Tell me more:
Paris, Je T'Aime
AIFS: Paris - Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne
Program Information
Take in all that Paris has to offer while perfecting your French in “La Ville Lumière” (the City of Light). Through the years, the city has drawn intellectuals, free-thinkers, artists and revolutionaries. Paris is one of the world’s major global cities with a strong influence in politics, education, entertainm... More
| Provider: | AIFS |
| Location(s): | Paris, France |
| Year Founded: | 1950 |
| Website | Take me there! |
Review By:
Elise F. (BA Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin) on September 14, 2011
Overall Rating
Personal Information
| * Start Date: | 2011-01-13 |
| * End Date: | 2011-05-28 |
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Universite International de Cannes, La Sorbonne |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
the French grade on a scale of 1-20, so it was a little bit weird and doesn't transfer well. It'll probably lower my overall GPA. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They were very accessible and helpful, except for the director, Danica. She didn't speak very good English, was bad at explaining things, and made us do pointless stuff. I much preferred the other two advisors, Jane and Alexia. |
| * Housing: |
|
| * Food: |
There are cheap little sandwich places everywhere, if you look for them! I usually ate a $3 sandwich for lunch everyday (that's definitely the cheapest you'll find). The food is excellent, if you're willing to pay for it. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Name any famous monument, and we got to go on a free, organized tour of it. Notre Dame, The Louvre, The Seine, and many more. totally amazing. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
I felt very safe and never had any issues. |
|
* Home Institution Advising:
How well did The University of Texas at Austin prepare and support you for your time abroad? |
|
Finances
|
* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
|
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Everything is expensive. Laundry, groceries, coffee, etc. It's all expensive, so take what you think you need and double it. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I had completed the intermediate level French course at UT. |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I spoke French everyday to everyone I saw, including my American friends |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
| * If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same program? | Yes |
| * What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile? | I am more independent and confident--if I can figure out how to navigate and survive in a city where I hardly speak the language, I can sure as hell do anything I need to do here in America. It motivated me to learn French as well as I can, and it made me realize that there really are foreign people in the world--Americans tend to never look past our borders, but my experience made me realize that what we do affects everyone. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Francais: Intermediare |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | |
| Instruction Language: | French |
| Comments: | |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |