Cierra Cardenas
"Being a young, financially independent, woman of color from Los Angeles has shaped my overall experience in the world and especially affected the way I thought about traveling abroad. In preparing for my study abroad experience I also had to financially prepare, which was both a physical and mental experience because I knew that in order to have one of the most influential periods of my life I needed to be okay with spending money where I wanted to. This made every trip, excursion, and meal that much more special."
As a transfer student I went into my university experience head first and knew that studying abroad would be an incredible experience for my growth as an individual. I chose the Social Justice and Activism program in Paris because of my interest in the history of organizing, revolts, responses to forms of governance, and social movements.
Being a young, financially independent, woman of color from Los Angeles has shaped my overall experience in the world and especially affected the way I thought about traveling abroad. In preparing for my study abroad experience I also had to financially prepare, which was both a physical and mental experience because I knew that in order to have one of the most influential periods of my life I needed to be okay with spending money where I wanted to. This made every trip, excursion, and meal that much more special.
A typical school day in Paris included waking up and eating a breakfast at home (usually chia seed pudding, oats, cereal - the easy stuff that doesn't require too much prep) then going to the coffee shop right across from my apartment. Then, I walked around 15 minutes to the Metro, where I would sit for a 20 minute ride to the Accent center. After a few hours of classes, I found myself meeting up with friends in the park, either with a pastry or quiche, until I was ready to go to the seine for a walk or a museum. After returning home, I would get dressed with my roommates to go to a new fun restaurant that we had been wanting to go to that week. Then I returned home for the night.
I took a French class that was once a week.
We were also required to take a city course, once a week.
I took Nation and Identity.
I took a Youth Protests course.
And lastly, I took a picturing social justice course.
These classes were all heavily related and made it different from Berkeley courses. It was also a smaller lecture class, more weekly tests than normal, and much more group work than I am used to.
Of course studying abroad made me much more aware of my identity. In a city with increasingly high rates of racism and xenophobia, I was aware that I did not look French, or as White as the rest of the population - however while in the US I am more White passing than my family. Studying abroad impacted how I understood French history and culture as well as my own.
The people that I traveled with and the places I saw with those people changed my experience completely!
The biggest challenge was meeting my basic needs while abroad and figuring out what places I would become dependent on while in Paris. This includes food, medical care, transportation, warm clothes, etc. I responded by tuning into the things that I needed and made sure to seek out those resources.
Do not let your biases hold you back and be completely open minded. You have such a short amount of time there and it goes quickly. Say yes to opportunities, go out with your friends, ask questions, and experience this for yourself!