I arrived in Paris, France with the expectations of encountering stressful early mornings and non-stop classes. I was apprehensive about whether or not I'd have time to travel and explore the city while also juggling my academic life.
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| The textbooks for my classes & a great bookstore in Paris to buy them from |
I'm now two weeks into the semester and very pleasantly surprised. With classes like International Business, Haute Couture in Paris, Intermediate French, and a course at the Novancia Business School, Perspectives on Innovation, I was a little intimidated. However, after my first week of classes, I was able to adjust and adapt quickly to the new situation. Since the classes are taught in English (with the exception of Intermediate French), there was no language barrier at all - everything was perfectly understandable and reminiscent of the classes I've attended in my university back home.
The classes are lecture-based, but with a twist. Especially with the smaller class sizes, we were able to participate in class discussions and even interactive group excursions during class. Essentially, the professors utilize Paris itself as a classroom, which is an aspect of French learning that I feel should be applied to our classes at home. There's something about hands-on, interactive learning that imprints concepts in our minds and makes school a more interesting ordeal. For example, in my French class, we went on a scavenger hunt around the Montmartre area in Paris. It was truly amazing to be able to see the different sights, which were places that I never would have known to visit.
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| The Je T'aime Wall |
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| Where Amélie was filmed |
I study business administration, so I'm enrolled in the International Business program. This means that I also have a class at a local university, Novancia Business School, in addition to my CEA courses. The school has wonderful facilities, the professor knows the subject area well, and the students are either international or local. Just in one class session, I was able to meet other students from Norway, Germany, the Philippines, China, Brazil, the Netherlands, and more, which was a great experience to be exposed to different cultures. Though it is a different experience from CEA classes, there is no better way to adapt to the city than attending a local institution.
In addition, the class scheduling makes it easy for you to travel and discover the city. Most students have Friday off, which means that they can also visit other countries during the weekends. It just so happened that I only have class for three days every week!
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| In a park looking out to a street in Montmartre, Paris |
If you're on the fence about studying abroad, don't be. It seems a lot scarier than it really is. Especially because most, if not all, of the classes are taught in English, the structure is very similar to college classes in the U.S. In fact, it's even better, due to how interactive the classes are.
Kayla K. is the Fall 2016 CEA MOJO in Paris, France. She is currently a sophmore studying Business Administration, Criminal Justice, and Pre-Law at Point Loma Nazarene University.