le café court: france

How to Maximize Your Study Abroad Experience

Make the most of every opportunity. Don’t be vague and thoughtless, but live accurately and purposefully. Ephesians 5:15-17

I studied abroad in Nantes, France for eight months (from September to April 2015). Without a doubt, it was one of the best experiences of my life. To this day, I can still remember how excited and terrified I felt about my trip. I remember the amount of hours I spent creating packing lists, reading blogs, and watching YouTube videos of other students and their experiences abroad.

After watching these videos and reading these posts, I still felt like there was some advice that was missing. I realized that they were all subject to hindsight biases.

The La Vie en Rose effect:

La vie en rose effect of studying abroad

We only reminisce about the good times and the highlights and forget to pass on information about the challenges. I promised myself I would try to gather, record, and share some practical wisdom while on my exchange for other students preparing for a semester or year abroad. So without further adieu, here are my top five secrets for maximizing your study abroad experience:

#1. Write a list of goals.

Before you embark on your trip, write a list of personal and academic accomplishments. For example, if you want to work on your accent, vocabulary, oral expression, etc., write them down to add a sense of accountability for your actions. Try to remember why you're going abroad in the first place and remember how great of an opportunity you have in front of you. Research the region you are in and draft a list of places you want to go and things you want to see. It may seem like you have all the time in the world, but time will fly by so quickly! Of course, you can add more goals as you go along, but the earlier you start, the better.

#2. Document everything!

Do you like to write? Make a blog. Is photography your thing? Take a ton of photos! Don't listen to what other people say and bring your nice camera abroad. It's worth the hassle. Plus, these photos are for a lifetime. Get a journal or start a blog. It's a great way to remember names and distant places you might have forgotten otherwise. Then, once you're home, you can always look back and see how much you've grown and how things have changed.

#3. It's okay to be (a little) selfish.

If you're studying abroad with a group of students from your own country or university, don't feel obligated to spend 100% of your time with them. Sounds harsh? Not really, and I'll explain why. Improving your language skills takes time and dedication. This means leaving the people and customs that you're familiar with in order to fully immerse yourself into a new culture. This will be difficult, awkward, and extremely uncomfortable at times (especially when you're feeling tired, lonely, or homesick) but don't give up.

#4. Time is precious.

Don’t sit back to "wait to see what happens". Make it happen. Spending hours in your room (on social media, swiping your life away) is not making the most of your experience abroad. Continuously reevaluate what you’re doing and how you’re spending your time. Be daring, ask questions, and reach out to people. Also, reach out to your professors. They're brilliant people with interesting stories, and they genuinely care about your success. They might even help you with #1, as they understand the study abroad process and can offer tips and advice.

#5. Get involved and meet some locals.

You’ll probably become extremely close to your floor mates and other students in your program, which is great! But you’ll find that breaking out of your regular group of friends is crucial if you want to meet the locals. Making friends with locals will open a whole new side to your study abroad experience. This will take some effort and creativity because most academic exchanges have fixed schedules with the same students that (usually) speak English. If possible, try to sign up for a class or a club with other students. In my experience in France, I found that French students generally stay in tight knit groups, and that they are more open to making new friends in clubs and societies.

And here's a bonus tip:

#6. Difficulties aren't meant to defeat you.

When you're in a tough spot or if someone is giving you a hard time (i.e. rude strangers, difficult landlord, slow administration), just remember this. Anybody can get bitter, resentful, and homesick. That's easy. Be a warrior! Dig your heels in and keep being your best. Life is funny, so always be good to people. You have to remind yourself that progress takes time, and that somewhere out there, other students are also going through the same experience as you.

Where are you heading? Have any additional advice? Feel free to leave a comment in the box below :)

Best of luck on your exchange! xx

If you look closely, there's so much to see out there

No commentaires

, by Le café court

architecture

Menton

No commentaires

, by Le café court

contemporary art

Palais de Tokyo

If you want to get to know somebody, go to the museum with them.

I think one of the best ways to get to know someone is through quiet observation. It sounds kind of creepy, but let me explain, haha! The idea occurred to me during a night at the museum with friends. We visited Palais de Tokyo, a contemporary art museum in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. They presented 'Do Disturb' a festival combining art, music, and theatre under one roof. I'd describe it as a chaotic playground of art. Alternative music permeated through the concrete walls of the exhibition. Eclectic would be an understatement. Depending on your preferences, some would say it's art, others would say the contrary.

As my friend puts it simply, art is supposed to make you feel something. I would add that it creates dialogue. It challenges us to assimilate colours, lighting, textures, and moods in order to share our interpretations with those around us. How we decide what to read, scan, skip, and stare at fascinates me. Especially when it's contemporary art because you will come across some outlandish, and quite frankly, disturbing things.

"Hey, what do you think about this?" My curiousity gets the best of me and I cave in. I'm desperate to hear my friends opinion on the work of art in front of us. Their response can say so many things. First of all, if they are willing to share their opinion with me. Then, how seriously they take the work or art, if they have a light sense of humour, their maturity, their sensitivity to outlandish things or lack there of, etc.

What are they drawn to? I find it fascinating that we are all drawn to different things. From the moment that you step into an exhibit, you make choices. Your eyes scour the room, eager to devour the first piece of art that catches your attention. After the first collection, you feel yourself loosen up a bit as you saunter over to next piece that sparks your curiosity. Are you both drawn to the same things?

After much debate, we decided that this piece should be donned "la liberté cassée"

More importantly, going in a museum with another individual requires a special technique. You wander off, both going your separate ways, all the while keeping an eye on each other. Panic sets in when you haven't seen them in your peripheral vision in the past five minutes. You stay still and thoroughly survey the crowded room. At last, your eyes connect from the opposite end of the exhibit. Relieved, you join them and move on to the next room together. When you struggle to create a system for moving around the museum, it can feel like you're dragging someone around rather than enjoying it together.

Interpretation: criticism of religion, the empty search (fishing) for truth.

Next, their analysis of the work shows what kind of thinker they are. My favourite part, haha. For example, my friend, who studies law, kept everything concise and practical. This must be x because of y. He always had a theory to explain how everything worked. My other friend, majoring in English, explored ideas around the unknown. She produced ideas not only outside of the box, but outside of the whatever room that box was originally in... I chuckled in amusement, delighting in all of their witty answers.

An important one. Are they patient? You'll know towards the end of the museum visit. My friend and I examined the photos below for about twenty minutes. My other guy friends huffed and puffed, then finally resorted to texting on their cellphones. So, are we ready to go yet? Seeing them visibly irritated, I felt sorry for holding them up, and we returned to the welcome area.