At the start of the spring term, Choate welcomed back a group of students who had spent the frigid winter abroad, studying in France.
Fifteen students studied abroad this past winter: Kashi Elliott ’09, Laura Zdanski ’09, Alexandra Lundgren ’09, Sarah Gromet ’09, Toby Armour ’10, Nanna Waldroup ’09, Ryan Geddes ’09, Tatiana Gonzalez ’09, Sean Carey ’09, Cyril Pietrafesa ’09, Bowen Kelley ’09, Tathiana Marcelin ’09, Laura Stephenson ’09, Jesse Brent ’09, and Ed Woodhouse ’09.
The France term abroad program, headed by Mr. Carl Hermey, a former Choate French teacher, is a two month-long language immersion program in which a select group of students study in Paris and live with Parisian families. As a prerequisite to studying abroad, students must be placed, at the bare minimum, in the 300-level class before the program begins.
While the popularity of French at Choate has declined in the past few years, interest in the France term abroad program has not declined.
Hermey, who has now organized the program for three years, said, “It is important to go abroad because it is a way for students to change their ideas and see the world in a broader way.”
In Paris, the students study French art, language, history, literature, and culture at the Centre Sèvres, a seminar center located on the Left Bank of the Seine River, the waterway that divides France’s capital into two distinct halves. The Left Bank is home to the Eiffel Tower, the Panthéon, and Montparnasse, while the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe are situated on the Right Bank.
The students studying in France were instructed by Jean-Paul Jannot and Elizabeth Jannot, French natives who have been teaching Choate term abroad students since 1977.
Though all of the students raved about their experiences abroad, they also found that it took time to adjust to Parisian life. Kashi Elliott ’09 said, “[When we first arrived] it was really odd. There was definitely that feeling of homesickness because although when we are at Choate, most of us are separated from our families, in France home is an entire ocean away. When we were in Wallingford you see a lot of familiar faces and you have an identity, whereas in Paris you feel tiny and miss being part of the community.”
However, it seems that the students quickly acclimated to Parisian life, molding into the culture that surrounded them for two months.
Hermey posits, “Some students are hesitant to study abroad because they do not want to sacrifice their schedules, but doing a term abroad is a breath of fresh air. No one regrets doing it, even though it is hard at the beginning because for the first time, you are the foreigner.”
While they spent the majority of their time in Paris, the students traveled to Antibes, Cannes and Nice, cities located on the southeastern coast of France. Elliott remarks, “Nice looked just like southern California—it had palm trees everywhere!”
In Antibes the group stayed in a fort for young athletes that served far from delectable food. “I had heard of mystery meat, but it was only there that I actually encountered it,” said Elliott.
It seems, however, that the pros outweighed the cons of their time spent in France. Elliott exclaims, “I am really happy that I went [abroad]. It was surreal. My favorite part of the experience was familiarizing myself with a well-known city.”
After experiencing one of the largest cultural and historical centers in the world, the transition back to Choate life was far from easy. Of course, it was comforting to return home, but the students missed France. They no longer could enjoy frequently dining at cafés, seeing French monuments on a daily basis, or taking the metro from place to place.
Mr. Hermey said, “An aspect of going abroad that students seem to overlook is who they will room with when they return.”
In addition to adjusting to having a new roommate, one of the most difficult adjustments was the re-adaptation to speaking in English after having spoken almost completely in French for two months. Elliott remarks, “The first couple of days back I would ask strangers questions in French—simple things, like directions or the time.”
Their deep immersion into the French world allowed students to appreciate and learn firsthand about a culture other than their own.
And, of course, as the students’ French speaking and writing skills have significantly improved, they have moved up in the realm of the language department. Now they tackle the challenge of acclimatizing to more advanced French classes.
