My friends and I on a beach hike.

Author: Harrison Lowe | Major: Anthropology

Heyo! I’m Harrison, a rising junior anthropology major in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. This past summer, I participated in the French in Perpignan program in the far South of France. And it was incredible! An absolutely amazing experience that helped me grow tremendously as a person and gave me friendships that will last a lifetime.

My decision to study abroad wasn’t one that was meticulously crafted to enhance my plan. Rather, one night in late february 2022, I found myself scrolling through the hogsabroad page of possible programs; I was looking into study abroad but felt entirely like it was too late to go. Like many students, I felt as though I blinked as a freshman and all of a sudden I was nearly halfway done university, with less than half of my collegiate goals completed. Amidst an honors thesis and archaeology field school, I felt as though the only time possible for me to study abroad was the upcoming summer, yet that was three months away and I didn’t even own a passport. Yet while I was whimsically scrolling, feeling bummed about the opportunities that could have been, I saw the French in Perpignan program. It looked absolutely perfect for me, and tremendously helpful for my Anthropology degree. The due date to apply was that very night, and with the push of a button, I decided to take a risk and commit. And now, several months later, I realize that it has been one of my greatest collegiate decisions.

This specific program lasted a month, in which I stayed with a French host family and attended four hours of French class each weekday. The classes were initially quite challenging, the professors spoke only in French as they knew little or no English. But they also created an environment in the classroom that made it safe to try and okay to mess up. After a month of classes (and complete immersion into French culture), I found that I had created remarkable relationships with some of the professors and my French language skills had grown more than they ever had. By a couple weeks in, I was able to speak only and in depth in French with my host family. If I could give any advice to those planning on living in an entirely different country for a month, I would say keep an open mind, don’t be afraid to interact with the culture, and bring a portable charger. Those three points of advice were crucial on the 14th of July, in which I was alone in Paris with my phone completely dead. One probably looks at that situation and scoffs and thinks they would never allow themselves to be in such a situation. But hear me out, I had tickets to the Paris catacombs (my focus in my degree is Archaeology, so you know there was no way I was going to visit Paris and not go). So I split off from my friends, taking the hour and a half walk to the Catacombs and planned on taking public transportation to the dinner plans we had afterwards. However, using apple maps to navigate to the bus station had drained my battery, leaving me with a dead phone. Additionally, the 14th of July is France’s independence day, in which it was remarkably busy with no buses going back into the city. With a dead phone and no idea of the exact location of the restaurant I was supposed to meet my friends at, I was entirely lost. My only option was to rely on the kindness of strangers to help me find my way. Keeping a positive attitude, I had to ask several strangers directions or to use their phones to contact my friends. After 3 hours, multiple blocked roads, a metro ride that was cut short by a lady kicking everyone off the train, and being ignored by locals numerous times, I made it to the restaurant, in which I was applauded by my friends. While the situation was a bit stressful, it was surprisingly some of the most fun that I had while I was in France. Because I was able to keep an open mind and boldly interact with the culture, I met some incredible people who were kind enough to help me tremendously (and an anthropologist who knows of a professor that I have next semester, what are the odds?).

French in Perpignan certainly was the adventure that I was seeking scrolling through the HogsAbroad page on that February night. But even more than that, the adventure and academics enabled me to grow in which I’ve become bolder, more empathetic, and less timid when it comes to interacting with different cultures. Additionally, knowing French is a priceless skill that will doubtless help my future career in Anthropology. I am incredibly fortunate and grateful for the Honors College in helping me attain this goal on such short notice, and to anybody on the fence about studying abroad, do it!