Five Fabulous Months in France Past Review
By Anna W (French & English, Covenant College) for
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Aix-en-Provence, France
I learned so much! My French drastically improved as did my understanding of French culture and European culture/politics. I also learned how to be more confident and independent and how to make the most out of life. Going to France helped me realize that I want to continue living and working abroad. I would like to return to France and right now I've applied for a scholarship to study in Morocco!
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was very refreshing after feeling constantly overloaded in the American system. While the French grading system is more severe, it encouraged me to do better work and more accurately assess my work. Most classes were lecture-based. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
CEA's accessibility and support was excellent. I felt very well supported and confident that I could go to them with any problem and they would help me solve it. The program was pretty large (40 students in the spring) but in fall term it's much smaller. They provided lots of awesome trips and fun activities and helped equip us to live in France and travel throughout Europe. I am so glad I chose to go with CEA!!! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I arranged housing through my program. The neighbourhood and the whole city was very safe and pretty. I lived less than 10 minutes from school and downtown. I was treated very warmly by my host family. My host parents were very welcoming to us and enthusiastic about helping us, but they also respected our independence. |
| * Food: |
My host mom was an excellent cook! When I ate out I loved buying crêpes, ice-cream, macaroons, and pizza. Pizza Capri was the best for cheap and yummy pizza. and Crêpe-A-Go-Go was the best take out crêpe place. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
CEA had great trips: we went to Nice, Monaco, Gourdes, the Camargue, and many other fun and beautiful places. They arranged awesome wine-tastings and cheese-tastings and even took us to a cooking class! I enjoyed traveling with CEA and also traveling by myself. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Aix is extremely safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* 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) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced language with other students, with my teachers, my host family, and with other friends that I made. I needed to use French everyday with my host family, in school, and in daily interactions (post office, buying food, etc). There were many English speakers, but I made an effort to speak French and come in contact with more French teachers. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | You definitely should go with CEA. They provide so much (needed) support; it would be hard to go on your own and have to navigate the bureaucracy alone. Also, they have so many excursions and events that it's definitely worth the money. |
