1. My STEP Signature Project was an academic summer program abroad that took place in the city Aix-en-Provence in the south of France. There, I took two french intensive courses, while immersing myself in the Aixois language, culture, and landscape.

2. While abroad, my world view change monumentally. Because I was studying in the south, very close to Marseille and the Mediterranean, there was a large Maghrébin (North African) influence on the culture. This influence was distinctly different than when I had visited France previously for a vacation in high school. Then, my experiences of French culture were based largely on the touristic nature of my trip. As such, the influence on and the importance of African culture and Arab culture on French culture as a whole was largely lost on me.

However, during my time abroad, Aix’s proximity to Marseille, and by extension its proximity to Maghrébin culture really opened my eyes to the complexity of French culture and identity. Knowing that the future of French language rests in Africa—as majority of french speaking people reside in Africa—and understanding that French culture is not just white, Catholic, Parisian culture are two very different things. All in all, this study abroad program broadened my understanding of the global nature of French identity.

3. The most obvious, and frequent, instance exemplifying the influence that Maghrébin culture has on Aixois culture, is the language itself as it is used in the city. While Aixois is technically an old language native to the city, it is not actually the dialect I am currently referring to. In actuality, I am referencing the frequent interpolations of Arabic words into the spoken, and even sometimes written, French there. Due to such a large Arabic speaking population nearby, and even within the city of Aix, the language is frequently adapted to include Arabic words, phrases, and even slang. These modifications to the prim, proper academic French to which “academicians” (i.e. the Supreme Court for academic French language) consider true French highlight the malleability and complexity of the French identity.

French, in my experience, is often taught through a colonialist lens, in the sense that France and other European Francophone countries are considered “true” French, and the other, global Francophone countries (once colonized by the imperial France) are lesser derivatives of the original, “true” culture. Now, no one teacher I have had has been bold enough to outright say this, but the implication is there. The evidentiary support can be found in how majority of classes, even if they touch on Francophone countries outside of France, spend 80-90% of the curriculum focusing on the white, Catholic, Parisian image of French culture.

As such, I had a false understanding of what French culture actually was before studying abroad—an incomplete picture if you will. However, it was impossible to minimize the necessity of Maghrébin culture in the fabric of Southern French identity upon my arrival. It was not just the Maghrébin families using this modified language, but everyone: my host family and later myself included. This cross cultural mixing was not just limited to language, but extended to cuisine as well. As France’s gastronomy is often regarded as its most identifiable and celebrated identifier (and as major point of national pride), the mixing of traditional French gastronomy and Maghrébin gastronomy was another undeniable indicator of the reality of a varied and complex French culture.

4. Coming home better understanding the variable nature of French identity will undoubtably help me in my future academic, professional, and personal endeavors. Academically, this nuanced understanding will help me recontextualize the lessons taught to me about French language and culture so as to avoid viewing French culture through a colonialist lens. Professionally, my increased exposure to the Maghrébin dialect will help me better understand future peers, colleagues, and acquaintances as I hope to work abroad after completing my undergraduate program. Finally, I know my new exposure to varied French will help me ameliorate my skills as I continue to pursue fluency throughout my academic and professional career.

Me (middle) and my friends at the Eiffel Tower.

The Marseille skyline from the Palais Longchamp.