Aix-en-Provence: Take the Initiative Past Review
By Lauren C (Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, Wellesley College) for
Wellesley College: Aix-en-Provence - Wellesley-in-Aix
Europe is awesome. I learned more and had more fun while traveling in Europe, and would do more traveling if I did it again. I'd also be more out-going and force myself to make more (French) friends. With this program, a lot depends on the people you're with. I feel like I understand the French fairly well- and don't necessarily like them, but I can appreciate them better.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everything was very slow and inefficient. When we told the administration that something was broken or missing at the apartment, they would come by with things they'd bought for us at Monoprix... and it was always something different from what we needed. Then they expected us to express extreme gratitude for the things we hadn't needed at all... One of its strengths is that it helped us (or at least tried to help us) find activities to do in Aix. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Apartment was relatively well-outfitted. Safe, great location in centre ville, near lots of night life. |
| * Food: |
difficult for vegetarians, but doable. impossible for vegans. Excellent food, especially the cheese. I was located right next to the daily open-air market. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The plays we saw in Paris were all very similar, unfortunately. I recommend museums, but the French aren't great for music. I saw Arcade Fire (a Canadian band) in Marseille, and that was great. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
very very safe. I had no issues with healthcare to speak of. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I don't have figures that are useful, but I ate relatively cheaply, being vegetarian and shopping at the stands near my apartment. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Save money to travel. Traveling, especially errors you make, will be expensive. (Lower your standards and use Ryanair!) |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | FREN 206, Mères et Filles |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
professors, everyday usage (buying things, etc) peers at La Cave, a church-sponsored youth dinner. People did not speak English except occasionally at parties with other international young people. |
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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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Take the initiative. YOU have to be very active about planning to travel, meeting the kinds of students you want to hang out with, and doing extra-circular activities. You can probably fit in more activities than you think: the French aren't really into time commitments like that. Take classes at Sciences Po if you can: the students there are smarter and more social, and there are lots of smart international students there. I wish I hadn't cared so much about some of my classes- I should have partied more, met more French people, and spent more time with my welcome-to-Aix famly. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Attelier du Langue |
| Course Department: | WAIX |
| Instructor: | Faraco |
| Instruction Language: | French |
| Comments: | Too easy, especially the phonetics lab. Professor did not correct us enough when we made mistakes. She was, however, engaged, and the overall classroom vibe was good. Professor did not speak English and so did not understand what English speakers have trouble with in French. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Histoire de l'Art Moderne |
| Course Department: | ARTA04 |
| Instructor: | Olivier Bonfait |
| Instruction Language: | French |
| Comments: | lots of memorization. Unevenly weighted grading system. Terrible, boring, disorganized, vague lecturing. The TD section was well taught, but unfortunately the grade for that portion, while it better reflected my understanding, was a negligible overall percentage. Course matter was interesting. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Traduction |
| Course Department: | WAIX |
| Instructor: | Ouzou |
| Instruction Language: | French |
| Comments: | challenging. Homework was consistent, grading was fair. The method of teaching, however, was just to translate passages and go over them in class- we didn't learn any strategies or many language nuances. It was more of a course *using* translation to teach French grammar, not about how to translate. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Langues du Monde |
| Course Department: | SCLA02 |
| Instructor: | Faraco |
| Instruction Language: | French |
| Comments: | Very easy, disrespectful peers. Professor was very engaged with students, well organized, good lectures, fair to easy tests. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
