classes. Metro made things very easy. I had lots of space and was very comfortable, my host mom is very very nice.
* Food:	I love French food. I ate everything, the food is so delicious everywhere. No complaints whatsoever.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Although I didn't meet tons of French people, I met some and they were great and very friendly. I made lots of great friends in my program and it made for a really enjoyable experience abroad.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	Paris is pretty safe, but you have to pay attention. I was mugged once on the subway, it sucked but there was nothing I could do, I was just unlucky. I also get lots of sketchy men calling me on the street which is really annoying, but I act like they don't exist to me and I'm usually ok.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

Finances

* 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)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	It depends really. Going out for drinks at bars can get very expensive. If you want 4 drinks, anticipate spending 20euro here. Eating out is not cheap usually, especially for quality. At least 10 euro for a sit down meal. Sandwiches on the go, etc are usually under 5 euro, depending where...away from touristy areas it's cheaper. I'd say I spent around 50 euro a week on average when not doing much. Travel and tourism add up though.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Paris is very very expensive, so be prepared. Most students spend a lot here in the beginning, while getting a phone, metro passes, new clothes, paperwork filled out, etc. Once you get settled in it's less. Always bring your visa/student card to museums/sightseeing places because oftentimes they're free or reduced rates for students.

Language

If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?
Language acquisition improvement?	My spoken French is much more fluid, though not fluent. I understand a lot, listening is much easier for me. I did need to use the language a lot as French people like to speak French over English.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Hostel
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	International Students

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Do it! Budget well for Paris, leave Paris to travel a bit. Talk to Celine if you ever have a problem.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Cours de la Civilisation Francaise
Course Department:
Instructor:	Bernard Jeufroy
Instruction Language:	French
Comments:	Good professor, soft spoken, explained grammar concepts and phonetics very clearly. I felt like I learned a lot in class, but since it was an evening class, there was hardly any homework.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I don't know yet.

Course Name/Rating:	Internship
Course Department:
Instructor:	N/A
Instruction Language:	French
Comments:	I worked in a museum as an intern for 15 hours a week as well as my classes. I am getting 3 credits hours for this.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Contemporary France and Geography
Course Department:
Instructor:	Celine Garelli
Instruction Language:	French/a little English
Comments:	Good class, for the program only. Celine is great, very knowledgeable and a great conversationalist. The class moved very quickly because it was only twice a week in the morning and we always had a lot of stuff to cover for our program.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	French Cinema
Course Department:
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	French
Comments:	One of my elective courses. We sat in a dark giant lecture hall and watched French films. The professor wasn't that pleasant and it was a boring course in general, though some of the films were good.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Cinema and Literature
Course Department:
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	French
Comments:	It was just like my other cinema course, except for just one hour a week, and we watched movies that had previously been books. I wasn't overly interested.
Credit Transfer Issues: