After returning to the US, I have to say Italy exceeded my expectations, which is saying a lot. I knew I would have an amazing time before I left, but I did not know exactly how much of an emotional hold it would have on me. The first time I went to Italy, I fell in love with the culture. This time, however, it was more powerful because I made the effort to interact with locals and make friends. I was expecting a lot, but in applying myself more fully to the culture, I was able to have something more than just another fun summer.
I know it sounds cliche, but it’s true that studying abroad changed my life. In terms of the friends I made, both Italian and American, I was more outgoing than ever and met so many amazing people from all over Italy and the US. My first solo trips took me to London and Vienna, and gave me immense confidence in my ability to manage myself in new environments. I now know that I can live and thrive in unfamiliar places, and I will probably use this experience to help me intern somewhere out of my home state for next summer.
I feel like my worldview has expanded tremendously, as it does every time I visit new places. Above all, the confidence aspect will inspire me to keep traveling and learning as I go. I have so many different places I want to go to, and I think my semester abroad will have even more in store for my solo exploring.
Le Coucher de Soleil sur Les Falaise d’Étretat symbolise la fin de mon séjour en France. The Sunset over the Cliffs of Étretat symbolize the end of my stay in France.
My final days in France! At the end of my fifth week in Tours, there was certainly a sense of change–the Institut’s “cours de semestre” of four weeks just ended, many friends that I made were leaving, and I had just moved into student housing. But the change brought excitement as well–my sister Kelly was traveling from the US to visit me and see my lifestyle in the heart of France!
Over the course of her séjour, we explored the charming sights and towns throughout Normandy–Etratat, Honfleur, Deauville, Bayeux, Omaha Beach, Mont St. Michel–my new hometown of Tours, and a last visit to Paris.
During my sister’s visit, I realized just how seamlessly I have been able to adapt to living in France. As she pointed out places, monuments, people, or cultural behaviors that seem novel or unusually to her, I grasped just how comfortable I had become living in the European country.
Culturally, I had adjust to the “French clock” without fail–long lunches, late dinners, afternoons for enjoying the weather and friends through day outings or resting at the park, nights at the Guinguette. I became a regular at some of my favorite restaurants and knew the best dishes or desserts to order (Nutella with Baguette for 2 € will always be the best!). And I immersed myself in the French interests like music (at La Fête de la Musique), soccer, and even cycling en route to les Chateaux.
Linguistically, I actually learned and developed the skills to hold conversations in French:ordering in restaurants, situations at hotels, talking about costs, discussing billing or order details; I was especially proud of managing to get a free ticket to Mont St. Michel! I became calm and measured rather than panicked when listening and responding to native speakers–doing my best in confidence rather than embarrassment. I developed a stronger French vernacular, embraced a real French accent, and noticed the intricacies and common language of everyday speech by being able to now listen to other people.
Wow! The growth didn’t hit me while I was in middle of my stay because I still felt inferior compared to native speakers. But taking my sister around France and leading the way with my language skills, I realized just how much I benefited from the past six weeks.
Additionally, my final week in Tours brought me a newfound international community. Living in student accommodations with a smaller student population for my final week at L’Institut de Touraine, I met students from all over the world–Spain, UK, Sweden, and even Japan–and learned all about their lifestyle and culture back home and any differences in France. These encounters were the first time that my French language and French culture were what connected me to a group. Sure, interacting with French people allowed me to better understand French language and culture but I was seen as American (fairly enough). With the other international students, the French language and experience connected us, and I needed to tap into that newly fostered part of me to bond with them.
This final week in France felt like the end of an era. Seeing many of the places, monuments, and restaurants that became home for me for the final time was certainly bittersweet–I have no idea of when, or if, I will see Tours or the Loire Valley again. While its difficult to leave now, it means that I must continue to study French to make sure I return and make these places feel like home again!
Picking Up Kelly from the Tours Airport then immediately heading to Normandy to visit the Cliffs at Etretat, The American Cemetery at Omaha Beach, and Le Mont St. Michel over the weekend. Normandy was so great I had to visit it again! The American Cemetery is a must- visit for any American citizens… a truly powerful place to feel American pride even thousands of miles from home.
