I completed my STEP Signature Project this past summer. It was a six week Advanced French Learning program which involved me taking two classes while staying with a homestay in Montpellier, France.
These classes, instructed in French, explored various cultural topics including France’s history with immigration, developing technology in France, and France’s healthcare system. These classes were very laid back and the relaxed style of the professors provided more than just a classroom education. I really appreciated the raw look I had at French culture with these two professors. It was refreshing learning about an immigration story that did not involve the phrase “melting pot”. The United States has such a rich immigration story that I feel the stories of other countries is often overlooked in US education. I thought it was interesting learning about topics of racism and social prejudices in France from sources that I would not typically use in the US. We looked at the history behind these prejudices and discussed how these prejudices are still relevant today. These discussions made me think about my own prejudices and the prejudices I interact with on a daily basis.
One of the two classes I took was a “Science and Technology” course which was taught by a young French woman with a great personality. She did not hold back in expressing how odd she thought things seemingly normal to us American students were when they differed from her normality. For instance we discussed the cost of healthcare in France versus the US, and how it is normal to go to the hospital in France for minor health problems versus a physician because hospitals are “free” in France. I think study abroad is really important because it lets people experience a new “normal” and really drives home the relativity of the idea. Being able to stay six weeks in Montpellier allowed me to develop a new normal there and reflect on the positive and negative aspects of my life in the US. While my life in Montpellier was probably filled with more ice cream than is recommended, I enjoyed my limited wifi access and the abundance of small bakeries. I think my life now after this study abroad is a nice hybrid between my “pre-Montpellier normal” and my “Montpellier normal”, even though I still need to work on my ice cream and espresso balance.
I really appreciated the genuine nature of the French people I interacted with. In material my program gave out before the beginning of the trip, it expressed the importance of not smiling to strangers as smiles and friendly gestures are more reserved for friends in France. I enjoyed this less superficial idea of expression, but when talking with my host mom, she expressed how she appreciated the friendliness of Americans and their less judgmental character.
My host mom was such a large point of inspiration to me. I really value the memories I have of conversations with her. I can no longer get a large cup of coffee without thinking about the time she told me the French call American coffee “shoe water” and made fun of the size and quality of it in comparison to the espresso. She had such a passion for her family and friends. It was heartwarming to see how excited she got about her friends coming into town and made me think about who I had that kind of passion for. She really inspired me to find something I am passionate about and commit myself to it. She loved New York and watched American soap operas. One of the most inspiring things was she memorized how to say a phrase from an English commercial and she was so proud of it. She knew some English vocabulary and her passion for English really revived my passion for French. Every morning before taking off in the car for class she would say “let’s go” in English and it was one of my favorite parts of the day.
Visiting France had been a dream of mine since I was first introduced to the French language in Kindergarten. Between Kindergarten and my second year of college, this dream had festered into a grand adventure where upon landing in France I would be swept away by the chicness of the great French culture and love every second of my trip. As one can imagine, this wasn’t the reality of my trip. However, I think my trip was more valuable than any dream vacation could have been.
One of the best experiences I had on my trip happened as I was waiting to take the tram to my home outside of the city. A woman approached me and asked me how to use the cards required for boarding the tram. I was able to explain to her how to use the card and held a conversation with her the entirety of the thirty minute tram trip, all in French. This was a woman who wasn’t being paid by my school to be patient with my French and I was able to communicate effectively with her. The whole walk home from the tram stop I was beaming and when I got home I told my French family all about my experience, again all in French. The woman on the tram had told me that my French was decent and I explained how I could understand a lot more than what I could say. She repeated a sentiment that I had heard over and over that speaking was the hardest part of learning a new language. I would say that a lot behind speaking ability has to do with confidence. This encounter on the tram really boosted my confidence. It also made me realize just how extraordinary I find the ability to speak several languages. It was neat that I could be speaking English one moment and the next French.
Traveling around France most people I encountered could speak more than just French and I found it extraordinary. I realized how intimidating traveling to the United States would be for a non-English speaker. Here in the US, almost all communication is done in English and a small minority of people know a second language. But in France almost everyone knew English or another language other than French which was nice in a way because if I could not communicate effectively in French I could resort back to English or “Franglaise” (French and English). However, this is one thing I didn’t like as well. I think, had I not constantly been switching back and forth between English and French, I would have been able to click into the French mindset a bit better and my French would have really improved. With my host family English was forbidden. I think my time and conversations with them is what helped my French the most.
I attended a small family gathering with my host family. There, there were two younger girls and they enjoyed critiquing my pronunciation as they had not grasped the idea that I had an accent. It was fun interacting with these younger girls who just saw me as a stranger and not as a foreigner.
I had so many experiences over this trip that forced me to grow as an individual. As I continue studying French I want to focus more on getting into the French mindset and not speaking English with French words, but actually phrasing my sentences as a natural French speaker would. Today is my birthday and my host mom told me to “blow my candles well” as a birthday greeting. I think these differences in phrasing are beautiful and I’d really like to expand my use of French phrasing.
As I expressed above, my time in Montpellier allowed me to reflect on how I spend my time here in the states and I am looking to shape my new normal in a hybrid of “Montpellier normal” and “States normal”. The biggest take away that I would like to bring into my life is the French philosophy on enjoying life. The French it seems tend to try and enjoy life while the Americans tend to try and succeed in life. I talked about this with my host mom and she valued the American’s hard work ethic but I put more value on the French’s value of friendship and family. I think there is a healthy balance between the two and I would like to find a “normal” that fits this balance.
