Studying abroad these past few months in the south of France, specifically Aix-en-Provence has significantly opened my eyes to wonders, and differences of culture in Europe versus the United States. Specifically in France, there can be some negative stereotypes towards the French people, but I tried my best to not listen to those premonitions, and I think that not listening really affected my stay in such a positive way, and I was able to make my own judgements.
I am so grateful and blessed for my experience studying abroad. I have made friendships that will last a lifetime, and have experienced things that will impact my life positively forever. Observing back on my time, I really enjoyed being in a home-stay with such a wonderful home stay mom. I felt like I was apart of a family in France, which really helped me being so far away from home. The one negative part of living in a homestay was that it was a very far walk from town, and it impacted how much I went to town, and how often I got to see my friends at night. I feel as though coming into my trip, I was very focused on traveling as much as possible. If I were to ever have this experience again, or give suggestions to other students interested in studying abroad, I would definitely limit the places I would go to, and spend more time exploring my host country. I do regret not exploring more of France, and I really hope I get to do that one day in the future.
Taking off my own cultural glasses, and viewing this experience from someone from France, I could possibly be annoyed at Americans coming into my town, and not making any effort to speak the language or make any effort in respecting French culture. But I think that they would really appreciate the students who at least tried to speak the language (even if they are not fluent) and who are respectful, which I tried to do every day. I would also think that they would feel honored that we chose to come to their country, and town. I think they would be interested in learning from Americans, just as we are eager to learn things from them.
This exercise deepens my understanding of culture and how I view the entire world differently, and with more empathy and understanding that even though some cultures and traditions are different and may seem foreign to me, that these things are normal for the people in specific regions and areas, and that everyone should respect other people traditions and cultures, even if that means you do not fully understand them. This will help me navigate successfully in a multi-culture world because I have experienced a foreign culture, and I was immersed in it. At first it was scary and new, but as I experienced more, I grew to learn and love the French culture. This will help me in the future to not have stereotypes towards other cultures, and that before judging, you need to imagine yourself in the shoes of another person, and realize that their culture is their normal, just as yours is.