Going to France has been my dream, mon rêve, ever since I started learning French in seventh grade. The throaty accent grave’s, the magical lights of la Tour d’Eiffel, the buttery croissants and airy crepes…they all attracted me to French culture. Since middle school, I have been learning French, whether in class or on my own time, be it watching movies dubbed in French, listening to French music, or communicating with French pen pals. Of course, learning French in the United States is different from actually being in France and being immersed in its culture. Furthermore, I knew I wanted to visit the country, if I had the chance, before I went off to college in the fall.
I began searching for a potential summer abroad program, and I stumbled upon Abbey Road through a study abroad search engine. Not only did it have positive reviews, it also had a home stay immersion program in St-Laurent-du-Var in France with an optional travel extension in France! The more I looked into it, the more and more I liked the program. It had a good mix of experiential learning, fun activities and day trips. What makes St-Laurent-du-Var so great, however, is its authenticity; although St-Laurent-du-Var is a great town along the French Riviera, it is not the center of mass tourism, and the program offers a genuine homestay experience. This aspect of the trip excites me because it means that I am not simply a tourist or foreign student in France; I will live and be immersed in French and French culture twenty-four hours a day and experience French culture as the French themselves experience it. Furthermore, I will be able to practice my French speaking, listening, reading and writing skills so that if I happened to live in France, I would be able to function like any native could. This program will allow me to experience the country whose language I have been learning for years and will bring me one step closer to my goal of becoming a global citizen.
That being said, I look forward to so many aspects of my trip. I can’t wait to meet my host family and be able to communicate with them in French. I am also particularly excited about going out and meeting French natives, whether in local cafes, markets or the beach. But above all, I just want to know all the little idiosyncrasies of French culture, and to experience how their daily lives differ from Americans’ daily lives: how their bread tastes, how they drive, how they spend their weekends, what they think of their new president… And because I am also doing a Paris extension, I am absolutely ecstatic about visiting the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Notre Dame Cathedral and Eiffel Tower, among other cultural icons that I have learned about since seventh grade!
This blog will serve as my travel diary and journal, not only for my family, friends and myself, but for all those who are interested in learning about France, French culture and Abbey Road! I will be posting videos, photos and journal entries and reflections throughout my month-long journey in France, and I hope you will join me! À bientôt!