My Final Week in Tours! Showing off the city to Kelly (2 images), La Fete de la Musique takes over the city, a final week “pique-nique” with my classmates at the Institut, and a photo of the city on my final evening in Tours. À bientot, Tours!
My final night in France meant exploring Paris one final time! A return trip to my favorite crepêrie, a visit to the Pantheon, and a final nighttime walk past the Louvre, where my summer abroad started! A great full circle moment to reflect on my growth and experience.
Hofstede Insights evaluates France as a more “feminine” culture than the United States, focusing on quality of life as opposed to competition and achievement. I’ve found this insight to be true here in France. There are certain aspects of everyday life in France that are more leisurely and conducive to a happier lifestyle in my opinion. I think the most striking example of this is each country’s respective relationship with coffee. In the United States it’s very common to get a huge coffee and drink it on your way to work or class to energize yourself. Here in France walking around with a large coffee is a surefire way to give yourself away as an American.
The French relationship with coffee is far more social. Instead of drinking your huge coffee on the way to work it’s far more common to go to a café with friends and get an espresso. While a café in the United States would be full of people typing away on their laptops, a French café is full of people socializing. Coffee is something to bond over. It’s normal to take an hour or two out of your day to just get a coffee and talk with your friends. I find this to be a much healthier and enjoyable relationship with coffee. This relationship is reflective of a society that places more emphasis on a higher quality of quotidian life.
I initially found France’s relatively low Indulgence Score of 48 to contrast with this emphasis on quality of life. One would think that there’s a direct correlation between a focus on quality of life and allowing ourselves to indulge in our desires. However, in thinking of my experience this low indulgence score does not particularly surprise me. The aspects of French life that are dedicated to quality of life are organized and built into everyday life as opposed to being dedicated to more spontaneous indulgences. I think this is supported by Avignon’s nightlife before the festival. During the festival every night is a party night, but before the festival the nightlife was relatively quiet. Except for la Fête de la Musique, a day in which towns and cities around France all organize concerts to come together and celebrate music. I found this incredibly organized nationwide celebration of music to be unlike anything in the United States. I find that having a specific day dedicated to celebrating music and having fun reflects France’s low indulgence score.
One of my favorite aspects of life here in Avignon has been cycling. Since moving to a host family, I was given a bike to cycle around the town and I love it. Everything I could want is just a short and enjoyable bike ride away. But recently everything has changed. Avignon is home to the Festival d’Avignon, one of the premiere theater festivals in the world. The Festival has just started and theater lovers have flooded Avignon. Some of the streets I used to regularly cycle on are now covered with street performers and pedestrians, making it almost impossible to cycle. I’ve figured out back alleys and quieter streets to avoid the crowds, but cycling isn’t as convenient as it was before.
Due to the influx of people, there’s a little less space to cycle now. As a result, the other day I was in a cycling accident. As I was cycling home there was another cyclist a little bit ahead of me and slightly to my right. Due to all of the pedestrians we were going at relatively slow speeds when he abruptly turned to the left without checking behind himself or signaling, resulting in me t-boning him. The man caught himself as he was falling and immediately began to curse and yell at me in French (he did vouvoyer me which was awesome). I’m not really one for conflict and I just wanted to get home for dinner, so, although I was not at fault, I just helped the man with his bike and asked if he was ok. He continued to yell and curse at me until two strangers approached telling the man that they saw the whole thing and he was actually at fault. This shifted the man’s anger from me to them, until he eventually fizzled out and we all parted ways.
My immediate interpretation of the accident was that I was not at fault and thankfully nobody was hurt and nothing was damaged. I saw the other cyclist’s reaction as completely unreasonable, and as such there was no reason for me to start arguing with him, as I doubt he would be easily convinced by me. This interpretation was verified by the two strangers approaching the man and telling him he was at fault and his unreasonable reaction to them. My evaluation is that I handled the situation very well. When tempers are high sometimes it’s best to just avoid confrontation as it’s very possible you’ll make no headway even if you’re in the right.
