France: Pau - French Language and European Studies

The USAC Pau program provides numerous opportunities for all students learning French. The academic set-up of this program is to give all students an equal chance to learn French according to their abilities and speed. The onsite staff and professors greatly encouraged and supported all students regardless of level and that gave us a welcoming and accommodating feeling in a city we were new to. In addition to the in-class academics, USAC organized tours and field trips throughout the semester to nearby cities and towns. Not only did it give us the chance to improve our French outside of the classroom, but to also get acquainted to our surroundings and the culture of Southwest France.

The city itself is undeniably picturesque. The main street in Pau, Boulevard des Pyrenees, where much of the night life can be found, has the backdrop of the Pyrenees mountain range. With that, there are many opportunities for studies to experience the outdoors with university-led hiking, skiing and kayaking trips.

While Pau may be hard to find on the map of France, it is a phenomenal city with a phenomenal program. The amount of knowledge that I gained in not only French, but also about myself and the world is innumerable.

I highly suggest that you consider this program. The onsite staff, the host families, the professors and the community as a whole was so extremely welcoming. Pau will forever be considered another home for me.

I went to Pau, France for about 5 weeks during the summer of 2013 through USAC. I took many years of French in high school and wanted to be able to use some of what I learned in real world applications. I had also never been to Europe before and thought this would be a great place to visit for the first time.

Pau is a town of about 100,000 close to the Basque country in Southern France. It's quaint and quintessentially French--a lot of the customs are still observed in Pau, such as closing shops down on Sunday, that you probably won't find in a big city like Paris. Moreover, if you're looking to practice your French, Pau would be a great city since not a lot of people automatically speak English back to you. Even though it's a small town, there's still a downtown with bars, museums, restaurants and shops, so you won't get bored, especially if you're there for a short period of time.

The program directors were great--they addressed all of our concerns in a timely manner. The course instructors were very good as well--they were local French professors who taught foreign students. I definitely felt that my French improved greatly after my month abroad.

Pau is close to bigger cities such as Toulouse and Bordeaux--only about 2 hours away by train. The city is also close to beaches on the Atlantic ocean as well as the resort city of San Sebastian, Spain, and the program includes enough free time to visit all of these places. The optional Paris tour was great too--got to see all the major sites in just a few days.

Open-minded people. Spirituality. A family. A new career outlook. Perhaps your old self. France, like many other countries, is a pathway that will lead you to places you never thought could be so beautiful had you not decided to take them.
Everyday is something new. In France, a day in the life for me was so much more than the smells of warm chocolate croissants coming from the patisseries, or the rain splashing down on my umbrella. It was learning about myself through the struggles of language barriers, to the unfortunate forgetfulness of my boarding pass, to the talks about life with local taxi drivers at 2am. You will never be able to limit what you are looking for if you decide to embark the path of studying abroad, because they will undoubtedly find you, and prove you wrong in all of the best ways imaginable.

My semester abroad in Pau was life changing. I learned so much about the French culture and also more about myself. I met amazing friends that I know I will be close with forever. My French was at a beginner's level when I arrived and it improved a lot. I am even thinking about studying in Pau again to finish my French minor. Pau is the perfect little city. It has great shopping, dining, and nightlife. I made so many French friends that I still keep in touch with today. I lived with a host family. The program takes you on fun trips to cities such as Bordeaux and Toulouse. Ryan and Robina were so helpful. The more I write,the more I miss Pau! While I was abroad, I was lucky enough to travel to 10 other countries.

I never thought I'd learned so much from going to Pau for my study abroad program. It was interesting at first knowing that not many people there spoke English; thus, I had to really use my French to get around.

The good: The city is beautiful, and I have missed it everyday ever since I left. The people are friendly, the foods are to die for. La Maison Macaron and Georgio's became the top visited places for me and my friends. It's a small city, so getting lost wasn't really a concern. I usually stayed on Marechal Joffre and around to check out the stores. The buses will be your best friends if you don't want to walk the miles.

You have to speak French! And if you don't, you'll end up confused. I love the field trips and the activities we did outside class. My first term I had Marie-Helene as my teacher, and she had been the best teacher I'd ever had my entire life. If I go to Pau again, I'll make sure to find her.

The second term of the program we got international students coming in, and it was a blast. I ended up placed in the class with bunch of Europeans who had spoken French fluently, and I thought I was about to lose my head. But it turned out wonderful and I had learned so much.

Ryan and Pauline are the nicest, sweetest people I'd ever had as advisers. They're very helpful and they are so full of love.

The ugly: Unfortunately, the city wasn't as safe as I thought it'd be. The first week of school, someone snatched away my laptop while I was using it on campus. So the first week I ended up visiting the police station twice. They told me that they'd send me documents and information, which never came.

Internet was horrible in the dorms. I had to walk to McDo to skype and do some research. After the laptop incident on campus, I got too scared to stay on campus for too long to use the internet.

The weather was a nightmare when I got there. It rained all the time and it was difficult for us to get around without getting soaked. However, we got used to it and started enjoying it.

