My Gift to You—A Free Ebook: “International Students—Inviting the World Into Your Home”
“Once the travel bug bites, there is no known antidote, and I know that I will be happily infected until the end of my life.” —Micheal Palin
You may have already read the following excerpt on “My Story” page, but this is really where my life as a “global nomad” began.
I have been living abroad in my childhood dreams since the age of 9—in my 4th-grade class—when I first encountered France and its beautiful language and culture. Returning home from school that day, I told my mother, “I’m going to live in France one day!” I caught my dream that day, and I never let it go!
My love for France and the French language grew throughout the years.
One day, while sitting in a college French literature class, I heard a quote by a famous French philosopher that would forever change my life.
Montesquieu said, “Teaching is learning twice.”
That day, I decided that I wanted to spend my life learning languages and cultures and sharing my passion with others.
Studying the French language, literature, and education would open doors for me to study abroad in France for a year at the age of 19.
This year abroad began as a nanny (au pair) in a tiny village north of Paris. My life changed during my first week when I met my future French husband and fell in love. We have now been married for 22 years and have four awesome boys.
Our shared love and passion for learning foreign languages and living in different cultures would lead us both to pursue our master’s degrees in inter-cultural studies and to travel to more than 30 countries.
Our life has been “across borders,” “across cultures,” and “across languages” ever since.
The Beginning of My Journey
How did I begin my journey across the Atlantic Ocean from America to France?
I sat in my French class that day, realizing that I wanted to teach others the language and culture that I loved.
My French was good, but not THAT good—definitely not good enough to teach.
I had been studying French since the age of 9, but I was far from being fluent.
I’m convinced that you cannot learn a language in a classroom. You can master “classroom French” or “classroom Spanish,” etc., but immersion in the language and culture—in my opinion—is the only way to truly learn a language.
I knew that I had to get to France!
Gathering Information
I honestly don’t remember doing research on the internet. These were the days when we gathered information from human beings. I walked into the “International Student Office” of my university and asked for information on how to study abroad in France. The advisor gave me information on the various universities who had partnerships with my university in Missouri.
It didn’t take me long to research, select a French university that corresponded to my degree, and fill out the application.
For my study abroad year, I selected “L’Université de Franche-Comté” in Besançon, on the eastern side of France. It specialized in foreign language education.
My dream was about to become a reality, and my precious mother didn’t hold me back, My family did nothing but support me and encourage me to explore the world.
My Gift to You—A Free Ebook: “International Students—Inviting the World Into Your Home”
Wanderlust Blood
We obviously had wanderlust running through our blood.
My older sister had studied abroad as an AFS foreign exchange student in Greece during her junior year of high school. She had also studied abroad in Mexico during her university years.
After acceptance into the French university program, they put me in contact with other students in the area who were heading to the same school in France. I quickly made contact with a sweet girl from Kansas, Ann, and we met up for dinner. We were instantly friends, and we would eventually become life-long friends in France and beyond.
Leaving My “Land of Familiar”
At the age of 19, I boarded a plane in Kansas City, Missouri with two giant suitcases (the good ‘ole days of two pieces of free luggage!) and a bicycle. Pure insanity!
I left the comfort of my family, the American culture, and the English language to head to Paris. I was greeted at the Charles de Gaulle Airport by my dear high school French teacher, “Madame,” who was traveling in France that summer.
She took me under her wings and introduced me to the French language and culture “on the ground”—the same French language and culture that she had been teaching me in the classroom for four years. It was quite different to experience it—to see it, to hear it, to taste it, to feel it, to smell it. That cannot happen in a classroom. France came to life for me!
After a weekend of Parisian life with “Madame,” I was off on my next adventure!
I was going to be a “nanny” (au pair) for a French family in a tiny village about one hour north of Paris. (More on how all that happened in a later post.)
Intensive Language and Culture
My level of French language needed to drastically improve in the next three months. In September, I was headed to a French university where I would be fully immersed and integrated into the public university system. My fellow classmates would be French college students, and I was going to somehow have to keep up!
Taking care of a three-year-old boy and a three-month-old baby girl for those three summer months, living with my “French family,” and meeting my future husband quickly improved my French-speaking skills.
Only God knew that I was placed in that little village for more than an exciting nanny experience. I would meet Vincent, the love of my life, during my first week there!
(When interviewing Liisa and Joe for my previous story, “What is it Like to be a Foreign Exchange Student?, we realized that our “love stories” are very similar. I assure you—it’s quite rare for foreign exchange students to fall in love with their future spouses during their young teenage years abroad. However, that was clearly our case!)
French University Life
In September, I took the train to my university in Besançon.
I was placed with another foreign exchange student in a student apartment. For personal reasons, I decided to move out and rent an apartment with my American friend from Kansas. That’s how we became life-long friends.
We were fully immersed with French university students, and we had to study intensively to keep up! It probably took us 4 times as long to read the textbooks and do the homework as the French students, but we were motivated and determined.
Myriam became my “best French friend” in France. She was studying to be an English teacher, and I was studying to be a French teacher. We had many of our foreign language education classes together. She was a huge help to me and often passed me her class notes when I couldn’t keep up with the professor’s rapid lectures.
Adopted!
Myriam’s family quickly adopted my American roommate and I. They would often invite us to their home on the weekends so that we could experience authentic French family life.
Her parents enjoyed preparing some of their regional specialities like Raclette (a machine that melts white “Raclette” cheese poured over baked potatoes, eggs, ham, and sausage) and wild boar. Yummy!
After dinner, we would head to the local discothèque with Myriam’s village friends for a night of dancing. It was truly full cultural immersion!
France “Love Life”
Vincent studied 3 1/2 hours away, but we were determined to see each other. Almost every week, on Thursday night—after my last class, I would take the train to Reims (the champagne capital of the world) where Vincent was studying at the university. Friday afternoon, after his last class, we would drive to his village north of Paris and stay with his family. On Sunday night, he would drive me back to Besançon and then return to his university the following morning. That was our weekly routine of travel and romance!
I accomplished my childhood dream that year—I went to France, and I learned about language, culture, love, and life along the way.
My first study abroad year would give me a serious case of “global fever.” It’s incurable once you have it, and it’s highly contagious!
And beware, you just might fall in love!
My mother always jokes, “I never should have let you go to France that first year. You fell in love and never wanted to come home!” WARNING TO ALL PARENTS!
—The Cultural Story-Weaver
My Gift to You—A Free Ebook: “International Students—Inviting the World Into Your Home”
Let’s Weave Cultures!
Have you ever studied abroad? If so, write about your study abroad experience in the “comment” box below.
Or perhaps you desire to be a foreign exchange student and don’t know where to begin? Feel free to ask me questions in the “comment” box below. I will be happy to help you!
Maybe you would love to host a foreign exchange student and don’t know where to begin?
Check out our free download, “How to Host an International Student.”
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures!” Write about them in the comment box below.
