It hardly seems possible but Holly is now halfway through her Study Abroad program in France. The Summer of 2012 is just whizzing by.
I can’t believe that it has been more than two weeks since we drove with her to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta to see her off.
Since she arrived in France, Holly has been staying in touch with us fairly regularly and giving updates about her studies and travels, mostly via email. We were able to Skype with her last week and that was fun.
All of the academic courses are taught by French professors but the students are all internationals. Her art class, for example, sounds like a gathering of the U.N. It features students from Sweden, Russia, Slovakia, Japan and China (as well as a few fellow American students).
Naturally, they all speak French, as it is the common language in the group. She was telling me the Swedish students are a very fun group. I suggested she might ask them about Kalle Anka and she said she would definitely do that. She said that would be a good conservation starter for some day when everyone is quiet (which, I gather, is somewhat rare).
Over the weekend, the group of American students travelled to the Basque region of France and visited the city of St. Jean Pied de Port. Later, the group visited the coastal town of St. Jean de Luz. She said she was really struck by the fact that, just a year ago, she swam in the waters off the Atlantic Coast of N.C. and this summer, she was swimming in the Atlantic Ocean on the other side of the world.
Considering we were also viewing the Pacific Coast just a few weeks ago, she has really seen some amazing and diverse sites over the past 12 months.
Her home stay is going very well, too. She has a beautiful room and a supportive French family. On July 4th, she said, they hosted a party (it wasn’t so much an actual July 4th party as much as it was a party on July 4th!).
Knowing Holly, I feel sure she is squeezing every ounce out of this experience. I know she has made some great friends and took some wonderful photos. I also know she will hate to see this Study Abroad experience come to an end.
JG
Originally posted 7/9/2012
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