Study Abroad in Montpellier, France — STEP Reflection

 

Prompt 1: Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.

I spent the summer of 2018 immersing myself in French language and culture by studying abroad in Montpellier, France with the University of Minnesota. During my time in Montpellier, I took two courses, lived with a host family, and traveled throughout the country to gain the best understanding possible of a people with whom I share love for a language.

Prompt 2:What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.

Above all else, I would say that the notions I held about French cultural diversity greatly changed thanks to my time abroad. I of course understood before leaving the States that the country to which I was traveling would not be culturally homogenous. Still, and I think this was due to the genre of coursework I had taken before my trip, I thought that French culture would be more or less similar everywhere I went, making only minor deviations from the norm when accounting for regional heritage or recent immigration trends. The first course I took discussed this very idea—French multiculturalism. My professor took our class on a journey through the regions of France like Brittany and Basque Country that hold and practice strong non-French identities. He also described to us a narrative of the French National Government imposing upon these regions a national “French” culture with which they do not identify. This course in conjunction with my travels to some fifteen French cities forced me to reevaluate the beliefs I held before my trip.

Prompt 3:What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

As I mentioned previously, an important element that forced me to reevaluate my prior notions about French cultural diversity was the coursework I took. My first class treated this topic head-on, using it as inspiration for nearly everything we read, discussed, watched, and wrote. My second class, however, took a more nuanced approach. This class used ethical problems surrounding twenty-first century scientific advancements as subject material to improve our persuasion and argumentative skills in French. Even though what we discussed did not directly involve French cultural diversity, little gaps between what I thought to be true about the French and what in fact actually was manifested themselves almost every day. For example, I was told by many people before leaving that most French people are very familiar with American politics. The topic of the Obamacare came up in class one day, and I began to discuss its goals and effects as if everyone in the room had the same basic understanding. After I finished making my point, my French professor of Greek origin stopped me and said that she had absolutely no idea about what I was talking. This was one of many situations during my second course that when summed together made me reevaluate my understandings of what the word “French” implies on a cultural basis.

Another important factor, as I mentioned earlier, that made me reform my notions were the trips I took during my time in France. I had the opportunity to visit fifteen cities this past summer, all of which, with the exception of Barcelona, were in France. That means I was able to experience fourteen different definitions of French culture, from the small-town lifestyle of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert to the hustle and bustle of Paris, from the German-influenced bars of Dijon to the Italian-inspired cafés of Nice. To a very surprising degree, each definition was deeply ingrained in its respective city; it was evident in each city’s architectural style of course, but on a deeper level, it was reflected in the attitudes of the people with whom I interacted; personalities and opinions varied, but nearly everyone was proud of their roots and the city they called home. Each city I visited added to the melting pot of ideas that was brewing in my head, continually causing me to reflect upon what I thought to be true about the French and their culture.

Lastly, I lived with a host family for the entirety of my trip; this experience was probably most critical to the transformation of my opinions concerning French cultural diversity. The family with which I lived embodied diversity. Jeannine, my host mom, was of Italian heritage, was raised in Tunisia during her youth, and has since lived in France. She speaks four languages (French, English, Italian, and Arabic), constantly bouncing between each according to her surroundings. Grace, a Swiss student who was also studying in Montpellier this summer, spoke five languages (French, English, German, Korean, and Chinese). Like Jeannine, she would have to balance her languages depending upon who she was speaking to. She spoke German with her parents, French with Jeannine and me, and Korean with her extended family. Both of their experiences highlighted to me the fact that French culture can take many forms; no dictionary can easily define what it means or entails.

Prompt 4:Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.

My current plan for the future is to work in the business world, and I decided to major in French as I thought it would make me more effective in my career. As I have been studying French since the eighth grade and will continue to do so until I graduate, I will have robust language skills when I enter the workforce. Still, after my education abroad experience this past summer, I know that mere language fluency will not suffice in the workplace. I have learned that I must also know in detail the people and the culture with which I am working. I have always been told that business is about relationships. Knowing someone’s native tongue is a great way to break the ice, but in order to truly get to know someone, you have to first be familiar with their experience and their point-of-view.

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