For over seven years, I have dedicated most of my life to studying French language and culture. During that long journey throughout high school and college, my goal has always been to improve each day so that one day I could go back to France.
Right after graduating high school in 2016, I participated in an exchange between the sister cities of my hometown, Lexington, Kentucky, and Deauville, France. Facilitated by Lexington Sister Cities, this three-week experience living abroad with my correspondent's host family solidified my desire to study French entering my freshman year at the University of Kentucky. Each year following, I have desperately tried to find ways to make my way back to Normandy (or France as a whole), but, of course, life will throw you unexpected obstacles and unforeseen circumstances that are completely out of your control. In hindsight, I would need that time away from the country that has become my home away from home -- to not only significantly improve my communication skills but also to gain more personal confidence as well as an appreciation for France.
I am most thankful for my patience to allow myself to grow before this past summer. A summer that would bring a ton of unforgettable memories, but one that would be by far the most challenging for me personally and professionally. I spent over eight weeks in France thanks to an opportunity given to me by the same organization I did the exchange through, with the help of their partnership with the jumelage in Deauville, France.
The primary purpose of this experience, of course, was to fulfill my internship duties.
This was not a trip to travel and be a tourist, a fact that I took very seriously. I was placed at the Paléospace museum in the small beach city Villers-sur-mer, where I felt welcomed every single day I walked through the doors. From my daily routine at the museum, which included translating documents to promote the museum and interacting with my coworkers, I was encouraged to speak French every single day and therefore received many opportunities to practice my speaking and listening abilities in a language I have fallen in love with.
After an initial period of nervousness and discomfort in a totally new environment, I learned to open up to my coworkers.
I tried my best to form meaningful bonds (ones that would assist me with my own work and also help me adapt to living abroad). Being a naturally quiet person, this was definitely the most demanding part of my experience abroad. Yet, I did not take this circumstance for granted and took advantage of my situation -- it's not every day you find yourself working in France.
From this internship opportunity, I achieved such incredible personal success from not only the strides I made with speaking French, but I have grown so much as a person and employee too.
Before arriving in Villers-sur-Mer, where I would spend a great deal of time, I was already confident in my abilities in French, but what I did not realize was that I would undergo the most formative moments in my language acquisition process so far. Once adapted in my living space and at work, everything positive about this experience overshadowed the obstacles I had to overcome because, in reality, I had to realize how I blessed I was to have such an amazing opportunity before graduating with my undergraduate degree.
Though, I believe what allowed me to succeed most were those moments of stress that I went through while in France.
From the brief moments of loneliness and homesickness to the stress caused by translating and speaking every day, I was required to find strategies to combat these challenges that were bound to happen. Each day, I would write down my thoughts and made a concerted effort to take some personal time in order to recover, and from this I allowed myself to see each day as a new one; I would not allow myself to dwell on the low moments and therefore I did all I could to enjoy each moment.
As a result, this internship was essential to my personal growth and has given me perspective about how I would like to move forward professionally.
Beyond that, traveling always gives me the chance to meet new people and, therefore, learn about different life perspectives, something I will forever regard as something everyone should aspire to do.
