Sciences Po in Aix-En-Provence, France
In Spring 2017 I applied to study in Aix-En-Provence, France at Sciences Po, a renowned university for political science. I wanted to study here because it would give me a glimpse of how life would be for me in France (which is where I want to live in the long term), would improve my French, and I could take courses relevant for my International Relations major and French minor. It was the perfect exchange program for me and thankfully, I got in!
ITALY
In Fall 2017, a major goal was accomplished, I did my half of my junior year in France and it was an amazing experience. Before I left to France, I spent the summer in Italy visiting family ( a tradition that takes place every summer) and I did something else that I've always wanted to do: I taught English. In July, I volunteered to teach English at a Kids Club that I found on the beach in Fregene, Italy, a small town that I spent many childhood summers in. I wanted to contribute to my community and so I decided to take up teaching English to kids from ages 5 to 12 three days a week for an hour. I created my own curriculum and each class had a different theme. I first taught these kids the English alphabet, then moved on to colors, animals, classroom vocabulary, and common phrases. They really enjoyed my lesson on restaurant etiquette and had fun with the "American" menu I made for them The kids took turns playing the roles of waiter and customer and learned phrases like "May I please have" and "Thank you very much." It was a wonderful experience and because of it, I am seriously considering teaching as a career. I loved sharing my knowledge of the English language and they helped me improve my Italian!
PARIS
After my summer in Italia, I bid farewell to my family and left to stay at my cousin's apartment in Paris. My cousin and her family were spending there vacation in Portugal and she was nice enough to let me stay at her apartment. It was stunning, The view was incredible, and the location was surreal. I stayed in the 16th arrondisement for about a month before leaving to Aix-En-Provence and I felt like a true parisienne. Two of my friends from the states came to visit me, on separate occasions, and with both friends, I felt like a local. The first friend, Chris, was already in Paris when I arrived and he picked me up from Charles De Gaulle. Together, we took the metro and he helped me find my cousin's apartment. He taught me so much! Thanks to him, I have a NAVIGO metro card, making transporting in Paris so much easier. Since my friend was already familiar with Paris, this segment of the trip made me feel like I was a native since my friend and I did not do anything touristy. We walked around the quartiers and we met so many other Parisians. He showed me where he did his month long study abroad at the Cite Universitaire, we joined other locals for a dance at Trocadero and we cooked at home often. We also walked, walked, and walked! Que belle vie !
When Chris left, my friend Alexandra came about a day later. She had never visited Paris, let alone Europe, before. This time, I would feel like a tour guide. I took her everywhere. We went to the Louvre, Sacre Coeur, the Palais du Tokyo (modern art), and walked around everywhere. I wanted to show her as many places as I could and wanted her to see the city I love so much. It was really fun and I got to revisit important sites in Paris with her. After she left, which was towards the end of August, i had to say au revoir to Paris and I was ready to embark on my next journey: Aix-En-Provence.
AIX-EN-PROVENCE
I had no idea where to go when I arrived, I had two suitcases with me, a heavy backpack, and I was confused under the sun, not the greatest mix. I made my way to the main bus station and I had wifi there so I called an uber. I stayed at one of the housing sites for students, a housing site called Cuques. I arrived and there was nobody around. I was beginning to get worried. Was this place a ghost town? But soon enough, I heard English and found a young girl just as confused and she was with her father. We finally found the main center and I settled in my little studio. The housing site was on a hill overlooking the Mont. St. Victoire and it made the area even more breathtaking.
Aix-En-Provence is a small town and I walked everywhere. The walk to my university was about 25 minutes but it went by quick because there was so much to look at. At Sciences Po I met many other exchange students and we all hung out at the Parc Jourdan to socialize. There were many events designed for the international students to meet and get acquainted with the city, much like the PAW program at FIU. One of the trips was a visit to Cannes, organized by the French students.
It was a bit hard adjusting my new lifestyle in the beginning, but I grew close to a few people. Greet, a Flemish girl, Thais and Bianca, Brazilians, and Zsofie, a Hungarian. I loved that I made friends from everywhere and I love that we still keep in touch to this day! I had never met a Flemish girl prior to this exchange. Thais, Zsofie, Greet and I decided to rent a car and take a trip to Luberon and it was a great bonding experience!
A group of international students and I decided to take a trip to La Ciotat as well, and there I hung out with fellow Italians, a Slovakian, Flemish students, an American, and a Brazilian. I got lost at one point and coincidentally met an American from Colorado who lives on a boat, and he helped me reunite with my group.
A typical French custom is to have an apero which is basically like a get together. One of the French students grew close with some of the exchange students and I, and we got to partake in this French tradition.
and Louis (our French friend who hosted the apero) also gave us a tour of the city he is from, Marseille, which was about 30 minutes away from Aix.
I made friends with another French person, who invited me to a cultural potluck. A girl from China brought dumplings she made from scratch, he provided the snails, frog legs, and raclette, and the Italians brought "chocolate sausage." Even though I'm of Italian origin, I decided not to bring anything from Italy since that was already going to be provided and since I'm a mutt I had many options to choose from. My grandmother is Tunisian and I grew up with many Tunisian dishes, so I brought typical Tunisian pastries. The snails were not as bad as I thought however the frog legs tasted as gross as they sound, but don't knock it till you try it!
I was taking seven courses. Five in English (that pertained to my international relations degree) and two in French (credit for my French minor). I found them all so enlightening. The courses I took were: Violence in Politics, Globalization & Democratic Governance, International Human Rights, History of International Relations, France in a Global Context, Civilisation Française, and French writing. I think the most challenging courses were History of INR because it was so dense (and the professor was quite strict) and Violence and Politics (amazing professor but since it was philosophy it was sometimes quite tricky). The French university experience was drastically different from that of the states! I barely got any homework, which made time for traveling, and the final grade just came from one essay at the end of the semester, no pressure! In the end, I feel like I learned quite bit and I passed all my classes (phew).
To be quite frank, words cannot express my study abroad, it was moving. I am forever grateful I had this opportunity and I would do it again, and again. I wish I could hand someone a flash drive of all my memories, my roller coaster of emotions, my views, my friends, my petit-ami and what I can say is that I feel like I am more open to living in new places, I feel more confident, and I feel more loved and optimistic that solidarity and friendships with people from different cultures can help the world for the better. I feel a newfound idealism that has been invigorated by this exchange and I will always encourage others to get themselves out of their comfort zone because traveling and immersing oneself into a new culture is moral medicine, one comes out of the voyage as a better individual. The expression stating that the outside world makes for a better classroom, I find to be, quite true. I learned how to study in a new system. In the classroom I learned about Weber and Fanon, about multiple court cases, about how various constitutions were created, about the riots of 2005 in France, about Franco and so many wars and treaties that took place in the 20th century, about the Franks and how France came to be, about how to write a French essay, and the importance of teaching yourself and doing your own research as details are not just handed out if you want to study more in depth (I was not handed out any textbooks, classes were just lecture based). Outside the classroom I learned how to deal with awkward situations, how to cancel a bank account and wow is bureaucracy slow over there! I learned how to travel alone, to make the most out of a crappy situation, how to deal with new surroundings, and so much more. So much. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the following pictures sum up some of what I did during my study abroad.
Above is a video of a welcome back party for Sciences Po students at a park.
In December, after my study abroad, I went to Rome to spend my 20th birthday and Christmas with my aunt, uncle, and cousins, It was the first time in years that I spent the holidays and my birthday outside of the U.S.A. Worth it.
....and voila! My study abroad in a nutshell.