As I reflect on my time in Rennes, France, I can still feel the warm embraces of my host mom, the rides on the bus and metro and the lively street culture. The random conversations I could barely understand, and the sweet crepe and savory galette I would often eat for lunch.
The highest points of my summer abroad were those unplanned -- the random conversations with people on the bus about how I liked the town to getting on the wrong bus and having to ask for directions back home. While sometimes these events were a little stressful, they all brought me to an increased understanding of French language and culture. I felt a sense of satisfaction when native speakers could understand me.
The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) is an amazing organization which provided me the opportunity to live in a native speaker’s home for four weeks accompanied by three-hour classes every day. This combination of both classes and immersion into the French culture and language was an amazing way for me to drastically improve my French. But no matter how and who one travels abroad with, the learning experiences are endless and it is worth partaking in at least once in one’s lifetime.
Before my summer abroad I had a terrible accent, it took me forever to formulate full sentences, and I had a terrible time comprehending others, especially native speakers. The first week, I could not communicate with my host dad because I could not understand him and he could not understand me. However, as time went on, my accent improved and my comprehension of native speakers did too and I could have conversations with my host dad with a lot more comfort and confidence. By the end of my experience abroad, when my host family had friends over, I could actually participate in some conversation. Our weekly class presentations were a breeze. I went from barely being able to talk for two minutes to being easily able to talk comfortably for six minutes.
Aside from sunset being at 11 p.m. and always eating some form of bread for breakfast, life in France isn’t too different. It takes some time to get used to the little lifestyle changes, but after a while it becomes easy and comfortable.
My advice to anyone thinking about a summer abroad is to always say yes. If there was one thing I remembered from the first day of orientation, it was that simple piece of advice. I truly believe that it was that simple motto that not only got me through the four weeks, but it allowed me to enjoy every moment of every second of everyday I was there. If I had not said yes to watching a movie with my family, even though I had some homework to finish up, I would have missed out on an opportunity to bond with my family and learn new words and phrases. If I had not said yes to those “different” looking meals, I would not have experienced and learned to appreciate new tastes.I recommend a summer abroad to anyone wanting to learn a new language, experience new culture or even gain a new perspective on life. It was truly a life changing experience.
