Last year Megan studied abroad in France as a junior. Now as graduation is upon her, she looks back on her study abroad experience as one of the highlights of her college career. See why she liked France so much!
Christine: Why did you decide to study abroad?
Megan: Study abroad is something I always knew I wanted to do as a part of my college experience. Also given my majors, GS and French, an abroad experience seemed necessary and fit right into my schedule.
Christine: Why did you pick France?
Megan: I have really loved the sound of the French language and the French culture: food, music, art…because of this I started taking French in middle school and have continued my studies thus far into my college experience. Knowing the options that we available to me as a Lehigh student of French, Montpellier seemed like the best choice: smaller city, in a part of France I was unfamiliar with, with a unique and lively culture, with great universities. Montpellier seemed like a great choice for what I was looking for.
Christine: What did you enjoy most about your experience?
Megan: Meeting new people from all around the world at my university and having the opportunity to travel around Europe.
Megan: Study abroad is something I always knew I wanted to do as a part of my college experience. Also given my majors, GS and French, an abroad experience seemed necessary and fit right into my schedule.
Christine: Why did you pick France?
Megan: I have really loved the sound of the French language and the French culture: food, music, art…because of this I started taking French in middle school and have continued my studies thus far into my college experience. Knowing the options that we available to me as a Lehigh student of French, Montpellier seemed like the best choice: smaller city, in a part of France I was unfamiliar with, with a unique and lively culture, with great universities. Montpellier seemed like a great choice for what I was looking for.
Christine: What did you enjoy most about your experience?
Megan: Meeting new people from all around the world at my university and having the opportunity to travel around Europe.
Christine: Did you face any challenges (homesickness, language barriers, cultural barriers)?
Megan: Yes, I did, but these challenges only enhanced my experience, allowing me grow as an academic, but also as a person. My host mother and I did not get along very well; she was a very stereotypical Parisian woman; she critiqued my lifestyle, made back handed remarks about me, and constantly debated with me. This experience only helped improve my speaking ability and challenged me to stand up for myself in another language, which is not always easy. I learned to be respectful, but to also challenge her at times. In the end I think she came to respect me more because of this.
Christine: Do you have any funny stories you want to share?
Megan: My friends and I visited Paris for a weekend. Upon visiting the Arc de Triumph, which is surrounded by a massive rotary, my friends and I, not knowing that it was frowned upon, crossed the street to the monument. The police immediately confronted us, telling us that is was illegal to cross the rotary and to walk on this sacred ground. Little did we know how close we were to heading off to a night in prison. As stupid tourists we were uninformed of this and had to spend an hour explaining ourselves to the French police. We convinced them of the misunderstanding and that we were truly sorry.
Christine: What did you learn?
Megan: I learned how to communicate with a variety of different people, overcoming linguist boundaries, depending on the region and generation of the people of whom I was speaking to.
Megan: Yes, I did, but these challenges only enhanced my experience, allowing me grow as an academic, but also as a person. My host mother and I did not get along very well; she was a very stereotypical Parisian woman; she critiqued my lifestyle, made back handed remarks about me, and constantly debated with me. This experience only helped improve my speaking ability and challenged me to stand up for myself in another language, which is not always easy. I learned to be respectful, but to also challenge her at times. In the end I think she came to respect me more because of this.
Christine: Do you have any funny stories you want to share?
Megan: My friends and I visited Paris for a weekend. Upon visiting the Arc de Triumph, which is surrounded by a massive rotary, my friends and I, not knowing that it was frowned upon, crossed the street to the monument. The police immediately confronted us, telling us that is was illegal to cross the rotary and to walk on this sacred ground. Little did we know how close we were to heading off to a night in prison. As stupid tourists we were uninformed of this and had to spend an hour explaining ourselves to the French police. We convinced them of the misunderstanding and that we were truly sorry.
Christine: What did you learn?
Megan: I learned how to communicate with a variety of different people, overcoming linguist boundaries, depending on the region and generation of the people of whom I was speaking to.
It sounds like you had a great time, Megan! Thanks for your help!
Nice interview! I studied about Italy and a lot of Megan's responses reminded me of my experiences there. And of course, I visited France while I was abroad =) Paris was amazing! So much culture and art (Art History major here). I can't want to go back again!
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Andrew
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