| Major(s) | English and French Studies (dual major) |
| Hobbies | baking, reading, knitting, playing piano, writing poetry, lettering |
| Hometown | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Program/Study Site | IES: Nantes - Language & Area Studies |
Why study abroad?
It’s a semester unlike any semester you’ll be able to get while on campus at Scripps. I took classes that I would have never been able to take on campus and picked up new and unexpected hobbies as I explored a new side of myself in a new place. The community you build within your program is amazing! I made friends from all over the US who were also in my program, as well as a handful of European friends, and we still keep in touch! It pushes you out of your comfort zone while still providing you with an ample support system from Scripps and your program. The travel opportunities are also a huge perk. My program provided monthly weekend trips for us at no cost, which was really nice as someone who wasn’t able to afford much solo travel. Lastly, there’s just something about being in a new place that forces you out of your shell. By the end of the semester, you undoubtably become more confident and learn more about yourself!
Why did you choose France?
As a French major, I knew I wanted to study abroad in France but didn’t want to be in Paris because I wanted a smaller, more local feel. At the time when I was choosing a program, IES Nantes was one of the few France programs outside of Paris. They also offered an English teaching internship that I was very interested in.
What courses did you enroll in while abroad?
- French poetry at the turn of the 19th century (5 students, IES center)
- French Theater (17 students, IES center)
- English teaching internship and seminar (13 students, IES center)
- Intermediate French (11 students IES center)
- France in the Middle Ages (100+ students, Université de Nantes)
- Comparative Literature: Hugo and Dickens (audited for first half of semester, 27 students, Université de Nantes)
What was your living situation?
Everyone in my program lived with a host family. They sent out a survey over the summer to help match us with a host family that would be a good fit. I lived in the suburbs of France with a family with 3 kids aged 14, 12, and 8. They were all very nice and we still keep in touch! I felt like we were incredibly well matched, and most of my friends in the program had similar experiences. Some were in families with host siblings that were the same age as them, some stayed with retired couples, and some stayed with older, single French women who let students pretty much come and go as they pleased.
What did you do for fun?
I spent plenty of time exploring Nantes. My friends and I went to a different creperie every week, I spent a lot of time at the Lieu Unique, I went ice skating, and I even went to go see Disney on Ice when it was in town! I joined the University of Nantes choir with some friends and we loved it! As far as other travel, I mostly explored other places in France. Over fall break I spent time in Lille, Lyon, and Aix-en-Provence. In November I went to the Strasbourg Christmas Market with another Scripps friend who was in Paris. I also took a couple of weekend trips to Paris. My host family took me to Normandy to see the American cemetery, as well as another small town outside of Nantes with a some really cool medieval castle remains. My program provided some great trips as well. Out orientation was in Vannes, they organized a trip to Mont Saint Michel, and we also toured the Chateaux de la Loire Valley.
Highlights of the program:
The Nantes branch of the IES program does a particularly good job of fostering community among the participants. There were about 40 of us and we got really close! I made several friends that I am still in touch with two years later. At the program center, we had a communal kitchen where everyone would hang out for lunch, and there was also a salon that had some couches, a tv, and a piano where we could just hang out. They organized monthly French cooking workshops hosted by different host parents, which were super fun! We also had 3 different French teaching assistants who were there to help us with our homework and organize fun hang outs and events around town. The program staff are also all incredibly sweet, supportive, and helpful!
The most challenging aspects of your experience:
There were some aspects of French culture that were hard to grapple with. The teacher/student relationship is much more formal than at American liberal arts colleges. The profs are there to impart their knowledge on you, not to be your friend. The profs at the IES center were nice and friendly, but my university profs were definitely a lot colder. There was a lot of drama in our theater class because of the way the head prof was treating the women in the class versus the one male student in the class who he obviously favored (this prof has since retired, much to the relief of many IES Nantes both past and present). The French are also less sensitive about topics such as transphobia, racism, feminism, etc. They joke about it and make fun of it a lot more than I expected. It was also hard to be a university student living with a host family. I commuted a half hour into town every day and spent all day being busy with class, homework, and other activities. It felt like I hardly got to spend any time with my host family except for mornings, evenings, and some weekends. I wish I had had more time to get to know them because they were super sweet!
Final comments or suggestions for future participants:
- Heating bills are really expensive and the French don’t usually turn on the heating in the house until November; make sure you have some comfy lounge clothes you can wear around the house when it gets cold!
- Water bills are also more expensive, so the French tend to take shorter showers
- OTC drugs like allergy meds, vitamins, ibuprofen, etc. Are a lot harder to get in France without a prescription; if you want to use it, make sure to bring some over!
- If you plan to travel on a budget, I highly recommend flixbus and other charter bus services; they’re MUCH nicer than the ones in the US!
- I used a Bank of America travel credit card and had no international fees!
- For money withdrawals, I got a capitol one debit card. You can transfer money onto it online and use it to make withdrawals at European ATMs with no international transaction fee!
- Ice cubes (and iced coffee) is not very big in Europe 🙁
- The French don’t really like spicy food and there’s NO Mexican food in France, if you want spicy food you’ll have to go to the Thai or Indian restaurants
- When you first arrive it will feel like you’ve forgotten literally all of your French; this is totally fine and normal, you’ll get the hang of it eventually 😊
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