Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Most of my classes were lecture based. The exception to this were my translation classes, which included more interaction as there is a wider range of "right" answers. The work load varied only slightly; the translation classes had an assignment for each class (one translation piece as well as vocabulary to be learned for the end of the semester) whereas the other classes demanded far less. In all the classes, there was just one or none mid-semester exams but all had a comprehensive final examination. In this respect I didn't find much of a difference with my home university where exams are also rather infrequent. But, the work load was noticeably less in France, at my host university, than at my home university where, due to the nature of my majors (mathematics and languages) there is an assignment due every week, if not every class.

On-site administration of your program

MICEFA had good relations with all the host universities and were available for help. having been around for many years, they had experience in many areas and could offer advice or solutions for just about any issue. One negative was that the program largely kept separate its participants according to their geographical origins (New Yorkers knew only New Yorkers, Texans kept with Texans, etc). I understand that they aim to strike up French friendships among their participants but it would have been nice to create contacts with a few Americans as well, especially being from a state who sends less applicants than some others. Other than that, they had a good idea about each home university as well as all the host universities and knew how to smooth the transfer process and other such bureaucratic correspondences.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The first month and a half I lived with a woman who rented out a room in her apartment. Due to some lifestyle differences I moved out and began living in apartments all over the city with a fellow Austinite. Personally, I lived in 10 of the 20 arrondisements and had a good experience in each one. <br /><br /> I arranged my first housing situation through MICEFA, then, once I moved out on my own, I used the internet to find my lodgings. I have lived in 10 of the 20 arrondissements in Paris and had a good experience in each. Each was safe, clean and close to one or another of Paris's famous landmarks. All apartments were furnished and I never had to buy any additional items to settle in. The first month with the host woman, I was treated with the utmost respect and kindness and only moved out to have a bit more freedom.

Paris is a cosmopolitan city so one could find virtually anything. The one drawback was that in addition to the weakness of the American dollar to the Euro, food in paris was more expensive in general so you could pay a lot more for less quantity, especially if you shopped organic. If you would like to dine out, it's unlikely that you will end up in a bad place. A common option for students was to buy a sandwich from a boulangerie which is always affordable and filling.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

There were a couple trips organized through MICEFA, a couple in which I participated. They were always fun and allowed us to sort of check back in with the others in the program whom we rarely saw and compare experiences. One memorable trip in particular was the trip to Versailles which was beautiful and fun because it was led not by the program leaders but by French students.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Paris is not an un-safe city, but you have to be smart and take the usual precautions. As a girl, I do not recommend going out alone in the evenings nor returning alone if it can be helped, especially in some parts of the city. Overall though I don't recall being very frightened and hardly felt uncomfortable going out. I didn't have any experience with healthcare but from others who did know that the program helped if they could; they could always at least give advice. There were no prevalent health issues and I did not need any special vaccines.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I practiced in class when called upon, but this was not regular nor lengthy. The best practice was the Sorbonne-sponsored Italy trip I partook in which, aside from me and an existing friend from Austin, was comprised entirely of French students and teachers. They took an interest in us and had limited English skills so we got the most practice then. In addition to that, my closest friends from the program and I would take it upon ourselves to practice and would speak to each other in French. Also, my roommate and I would play as much French television as possible to be continuously exposed to the language. In social interactions, the degree of exposure varied greatly. Some people would hear the accent and immediately switch to English; you would have to consciously continue in French, sometimes they would switch back, sometimes you would have a bilingual conversation, each outside of their native tongue. Another thing that helped was living with a franciphone; the first month I lived with a woman who rented out a room in her place and in the evenings we would have conversations.

Select all that apply

• Apartment
• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Host Family
• Americans

Select all that apply

• Local Students