For my STEP signature project, I participated in the IES Paris Summer Language Immersion program. As part of this program I lived in Paris France with a host family for six weeks while taking six credit hours of classes. I assumed going to a country like France wouldn’t be very different from the United States, but I did learn that there are some differences.
Overall, it was very similar to the United States on the surface, but after living there for a couple days I noticed some big differences. Within a couple hours I noticed that people don’t make eye contact or smile on the street. Although this doesn’t seem like a massive difference, it was an odd first impression and took some getting used to. Other differences include not refrigerating certain food like eggs, lack of personal space in public, not using air conditioning, and not discussing money but being very open to discussing politics. These small differences showed me that the two cultures are not as identical as I imagined.
Prior to the trip I was afraid that my language skills wouldn’t be good enough to get me through the trip. Although most Parisians spoke English, I went on the trip to improve my language skills. I did much better than expected, including a doctor’s appointment and house party entirely in French. I wasn’t perfect all the time and I did “cheat” by speaking English with my friends, but I did vastly improve both my language skills and confidence in the language.
Many experiences contributed to my language improvement and knowledge of cultural differences. Learning about the cultural differences happened constantly from the moment I woke up and used the “shower” which was a bathtub with a hose to shortly before bed when I would eat dinner at 9 pm with my host family. Several experiences improved my skills and confidence. On a visit to Nice I got very sunburnt and my ankle swelled up and wouldn’t go down. I saw a French doctor and did the entire house visit in French. It wasn’t until the end that he asked me where I was from because I had an accent. This showed me that I was in fact able to effectively communicate. One weekend my host sister had a house party and I was able to meet many French young adults and speak with them in French. They also taught me some slang and words that young people use that I don’t learn about in class. This was a pivotal moment and I started keeping a list of all the new words I learned to keep track of when I used the new words and phrases after the party.
I want to study genetic counseling in the future so the French skills I learned will not apply directly. However, I believe that knowing another language and knowing about the differences between the US and another culture will make me a better, more sympathetic genetic counselor. On a more personal note, it is a goal of mine to be bilingual and I know this trip helped me get much closer to this goal. On a professional note, I decided I want to do a gap year and teach English in France before I go to graduate school. I have already started looking into specific programs that instructors in France helped me find. My STEP signature project helped me further both my educational and personal goals as well as my love for French language and culture.
