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I suppose that studying abroad has always been something I knew I was going to do, but it wasn’t until I attended one of the OIE sponsored study abroad fairs that I actually sat down and decided how to physically make it happen. After about a year’s worth of planning, I was fortunate enough to travel to Aix-en-Provence, France with two of my Auburn classmates for the spring semester 2009. I don’t want to pretend that the trip was consistently perfect, as it was often trying to be in a foreign environment where everything (even if it is Europe) is not quite the way it is at home, but I wouldn’t change my experience for anything. Indeed, the people I’ve met and the things I’ve learned and the ways I’ve changed exceed the few moments of homesickness and culture shock by an immeasurable distance.
     My city, known affectionately as Aix, is located in the sunny southern region of Provence. It is about a 30 minute bus ride from the Mediterranean coast, which makes for an often difficult temptation during warm class days! Aix is an ancient city, with a history stretching back into Medieval, Greek, and Roman eras as well as more recent times (it’s the famed hometown of Emile Zola and Paul Cézanne.) It has a nearly perfect climate, averaging about 300 days of sun each year, and is situated in one of the most famed geographical (and gastronomical) regions in the world.
     Because my real purpose of being in France was to learn more about the language and culture, I was enrolled in a local foreign language institute that catered to students from all over the world. In my class alone there were students from Germany, Korea, Japan, Syria, Nigeria, China, Sweden, and America. Although it was often hard to communicate, as French was the only language many of us had in common, this diversity added so much to our classes and it was one of my very favorite aspects about the institute. I was also extremely pleased with the caliber of my professors, the majority of whom went out of their way to make sure we understood, enjoyed, and actually gained something from our classes.
     But because this is France I’m talking about (and we all know how much they value their vacation time!), I was also able to spend a great deal of time traveling during my 3 weeks of school vacation. My program took us to several interesting places in the region, including Monaco, Carnival in Nice, a perfume factory in Eze, a bullfight in the Camargue, Marseille, Arles, and Cannes. I decided to venture out a little further during my longer vacations and was actually able to spend time in Egypt, several cities in Italy, and Paris.
     I think it could be said that my time abroad has been perhaps the best spent time of my life. Not only was I able to live in Europe for 4 months and enjoy all the benefits that the continent has to offer (like bakeries everywhere!), but I was able to encounter some of the best people in the world. Although it was hard to come back to the States, I’ve been excited to recount all my adventures and to encourage everyone I know to participate in a study abroad trip. It was the most rewarding experience of my life and it’s made me all the more ready for future world travels!