We are proud that we have two scholarship winners and a strong runner-up that will be joining us this summer! We will be posting all three entries on three different days! Here is one of the three scholarship entries, written by Natalie from Canada!
There are so many benefits to studying abroad, which I have had the pleasure of experiencing first hand and hope to continue to take part in such a unique experience. Last summer I spent a month in Nice, France with a host family in hopes of improving my French and experiencing a new culture. My trip did just that and more. My French improved drastically, I eventually became comfortable in a foreign environment with people I had just met and I was completely immersed in a very fascinating culture. This was my first trip abroad without my family, so I was not really sure what to expect and was a little nervous. However, after about a week into my trip, I became completely comfortable with my friendly host family and really started picking up on new French words and phrases that I had not learned in school. To me, my eight years of taking French prior to this trip could not measure to actually living in the culture and language that I had heard about in school. While I had learned grammar in school and written French, this opportunity allowed for me to learn what real French people actually say in everyday lives, which I believe made all the difference in my French improving. Spending a long period of time in a new culture is sure |
Wonderful blog post Natalie! We can’t wait to see more posts from you this summer!