After deciding last minute (we're talking senior year in college), I said screw it. I don't care…read moreif I leave my boyfriend behind. I'm not missing out on my chance to study abroad (also known as living the high life) in Cannes France for a semester. WIth the help of my parents, the OU study abroad office, and some research online, I decided to go through AIFS or American Institute for Foreign Study.
I chose Cannes because of the beach, the festival (which I had an internship during), and the beauty and laid-backness of living in the South of France, or the Riviera.
Upon arrival to the college, I knew it was going to be one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had. The collège itself is a private institution of higher education, specializing in the french language and civilization. The whole goal is to bring foreign students together for high quality courses and cultural exchange.
It's a beautiful, and smaller campus offering 22 classrooms, 110 dorms (singles, doubles, or triples) with MAID service, a lovely dining hall, a library, tv room, theater, fitness center (small and older equipment), volleyball and bball courts, and le foyer (which is where most of the fun went down) which is equipped with a pool table and you can purchase sandwiches and paninis (quite possibly cigarettes and wine now too).
The staff is super friendly and helpful, only speaking French with you, but that's the goal, right?! They also offer many outside activities/excursions during student leisure time, some free, some $$.
One thing that was super helpful to me since most of the friends I made were American, was the "langue-échange" program. The school matched you up with natives from Cannes who had an interest in learning more English. You would spend 6-8 hours a week with them, conversing half the time in English and half the time in French. This proved to be very beneficial.
I also took advantage of the corporate internships which were available for students who spoke French at at least an intermediate level. I scored an internship with E! International during le festival du film, which was awesome! It was a lot of office/clerical work, but I also did get to go out on shoots and interviews. I saw so many famous people and was able to attend a few screenings during the festival. So much fun!
This is definitely an amazing place to study abroad and the collège couldn't have been more helpful making it the experience of a lifetime. I also made some lifelong friends, whom I'm still in touch with to this day--6 years later. I just wish I would've studied abroad my junior year, because had that been the case, I would've been calling my parents half way through the semester stating, see you next year. I'll be going to Paris to complete my full study abroad year :)
