Monica in Conques
During her first semester, Monica took advantage of her time in France to – of course –discover France! Nizas, Conques, Carcassonne, Paris, Strasburg, Albi, Cannes, Nice…not bad for a first taste of the country. A few reflections on her travels? She « loved Côte d’Azur », where she visited a friend from high school, but she couldn’t help but make a comparison. Her friend’s study abroad program is “much more protected: she reads books in English for her classes, she lives in a dorm with other Americans, she doesn’t have to leave the building to go to class.” Another girl on the program talked to her about a weekend during which she only spoke French, an endeavour which she found difficult for such a long period of time. Monica thought “ah, that’s my everyday life!”, but she also said : “I would feel frustrated…I’m happy to live with a French family and to study in a Toulouse university.”
Also in Nice, Monica realized how drastic regional differences are in France. The “niçois” accent and “provençal” language seemed much more “italian” than the Toulouse accent and occitan, which themselves are more “Spanish-sounding,” and the Strasburg accent was definitely more “German.” She reflected: “I imagine that Brittany is also more celtic.” Such diversity within one single country.