Teresa Bodart

I've always known that I wanted to study abroad somewhere, definitely French speaking because that's the language I chose sometime between sixth and seventh grade. However, this was all very abstract thinking until I realized that I planned to graduate in three years, and a study abroad after my Junior year was not going to be super plausible for me. So, winter break of my Freshman year I started looking into the different options Berkeley offered, and I found that the UCEAP program in Paris was essentially perfect for my situation.

The intensive classes were, I knew, a big seller for my parents, but for me it was more a combination of being in the right place at the right time. Not only did this program fit exceptionally well with my plans, I would be in Paris for the World Cup, the Tour de France, and as it turned out so many other amazing events that I had no idea about. La Fête de la Musique happened to be on my very first Thursday in Paris. The massive party and mixture of French and American music was a warm, warm welcome to Paris, from the people in my program to random people on the streets and even from my host family.

Hmm. I honestly think that la Fête de la Musique was so so interesting. Talk about culture shock. Only the major roads had cars on them: everywhere else was just people out walking, hopping from one musical hotspot to the next. I don't think any major metropolis in America that I've ever been to has completely shut down for the music, so to speak. Anyone with the urge to make music was welcome to stand outside and just perform, maybe to a crowd of one or maybe of hundreds.

Everything started around six. I was leaving the Centre Pompidou Library with my friends when we saw a singer setting up on stage in the square just outside the museum. From there we walked around the neighborhood we were in, finding dinner and just people watching. Older couples were sitting at cafes listening to hard rock, but French hard rock. Young people were wandering around like us, searching for the perfect spot. Fast forward a couple hours, the daughter at my homestay drags me out of my room and we walk probably over a mile, hunting for somewhere fun. We end up on the side of the Panthéon, listening and dancing to a band who sang about half and half English and French. The funny thing is, we were surrounded by what looked like 14 year olds. Unsupervised. Climbing on top of the bus stop shelter. Forming a conga line. We joined in!

It was the craziest night and really introduced me to a different side of the "refined, elegant, chic Parisians." It was definitely a moment where I thought to myself, "ok, yes, you're here to study, but there is so much MORE you can do and experience in your time here. You just have to Go Do It."

The biggest challenge of my study abroad was my living situation. As it ended up, even though I had chosen homestay for the purpose of being forced to use my French and also to learn more about the quotidian, everyday life of French people, my homestay was not a great environment for me.

The daughter my age actually left to visit her sisters in Mexico after one week of my being there, and the other student from another university who was living there only spoke English. So I was almost never speaking French at home. Additionally, my host dad did not really want to interact with me, not even eating with me when he made dinner.

In response, I determined to gain the experiences I wanted from somewhere else. I went to my friends' homestays and met their host parents. I spoke French with my friends even when we weren't in class. And finally, I spent as much time as possible out in the city, not at home.

Typically I woke up at 8 am so that I could get ready in the morning, eat toast for breakfast, and leave 45 minutes before class started because I had quite a long commute. Then there were three hours of French class with a half hour break during, and then an hour long break for lunch, where I would go to the nearby boulangerie with my friends. After, I either had a two hour culture/film class or an excursion with my French professor out into some culturally significant district of Paris, of which there are many. Once the school day was over by around 4 pm, I would either try to go do some activity in Paris, either touristy or more casual. Then I would find dinner with my friends and maybe try to fit in one more activity before returning home for homework. Weekends were for museums and farther off places.

I took French 5 and 6 (the quarter system) which is the equivalent of French 4. I also took Paris Reflections 170, which was my culture class including about eight films and a fairly robust course reader.

I think that in scope and workload the courses were comparable to Berkeley, but to speak honestly I felt the examinations were slightly easier than Berkeley.

The professors though were amazing! So engaging and knowledgeable and French and helpful and fun!

I think the most meaningful aspect of my time abroad had a lot to do with shedding my American identity and trying to find my French identity. I could go to a restaurant or museum and announce that I was American and it would be fine. They have everything there that an American tourist could want. However, the challenge and reward was in stepping back from that ease and stepping toward the hard prospect of doing "it" on my own. By "it" I mean living as someone who is not treated as Americans are treated.

I wanted to be French, I wanted to be mistaken for French. The more I worked for this goal, using my French and assuming French habits as my own, the more I really saw Americans and how they stood out. I think I have more of a worldview now than I did before, when I was always looking at things through an American lens. This time abroad was definitely a good check on growing up in really a single minded kind of way.

I think personally the effect was huge, even if it isn't outwardly very apparent. There is certainly an independence one gains by going away to college, away from parents and high school friends. It is a different independence entirely to move to a different country, not knowing a single person there, and somehow coming out a confident, young adult who is comfortable in uncomfortable situations and who has learning and experience that will last a lifetime.

I think my confidence, independence, and readiness to venture out into the world were really improved over the course of my program in a way not really possible here in Berkeley.

I would say to always go in with an open mind and open schedule. There is so much to do in Paris, and France, and even the nearby countries, that you don't want to be bogged down by your ideals formed in America. Of course you have to do the tourist things and bring your family presents from Ladurée, but once you are fully immersed in the city you will always find new things that you just cannot pass up on.

When it comes to the open mind, that can be interpreted in many ways, for sure, but one thing I mean specifically is to not close yourself off from people or activities that you think you won't like. You really become quite a different person when you go abroad, and you may find that your interests change as well.