My STEP Signature Project was a 7 week study abroad in Paris, France with the organization IES Abroad.  During this program I lived with a French family, just steps from the River Seine.  I studied grammar and Parisian cinema on the weekdays with other students at the center, and spent my weekends exploring the city and taking day-trips to other areas of France.

I tried to go into the trip without any certain expectations, hoping that would help me to experience the culture and differences.  Because of this strategy I feel that my time in France allowed me to see how French people think about certain issues at different angles than most people I’ve met in the United States.  The images I had previously had of what French people were like weren’t necessarily proven to be 100% lies, but corrected, refined, and explained.

I was also nervous before my trip.  As someone who grew up in small-town-America, big cities are not always within my comfort zone, especially one as big and as well known as Paris.  I had never even flown before!  My trip quickly showed me that I was much more capable than I had imagined and allowed me to grow in—not just my independence—but my confidence in that independence.

One of the courses I had the opportunity to take was a culture/grammar course.  We used discussion, readings, and writings on culture to learn and improve our French grammar.  During these class discussions we learned a lot about how our culture and French culture view differently certain issues, even things as seemingly everyday as driving to work.  Our professor was also a French woman who had taught for some time in the United States.  These discussions and her sharing her own experiences and perspectives were a major contributing factor to me having the ability to see outside of my own cultural perspective.

In my Parisian Cinema course we also got to understand more about cultural perspectives and cultural priority in the art form of film.  We analyzed mainly the choices and decisions of specific directors, but how that reflects on a larger scale the society and culture of France, and sometimes specific areas within France or Paris.  We often discussed the image of Paris in both French and American cinema and how history and cultural shifts affected the film industry.

During my trip I made several friendships.  It was super beneficial because we could encourage each other in our speaking, learning, and our exploration of Paris.  For example a few friends and I would frequently plan and go on day trips on weekends when we didn’t have pre-planned trips with the school.  Planning and communicating what we were doing, when we needed to do it, and how we would get there was another aspect that I think helped me to feel more confident and willing to take leadership.

I didn’t always go on these trips with those friends though.  For instance my number one highlight of the trip was going on a day trip to the beaches of Normandy with a tour group and not knowing a single person.  The trip was really great, and once I got past the discomfort of going solo I not only enjoyed the trip but was able to step up to socialize with those I met and feel more independent than I’ve ever felt before.

This experience of studying abroad has been so valuable!  I truly believe it has opened my eyes to my own potential and ability.  Sure, I will never know everything, but life is about learning and you can’t learn if you don’t leave your comfort zone.  Because of this trip, I will be able to be more confident in my language learning, bolder to make mistakes, and more ready than ever to learn from them.  I can’t wait to use this great experience to fuel my hunger to learn in general and to not be ashamed of what I don’t know or haven’t experienced, but instead to view those as opportunities—to ask questions, to be open minded, to never stop learning.