Emily Colby

I am a French major, and was eager to immerse myself in the language. I chose to study abroad to improve my understanding of French and to see what it was like to live in Europe as an American for more than a few weeks.

I was fortunate enough to live with a host family in France. Over the holiday break, my host mother took her daughters and I to visit her family in the countryside, a few hours outside of Paris. It was a much more tranquil experience of France than what I had become accustomed to in the busy city of Lyon. Being surrounded by nature mixed with the beautiful architecture of the country was lovely.

The biggest challenge was dealing with any administration in France, whether it be the bank, the university's international student office, or the consulate. The best way to respond I found was through making use of the language. Sometimes this was difficult because my French would not come out perfect all the time, but I found I got a lot further when I tried to communicate and understand these bureaucratic systems in the language employees were used to working in.

On a typical day I would wake up early to take the train to school. At university I would have one to two classes a day (which might not sound like much, but French university courses are usually at least 2 hours each). After class, I usually went to a café or the library to study and work. In the evening I returned home to dine with my host family and would either spend the evening with my host mother and her two daughters, take a ballet class or sometimes go out with friends if I did not have to wake up too early the following day.

I mostly took courses in French literature. Compared to the literature classes in the Berkeley French department, there were a few major differences. The most notable probably being the structure of courses. Instead of homework assignments and exams throughout the semester, there was one large exam at the end of the semester that accounted for your grade for the entire course.

I cannot pinpoint one experience as being the most meaningful, but I think the piece I loved most about my time abroad was getting to speak in French every single day. I love studying the language at school, but there was something very special about walking outside and hearing almost everyone speaking only in the language I have spent so many years hearing mostly only in classrooms. Now I was surrounded by it and every interaction became an opportunity to practice.

I would like to think I have become more self-sufficient as a result of study abroad. I had never been so far away from family for such a long amount of time. There were situations when I had to be brave enough to either figure out solutions to conflict on my own or be brave enough to ask someone who did not speak my native tongue for help.

I would recommend using the language as much as possible. It sounds simple, but don't be afraid to make mistakes. If others speak back to you in English, understand that this is not necessarily meant as an insult. More likely, they just as eager as you are to practice a foreign language and they are simply excited to have found someone to practice their English with.