Why I Chose to Study in France

When my older sister studied abroad during her junior year of college and returned home with a plethora of exciting stories, new memories, and friends from around the world, I knew that I also wanted to spend a semester exploring a different country. I wanted to follow in her footsteps and go out of my comfort zone and try something completely new.

So, during the first month of my junior year, I began to research different places where I could study in the Spring. Fordham has a whole website dedicated to searching their dozens of study abroad programs, meaning that I could study virtually anywhere in the world. Going in, I knew that I wanted to study somewhere in Europe. My sister had studied in India for her semester, and while she really enjoyed it, I wanted to go somewhere that was a little closer to home.

At Fordham, students are required to take four semesters of a language. During my fall semester of my junior year, I was in the process of taking my third semester of French, a language that I took online in high school but because I did not retain any of the information I learned during those three years of French, I essentially had to start from scratch my freshman year of college. Because I still had one semester of French left to take, I wanted to find a study abroad program that would allow me to take French and finish off my four semester requirement so I did not have to worry about it my senior year.

There were several programs in France that Fordham offered, however most of them required students to be fluent in French because classes were taught primarily in French. Although I was good at memorizing French vocab, and I knew how to have a basic conversation, there was no way I was going to be able to take a class in French and understand even half of what was being taught.

Luckily, I came across the study abroad program in Reims, France, where classes are taught in both French AND English. The university, called SciencesPo, is known for its political science classes and many notable French politicians have attended the school. Because SciencesPo checked off both of the options on my list (it had French language classes and regular classes taught in English) I knew that I wanted to attend this university.

Although the language class ended up being much more intensive than I imagined, as there were six hours of French class a week and it was taught exclusively in French, I am so glad that I picked Reims as my home away from home. Because my major is Digital Media, and SciencesPo specializes in political science and history, I was able to take a few classes that did not relate to my major, but ended up being very interesting, such as Entrepreneurship. Ultimately, I am so glad that I chose France as the place to finish off my fourth semester of French. Not only did I get to live with four French roommates and get to practice my French with people on the street and with the very patient woman in the boulangerie everyday, but I also got the opportunity to explore a lesser-known region in France for five months, which proved to be a unique and unforgettable experience. Whether you go to a completely different country like India, or a place closer to home, like France, I guarantee that you too will return home with exciting stories, new memories, and friends from around the world.

One Second a Day

When I left for France, I wanted to make sure that I documented my journeys so I did not forget all the experiences that I had. I briefly considered keeping a journal, but I wanted something that would capture the sights and sounds of my journey as well as my memories. Then, I came across the app, "1 Second Everyday," and I realized it would be perfect. Basically, with this app, you take a one second video every day, and at the end of the year (or however long you want to keep taking videos), the app compiles the videos together into a roughly seven minute long video.

By taking a one second video everyday during my time in France, it made me want to make the most of everyday, because who wants to see a seven minute video of me staying inside and watching Netflix. Although some days it was tough to find an exciting moment to capture, I managed to stick to my goal and take a video everyday.

Now, looking back at my videos from January through May, seeing the one-second snippet from each day sparks my memory of everything I did during that day, even if it was as simple as what I was cooking for dinner that night.

To give you an idea of how this app works, here is the one-second a day mashup from this February.

Even though not every video is that exciting, each clip gives a perspective of a day through my eyes and gives a sense of what my daily life was like in France. I highly recommend using this app, or even just saving a one-second video a day to your camera roll so you can remember every moment... even the rainy days spent inside watching Netflix.