Great Expectations
I have been dreaming of studying abroad since I was thirteen and it is surreal that I have been in France for a little over two weeks now. This experience has been amazing, eye-opening, and difficult all at the same time. Even for a girl, I didn't know that it was possible to have this many emotions running through you at the same time. I for sure never thought thought that it was possible to learn so much of any language in the short time that I have been here. But as the saying goes-its survival of the fittest, and no matter how hard the situation, you will and must adjust to survive; or suffer the dire consequences.
For this semester abroad I have to say that I have many goals but that since I have been here they have changed a little, since this experience has made me be a little more realistic in my goals. Since I have wanted to study abroad since middle school, I feel that before this trip I set my goals rediculously high. I idolized the trip and it was hard to accept the flaws that come with studying abroad. I knew that not everything could be perfect, but I still in the back of my mind hoped that everything would be. And while in all actuality nothing catastrophic actually happened, as there is no such thing as a perfect trip, or a perfect world.
I hope that this semester brings a new experience every day as it has so far. I find myself adjusting and immersing myself into this new and slightly bizzare culture everyday. I hope to be able to immerse myself into the French culture completely and by the end of my experience, to not find the culture bizzare, but interesting and different. I also hope to accept and embrace it for what it is, no matter how different it is from the "normal" American culture that I am accustomed to. I have realized how immersed I already am because last night my housemate Lindsay and I were talking about how much we were going to miss the daily fresh baguettes and french cheese when we went home.
Academically, like most other study abroad students, I hope to really excel and learn the French language. And though I ovbiously do not think that I will become fluent in four months, but it would be nice to see how far I have come at the end of this experience. I hope to find and solidify my idea(s) for my international studies senior comp. That way I can really start my junior sem and pre-comp on the right foot. I also am interested in learning and exploring the different ways that classes are taught in Europe and how they differ from language classes taught in the US. Because after all this whole experience is about learning, accepting, and enjoying the difference in these two immensely different cultures....and oh, yeah, learning french...