The people in Dijon were among the nicest, most helpful people I ever met. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

On-site administration of your program

I feel that the administrator was often hard to get into contact with and wasn't as readily accessible as a Clark faculty member. Administration in France is much different and much more confusing, and it was often unclear what was expected of us from the University. Teachers being on strike didn't help very much, either. CIEF teachers were much more approachable and helpful than faculty at the University.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived with a host family. had 3-4 roomates: 1 Canadian girl, 1 Chinese girl (both were in my CIEF classes), 1 German girl (who was on an internship and a few years older, but only spoke French and German), and 1 French girl from the Strasbourg area (only lived there and worked for about 3 weeks). Family was great- I came and went as I wanted, they prepared food, location was right in downtown Dijon. Only downfall was the distance to school, took about 20 mins by bus, 45 mins walking. Once the weather warmed up, walking was great and the distance didn't bother me anymore. All my roommates were great and our only common language was French so we had a great time. We got along really well and often made meals together, went to the movies together with our French friends, went out for tea, went to the market, etc. I loved them.

I'm a vegetarian and that is EXTREMELY rare in France, but my host family did the best they could and they were very cooperative. 2 of my other roommates were also vegetarian so it worked out really well. Quantity was more than enough.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Lots of events in the center of town- big music festival one night, concerts, movies, etc. I hung out with many international students and there was always an event for Erasmus students. I organized a movie night with my host father and we watched a classic French film all together. He asked us our opinions at the end and led a discussion to help us understand the history and context of the film. I had about 10 people over. It was really nice.

I felt totally and completely safe. City was great and I never felt alone.

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

Classes helped improve language proficiency, but living with a host family and spending time with French friends helped more than the actual classes. Classes helped my understanding and my vocabulary, but conversations outside of the class helped me to develop confidence and strengthened my oral expression more than classes.

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• Other

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• International Students