France is very French. Past Review
By Kelsey M (French Language and Literature., The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 01/06/2014 to 05/30/2014 with
University of Jean Moulin - Lyon III - Lyon - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I mostly learned about myself and how to move to a new city and start over. I definitely think it was a great growing experience and worthwhile. It was also great to be able to travel much more easily than here in Texas. But I'd like to warn you: if you have any problems with anxiety or mental distress of any kind, it will bubble up to the surface when you go abroad. I recommend talking to a health professional in your home country before moving to a place with another language!
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The classes aren't too hard. The main issue is, if you're not staying for a whole year, your class options are limited. For the DEUF program, particularly in the Fac des Lettres and the Fac des Langues, most classes are 3 ECTS or under, so I had to take 9 classes to be a full-time student. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everything is pretty disorganized. I got the impression that there was more organization and camaraderie in the SELF program, but more times than not, the online resources for students didn't work for exchange students and we had to go to the fac just to find which rooms our classes would be in. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I stayed with a host family. It was nice, but very expensive. The location was great, for Lyon, but not for getting to class. |
| * Food: |
If you're a lactose intolerant vegetarian like me, you will have a very hard time finding food you can eat in France. The grocery stores and bio shops definitely have the resources you'd need to cook your own food, but be aware that most restaurants only have vegetarian options with cheese. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Everyone was friendly and helpful. I really enjoyed the French culture in my daily interactions, but I didn't make any French friends my age. Everyone was fairly standoffish in and outside of class. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't need to use the facilities, but the university did have an on-campus nurse, and the LMDE healthcare was straightforward and easy to use. |
| * Safety: |
Lyon is much safer than Paris, hands down. I still wouldn't walk around with a wallet in my back pocket or have a back hanging open, but I never felt threatened in my entire stay. I only saw one incident in the metro station, but the security caught the thief anyway. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $125 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Make food at home! I definitely think it's worth it to splurge sometimes on nice restaurants, but it's much cheaper to buy fresh ingredients than to order a pizza. Particularly in France, fresh and seasonal produce is available year-round, since France and the surrounding countries grow such a variety of crops. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | French Linguistics |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Although making friends is the obvious best way to speak the language, I'd also recommend living with French people and going to any language partner activities you can (franglais, Couchsurfing, school events, etc.). Another good way to practice French is to use covoiturage, where you share a car with a French person when you need to get to another city. It's safe and it's fun to have full conversations with native speakers! |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
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? | I wish I knew that I would be living in a place with little to no Americans. Even though I wanted the French experience, it's very easy to get homesick and sometimes it's comforting to be with people who understand. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably look at cities more popular with American students. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
