1.I did a study abroad program in Montpellier, France, this past summer. I attended a French university and took French language and culture class.

2.I learned so much about myself and the world this summer. Studying abroad is difficult, but it’s also so rewarding. I had taken French for many years before the program, but am obviously not fluent, so living in France for two months was difficult at times. I was scared to speak because I knew I’d make mistakes and would get embarrassed. I went into the program with a goal of improving my French speaking skills, so I needed to stop being scared and start speaking. My goal was more important than my fears, so I eventually started to speak a lot. Yes, I made mistakes, but by the end of the two months, I was able to speak faster and with less errors. I learned I shouldn’t let my fears and doubts get in the way of achieving my goals and that I need to start having more confidence in myself.

Being exposed to a different culture for two months was an eye-opening experience. I was able to see the world through the eyes of French people. They have a different perspective on things like politics and lifestyle. It was really cool being able to see how they live and get their opinion on certain topics.

3. I lived with a host family during my time in France. I was only allowed to speak French in the house, and my host mom didn’t know any English. Living with a host family provided me with an environment to practice speaking French with French people. My French family was super nice and helpful to me. I settled into their home pretty quickly, but there were some aspects that I had to get adjusted to. For example, in France, they eat dinner around 8 or 9 pm, but I was used to eating around 5 or 6 in the States. I was really glad I lived with a host family and that they were so amazing. I was anxious to speak when I first moved in, but as I became more comfortable with the family, I spoke more and more. Thanks to them, my speaking improved so much- my host mom even commented on my improvement! Living with a host family definitely positively impacted my time abroad.

I took classes at a French university. My classmates were from all over the world, and learning about them, their countries, and cultures was incredible. We did a variety of exercises in class, such as speaking, listening, reading and writing. I had class every day for four hours, so it was pretty intense. We focused on grammar concepts and vocabulary review. This was another way for me to focus on my goal of improving my speaking. I don’t participate that often in classes in the US, but in order to make the most of my experience abroad, I knew I had to. I don’t like public speaking in a classroom setting, but participating in class abroad made me more confident to do so here. I learned I need to start trusting myself and not be afraid to speak up. Taking French classes in France was a great opportunity, and I’m so glad I did it.

While abroad, I had the opportunity to travel to different countries and French cities. Solo traveling is challenging, but I persevered. When something went wrong, I had to deal with it; I didn’t have anyone else there to help. I dealt with delayed trains, cancelled flights, and much more. Solo traveling taught me a lot about myself, such as I like to be half an hour early for a train that won’t even get to the station until 5 minutes before departure time. Also, I had the false assumption that nothing will go wrong in my travels, but I was proved to be very, very wrong about that. Things did go wrong, and only I could deal with them and fix them. Going on these trips by myself taught me that I am independent and smart enough to get out of those bad situations. I have the confidence to handle anything in life as a result, because this summer showed me that I can handle things by myself. It’s scary traveling by yourself, but my goal and desire to see the world overruled my fear of solo traveling.

4. This transformation I had, of my language skills and self-discoveries, will be very valuable for my life here on out. I will take the things I learned about myself and apply them to life here. I will participate in class more. I know life will not always be easy, but I now know I can get through the tough situations. My French fluency has improved so much as well. Since I am a French major, I would love to use my knowledge of the language after I graduate. My other major is accounting, and business is a very versatile industry- I could live in France and do something involving business there after graduation. One of my goals is to live (and therefore work) in France one day, and my ability to speak French will help facilitate that. This program changed my life, and I am so blessed to have been able to do it. I am grateful to STEP for helping me get this opportunity.

Pictures: Paris (left) and the center of my town, Montpellier (right)