The bad: It was so hard to leave! I wanted to stay so badly that I made plans to just buy a house there and stay there forever with some friends. The month of sales was horrible too in a way that I couldn't help but visit the stores everyday to buy something.

What I'd have done differently:
Pack lightly. With the sales going on, I ended up throwing out some stuff to have space in my luggage.
Chain my laptop to my arm or something.
Get internet access for my dorm.
Bring more jackets and sweaters, and long pants. I know I had no problem with it, but a lot of my friends brought shorts and it was freezing at some points.
Extend my stay.

I had an amazing time in Pau, but realistically there were some struggles and things that should and I hope are improved for future students. I loved the option to stay with a host family and the staff makes sure to pick families that want to have students and take you in as a part of their family.

Host Family Tips:
Eat supper with your family, ask them about their day, make an effort to get to know the, let them know if you won't be around, be respectful, keep your room clean, if you have a problem talk to them about it, address conflict in a mature and respectful manner.

The staff was very welcoming in Pau, but I didn't really think they were very helpful. I can understand it because they have people from all over participating, but it can still be frustrating.

Tips for Communicating with Staff:
Be specific about your questions, decide if they are the appropriate resource (it may be better to ask your host family or home university or someone that has previously been on the program), keep them informed on your weekend travels, remember they are not travel agencies.

The weather in Pau can be frustrating. It rained over 50% of the days I was there. I actually ended up keeping a journal and writing whether or not it rained each day I was there. When it starts getting cold (late October/November) the mix of cold and rain can be quite chilly and dreary.

Tips for Clothes:
Bring warm clothes, RAIN BOOTS, warm socks, umbrella, LAYERS, scarves, gloves, hat, etc.

Finally remember to enjoy yourself and to try to focus on the positives. Your experience is what you make it and usually thoughts affect how you feel. If you are upset about something it will probably affect and possible ruin your time. Remember that you have the power to decide how much you will enjoy your time. Also it can be pretty tough to meet other French students that aren't a part of the program. You have to be the one to take action to make French friends. It does help to go out and experience life in Pau to make these friends or meet people.

I learned a lot while I was in France, passed my fluency test, and travelled all over Europe. What I didn't like was how little the program directors were willing to help you- Robina in particular. I came to her with a housing problem, and she brushed it off. This is why I rated my overall experience as 8/10 instead of 10/10. If I had had help with the housing situation, it would have been 10/10.

The hardest question for a student who wishes to study abroad is,"where do I want to go?" Where have they always wanted to go, can they speak the language, will they fall in love with the people or the places, and is that the place where they can go off into the world alone and know that they will feel the change that study abroad can bring? Pau, France is a place that has engraved its way into my heart. The people I got to meet, the family I got to live with, the places I got to see, and the overall change I got to experience.

The moment that I stepped off the plane, after 24hours worth of traveling because of bad weather, my host mother greeted me with bisous, hugs, and whole hearted welcomes. She took me back to the home where I would be staying for four months, allowed me to settle down and take in the exciting world around me. I would get to meet my family later that night, a family that would become my second home or even my "French Family," they helped me throughout the following months more then words can describe and I can not wait for when I can go back to visit them.

After orientation and visiting the campus the next step would be to go to classes, meet my professors, and figure out how on earth I was going to study in French. The school week would consist of around one class a day that would spread from 5-7 hours, there would be amazingly long lunch breaks between class each day. The routine would be like this; class for two hours, two hour (or one hour) lunch break, and then the final three hours of class. The only reason classes might run up to seven hours is if there is a chance to add an elective, in this case I had a Southern France history class which helped me understand the history of where I was.

After classes there would be so much time to explore the downtown area, you could take the bus (which is very easy to figure out) and it would take you right to Les Halles, which is a giant building for a farmers market, and you would be a small walk away from the main hangout. The main hangout for my group (and groups before that) was known as the fountain, everyone would meet up there and explore it all together. There were small festivals, events that the university would tell you about, and just fun places to go and search for. If you just felt a little too tired and didn't want to wander around you could always go to the most american controlled bar, the galloway! I have an unlimited amount of funny moments at the galloway that I got to experience with my group, it is worth the time to go visit for a pint of beer!

If you decided to eat out there were a variety of places for you to enjoy an amazing meal like Letna for pizzas, the kabob place, and more! The best part for me was being able to come home and have dinner with my family (which was at 9pm!) We would talk, drink wine, have amazing home cooked meals, and just laugh the night away.

My days would consist of this lovely routine for months (unless I was traveling around which I tried to do each weekend), it was hard to leave France just as hard as it was to leave the states. I had to leave a second family, I had to leave a whole new set of friends, and it was scary because I thought I would have to leave this new stringer person that I had become. Truth is I brought all of these changes home with me, still see the people I met back in France, and I still send emails to my host family. I didn't loose anything but gained a whole new experience.

USAC did an amazing job planning out weekend events and places to travel, placing students in the classes appropriate for there knowledge on the language, and being a valuable resource for students to go to. I would suggest this to any and everyone, I actually do suggest it constantly. There would be emails about events happening in town, on campus, and information on why the events were happening. Amazing staff which would talk to you and help you with any small request you had!