Salut! Welcome to Girl on the Rhine, the blog that will document my year studying abroad in Westhouse, France. There are hundreds of reasons to study abroad, but one certainly influenced my decision the most. Studying abroad forces you to become bilingual.
I’m not quite sure why I love French so much. Maybe it’s because of my incredible teacher or the fact that we don’t have much homework in his class, but French has been my favorite subject for the past three years. At this point, I feel fairly secure in my knowledge of the language. I can conjugate regular and irregular verbs, I’ve memorized chapters and chapters of vocabulary, and I can tell you all about Les Trois Mousquetaires or Cyrano de Bergerac. Now, my goal is to achieve an honest understanding of the language in practice, which you simply cannot learn in the classroom.
The idea of studying abroad has sat idly in the back of my mind for the past few years. I began perusing the AFS website, which quickly lead to stalking study abroad blogs, and then to researching high school programs obsessively. Persuading my parents was never an issue; my mother lived in Germany throughout high school and my father took two years abroad before going to college. They've both been incredibly encouraging the entire entire time. I have to admit, while the plausibility of such a huge endeavor excited me, it always felt like some plan in the distant future, even after applying for my program. However, after receiving my host family placement and flight details, applying for a visa, and going to my pre-departure orientation, it suddenly feels incredibly and overwhelmingly real.
In fact, September 3rd, my date of departure, is like a giant essay deadline or exam date looming over me. It’s immensely stressful and generally terrifying, in a simultaneously exhilarating way.
I officially have 37 more days to get myself together. Souhaitez-moi bonne chance!
