Today, I leave for my six-week trip to Tours, France. Before this trip, I have only traveled outside of the United States once, which was a trip to Ireland for one week. Needless to say, I have never spent an extended time in a place where I have had to not only adjust to differing cultural idiosyncrasies and customs, but to also utilize a non-native language 100 percent of the time. With that being said, over the course of my life and education at Notre Dame, I know that I have cultivated the language and cultural competency skills to effectively learn and benefit from this immersion. I am currently a bundle of excitement and nervousness, ultimately because I know that this will be one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences of my life.
I have reminded myself particularly of the language challenges that will arise. Compared to my classroom experience with the French language thus far, I am prepared to hear a much faster speaking pace, one that may even be discouraging in the initial days. I know it will take some adjusting to comprehend that pace as well as the different formalities, slang, and vocabulary that I likely have not encountered in my 3 years at Notre Dame. Yet, with the challenge of keeping up with the native speakers comes the ultimate opportunity. I will be surrounded by experts of the language and culture 24/7. This is the perfect predicament for me to become a sponge, absorbing all of the differing nuances of the language that I hear and asking questions to understand the world through the eyes of the people I meet and form relationships with.
Along with that, I cannot wait to utilize my language and communication abilities to dive into French popular culture and cuisine. At the Institute where I will be studying, I will take part in excursions to cinemas, culinary classes, and art museums. Further, I plan to volunteer at a local organization in the area where I will interact with the native speakers and citizens of Tours, asking them questions about their day to day lives, their favorite foods, their favorite pop culture works, and their opinions about the state of France today. In doing so, I hope to gain perspective on how different people view the world and find joy and meaning in their lives.
Overall, I cannot wait to be challenged and to struggle in between the times of excitement, learning, and joy. I cannot wait to be in a position where I am in a place completely new and out of my comfort zone. I cannot wait for this experience because I know it will make me a more flexible, adaptable, well-rounded, worldly, and resilient human being.
See you soon Tours – Shelby