Strasbourg, a city with a small town feel Past Review
By Camden L (American Studies/French Cultural Studies, Wellesley College) for
Syracuse University: Strasbourg - Syracuse University in Strasbourg
I became much more independent and confident speaking French as well as traveling alone.
Personal Information
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The academics were interesting in general with a wonderful use of local resources (i.e. field trips, museums, historical sites). I enjoyed the international faculty along with the native Strasbourgeois as they had very different insights about living in Alsace and France. Three of my five courses were conducted in French although only one course really deviated from what I was accustomed to in the American system (it was a history course primarily conducted through lectures). It was primarily the lack of other students' desire to put any work into some of the course work that frustrated me. |
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The Director of the Program, Raymond Bach, along with M. Marxer were wonderful sources of information for weekend trips, suggestions about how to get around, etc. |
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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* Food: |
My host mother was very accomodating. |
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The weekend trips in the surrounding areas to Champagne and Heidelberg were wonderful! And field trips to Istanbul, Paris, and other nearby sites were a great way to bring the classroom to life. |
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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* Safety: |
Be smart when walking alone. In general I felt very safe walking alone at night in the city center back to the apartment (which was right outside the center). |
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
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Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $100 (dollar/euro ~ 1.4/1) + travel (trains, planes, taxis) |
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | N/A |
Language
* Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | FREN211 |
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Language acquisition improvement? |
Speaking to my host mother, her friends, and other French people of the town was the most useful way to improve my French vocabulary and confidence. |
Other Program Information
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
* What did you like most about the program? |
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* What could be improved? |
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* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I would be aware of the culture of the city. Strasbourg is a city but often feels more like a town. Transportation is easy to some destinations but not nearly as many as you would expect. Look at the train routes as well as the flights to/from Strasbourg's airport. Prices, as well. Lastly, consider the other students who might be attending. There should be some way of getting a list of the schools of last semester's students. |
Individual Course Reviews
Course Name/Rating: |
Junior Language Usage |
Course Department: | FREN 325 |
Instructor: | Jean-Maurice Marxer |
Instruction Language: | French |
Comments: | The course was an intimate class of five which meant that M. Marxer could tailor the lessons to our needs and desired topics. The main problem was one student who was significantly less advanced in the French language who had pushed her way into the course. Her presence slowed down much of the learning as she was often ill prepared in addition to lacking the background knowledge to converse sufficiently. M. Marxer did a wonderful job giving us culturally and geographically relevant materials as well as showing us new resources such as a part of TV5Monde called "7 jours sur la planète." We also toured the Cathedral to learn about the architecture and significance of the structure to Strasbourg. |
Credit Transfer Issues: | N/A |
Course Name/Rating: |
History of France: from WWI to the EU |
Course Department: | HST 449 |
Instructor: | Jean-Paul Grille |
Instruction Language: | French |
Comments: | This course was the most challenging stylistically for me. It was a more traditional French course taught by a Strasbourgeois who lectured more than anything else. Professor Grille, however, is extremely entertaining and engaging when he lectures so I would highly recommend this course. Listening to his lessons really helped my French vocab and ear for the idiomatics. He seems to know just about anything you could think to ask him. We also took a fieldtrip to the nearest concentration camp which was a great way to bring the history we were learning into tangible objects. |
Credit Transfer Issues: | N/A |
Course Name/Rating: |
Opera in Society |
Course Department: | HOM 300.1 |
Instructor: | Downing |
Instruction Language: | English |
Comments: | This was primarily a class to learn the basics of French opera and history while watching many operas in class. The two live productions that we went to were wonderful experiences but overall this was a film-watching course. |
Credit Transfer Issues: |
Course Name/Rating: |
Europe and the "Arc of Crises" |
Course Department: | PSC 350.1 |
Instructor: | W. Raczka |
Instruction Language: | English |
Comments: | This was an interesting course for some background about the Arab Spring as it was occurring. The trip to Istanbul was a wonderful excursion! |
Credit Transfer Issues: | N/A |
Course Name/Rating: |
Art in France from Impressionism to Surrealism |
Course Department: | HOA (History of Art) 365 |
Instructor: | Catherine Jordy |
Instruction Language: | French |
Comments: | This course was similar to other art history courses I have taken although the weekend trip to Paris was a fantastic time for us to see many of the works in person. Professor Jordy has a wonderful sense of humor (very French) and gave some us great insight into contemporary French society. I'm even using something that she told us about French attitudes towards infidelity as the inspiration for my semester research paper in my French course now. |
Credit Transfer Issues: | N/A |