Me on an excursion organized by my program at the Exotic Garden in Èze, a small village near Monaco

Author: Tyler Kuper | Major: Computer Science | Semester: Fall 2023

My experience studying abroad this past fall semester was my first time leaving the country and I had no idea what to expect. Sure I did my research and watched all the YouTube videos, but I hadn’t actually experienced it for myself. Of course I was nervous and unsure at first, but after all is said and done I had an amazing, unforgettable, and eye-opening adventure. Not only did I explore the south of France, but also many different nearby European countries. The friends I met, new cultures I learned of, and unique experiences I made are just some of the few reasons why I will never regret studying abroad. Not only that, but I can now communicate in French and have actual conversations entirely in the language.

I chose the CEA CAPA program for French Language and Culture in Aix-en-Provence, France. Not many people are aware of Aix-en-Provence, it is a smaller town in the south of France just outside of Marseille that has around the same population as Fayetteville, Arkansas. I chose this program because I wanted to experience studying in a small town instead of the big city experience like Paris. I do not regret making this decision as the people here are more welcoming to those new to the language and it was not nearly as crowded. I also attended the largest French-speaking university in the world, Aix-Marseille University.

I started my exchange at AMU with a lot of nervousness due to the fact that all of my classes would be entirely in French. I had already taken a couple of years of French already before the fact, but I was still unconfident in my abilities to speak and listen. Luckily, the classes were very accommodating and made sure that they could answer all of your questions to help understand what was happening in our lessons. I was placed at a B1 level in a class of around 16 international students. This class was the first time I experienced being around students from so many different cultures as I was only one of two Americans in the class, the others being from all around the world. My best friend I became close with in class was Makoto, a Japanese student my age who was learning English and French at the same time. My courses included a main class which taught the French language and improved my writing, reading, speaking, and listening, a cinema dialogue elective, a French speaking elective, and also a phonetics class we had once a week. Classes were structured differently than they are in the U.S. as grades are scored out of 20 with a different sort of scale and much less graded work.

My French had improved enormously across the almost four months I spent in Aix-en-Provence. Taking classes entirely in the language for around 18 hours a week, along with being surrounded by it made the process much easier than it ever would have been learning in the US. The fact that I could speak entirely in another language and have a decent conversation makes me extremely excited and also glad that I took the time to learn the intricacies of French conversation and also slang.

France has its fair share of stereotypes in the US and they are absolutely aware of them, but they don’t get too offended. The berets, baguettes, and striped shirts are all fun and jokes, although the one stereotype that I didn’t understand was that they are rude people. Everyone I met in Aix was very friendly and helpful when I needed to ask questions. One thing I really appreciated is that they would respect when someone wanted to try to practice their French and not immediately switch to English. The people in Aix definitely had their personality, but it’s slightly more reserved and quiet than other places. The bread, cheese, lavender, etc. are all things that I miss and will be excited to have again once I eventually return. Especially the pain au chocolats, those are amazing.

If I had to give any advice to those who are planning on studying abroad I would say to keep an open mind and try to “yes” a lot more. Go do things that aren’t in your comfort zones and meet new people. But more practically, don’t pack heavy, you will buy things there. Also, make sure to have a decent amount of spending money, it gets expensive quickly. Trust me.

Overall, I would say if you are thinking about studying abroad, do it. College is one of the few times in your life that you can afford to do things like this. I am so thankful for the University of Arkansas for giving me the ability to have this special opportunity. CEA was also a very accommodating program that had amazing excursion plans along with genuinely great on-site coordinators. I am going to miss the friends I made in my classes and from the program. I am going to miss the chocolate croissants. I am just going to miss France. But the U.S. isn’t so bad either. We have Chick-fil-a, of course.