F.3. Looking Back

Well! I already want to go back. Although I was in the 357 French class, I am going to write this journal in English because I want to be sure I am expressing all I have to say clearly and intelligently. I have taken my time in posting this blog because I wanted to be sure I included everything I could. I probably still won’t; there is so much to talk about!

The experience in general was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. If I had gone by myself, and I had seriously considered it, I would have missed out. All the excursions, especially those with Christina, were brilliant and I learned so much! She is fantastic. I want a mini Christina to keep in my pocket. Not in a weird way. She’s just so smart! If anything changes in the program next year, please keep her! The first weekend, as well, was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was whirlwind, but I loved visiting places I had not yet seen.

That was one thing I was worried about when signing up for this trip. I wanted the group experience, the Clemson credit, and the facility of finding a place to live and acceptance to the Sorbonne; HOWEVER, I was nervous that, since I had already been to France, I would be repeating a lot of site seeing and experiences. First of all, unless you’ve lived in France or have been once a year since birth, re-seeing sites is not a hardship. Seeing sites for a second or third time is fantastic! I caught so many details and more historical information this time around and I think that was because I wasn’t so awed by the grandeur and could really pay attention to the history and intricacy of the building (or whatever it was.)

The experience as a whole is something I will remember for the rest of my life, but there are two specific things I am taking away from it: a majorly increased level of French communication, and two best friends.

My aunt is fluent in French and we have several friends of the family who live in my hometown for several months of the year and France for the rest of the year. When I came home, I understood almost everything they said as they were casually conversing, which is a major feat! My oral comprehension was my weak point, but after training myself to really listen I think my oral comprehension is equivalent to my levels of reading comprehension and speaking. I definitely have the Sorbonne class to thank for this; we did several oral comprehension activities per week, and our final test had an oral comprehension section so I really tried to prepare for that.

For me, culture shock – both with the language and the city lifestyle – wasn’t a problem. I have traveled before, to France several times and to Azerbaijan where I spent several weeks teaching English. I LOVE being in places where the culture is different because I love learning about others. I am currently in the process of applying for a Fulbright grant to return to Azerbaijan to teach English and to learn Azeri, the local language. I love learning languages, and this program taught me that I can do it and that immersion is key. You really can’t learn a language completely without being immersed in it. If I am granted this Fulbright, I will be living in Azerbaijan from June 7, 2012-June 22, 2013. I should be reeeally good at Azeri by the time I leave! Hopefully.

In my opinion, this trip prepared me for going to Azerbaijan, which may sound weird to most. The longest international excursion I have ever taken was 3 weeks, long enough to immerse myself in the culture, buy some awesome presents for my family, and go home. Around that 2-3 week point here, in Paris, I started to feel homesick. By the fourth week I was pretty much back to normal, but it was still a shock to me to feel homesick. I go to school 11 hours away from home and I had traveled before; before I left I thought there was no way I would feel homesick, but I did and now I know how to deal with it. This trip was amazing and I would recommend it to anyone looking to improve their French.