I am thankful for the world of opportunity that I’ve been given. I am thankful for the people I’ve met and the history I’ve seen. I am thankful for home, too. France, obviously, does not do Thanksgiving. The fact that the IAU tried was lovely – we ate strange turkey (we think?) and stuffing and…
Category: France: IAU College
Study Abroad: The Gray Area
I’m at the halfway point in the semester where I’m feeling a lot of things about my abroad trip. Aix has become a home to me – not to the same extent as my home home, but enough of a home where I can crave my bed even whilst gallivanting around metropolitan Scotland. I’m happy to…
Return from Fall Break
Happy Election Day! I’m over in France, terrified about the state of the world in the next twelve hours, as is every other study abroad student at my school. What a way to celebrate. Let’s not think about that. In other news, I have just returned from Fall Break, a ten day pause in life…
Some Ramblings
I’ve been here for over a month now. I still feel like a guest in France’s home, but Aix-en-Provence is definitely settling into my bones. I require real French cheese at least once a day. I’m sad when the outdoor markets aren’t open. I’ve also developed an addiction to madelines, some sort of God-sent muffin-cookie…
Abroad Thoughts
It’s bizarre to think I’ve only been in Aix for a little over a week. Both my housemate and I agree that in spite of our unwavering awe with being here, we feel as though we’ve been here for ages. I’ve got the walk through Cours Mirabeau down. I know the general suggestion-rule to stay…
Au Revoir, America
Welp. Here I am. Not in France yet, but closer than I’ve ever been before. I’m sitting in London Heathrow, waiting for the afternoon to arrive so I can board a plane to Marseille, a city a half-hour from Aix. London Heathrow is a familiar yet unfamiliar void, filled to capacity with crowds and shops…
The Chance of a Lifetime
I didn’t mean to lose sight of my desire to study abroad when I first transferred to Rollins. I merely forgot about the goal as I navigated my way around Rollins life. Somewhere in my second semester, it occurred to me: “I’m a junior, I’m graduating in a year – shouldn’t I do the very…
Saying Au Revoir
It took a while to really have time to reflect on the months in France. There is so much to process and sift through. The final week of being in France blew by, between all the work that was assigned to us and all the exams we had, I was a ball of stress. My…
Traveling Around
April 30th, 2016 When studying in Europe, multiple things influence the facility of travel. If you’re lucky enough, you wont have class on a Monday or Friday, which will give you the opportunity to really enjoy your weekends. I was really lucky to have family friends that lived around Europe, so my roommate and I…
The Academic Change
March 28th, 2016 I’m going to talk a little bit about the academics of IAU. I feel like that is something that I didn’t know very much about when I went into the program. IAU is an American university institution here in France. In my particular case, I chose to take classes that would count…