France: Pau - French Language and European Studies

The teachers at Pau are pretty good at getting everyone to understand. You can choose to live in a host family or in the dorms. Robina, Ryan, and crew are very helpful from traveling problems to being sick (I had gotten a throat infection and they booked a doctor's appointment for me as well as helped me explain what was wrong in French). They will also listen to any problems you have and can give you tips for just about anything (from visiting places to how to improve your French by speaking it daily).

Pau is a small city, but it has shopping, movies, kayaking on the river, swimming pools, and bars to enjoy at night. The walk to school was safe and my host family was amazing! On the average day, I ate breakfast, went to class, hung out with friends downtown, and then went home for dinner in the evenings. The citizens do not speak much English, so you are really forced to utilize your French skills. I became fluent in French during my short time in Pau. I had difficulty understanding the out-of-town bus schedules at first, and it was also tricky to befriend the locals. However, once you meet one or two locals, they are all very friendly! I loved travelling outside Pau, because so many things are close. I went to San Sebastian, Spain; Biarritz, France; the Pyrenees Mountains; and the ancient caves that surround the area. It is big enough to have everything you need but small enough to become knowledgeable of it in a few short weeks. Pau is wonderful and I highly recommend this once-in-a-lifetime experience!

My stay in Pau was nourishing and challenging. It is absolutely necessary to stay with a host family to truly experience the magic of Southwestern French cuisine, culture, and tradition. Each meal with my host Mom and her guests was a lesson in patience, process, and how to truly indulge the senses with each bite while participating in the communal process of making the food, setting the table, and sharing jokes and stories with friends old and new. The wide sidewalks of Pau lead to wandering, and the Boulevard Des Pyrenees is an unavoidable enchantment. I am sure that everyone who visits spends some time drinking in the view of sunset, sunrise, storm or sunny day all spread out in front of those majestic mysterious mountains that sometimes disappear in the fog.
Pau is not only extremely accessible by foot and bike, but there is a bus system that runs throughout the surrounding towns and can get you to and from school/the grocery store/the market/the pubs etc. The people of Pau vary from the very rich, to the groups that wander the streets with their dogs. I found both, and all those in between, to be welcoming and accommodating to students.
The program itself helped my French immensely and is not only a study of the language, but of the very spirit, soul, and practices of France.

I would recommend going to Pau if you want to study abroad in a non-touristy city where you get a real and authentic experience in French language and culture. I stayed with a host family, which made my experience even better. The USAC staff is incredible and really made sure we felt comfortable. Pau is also very close to Spain which makes a fun weekend trip!

In any study abroad experience, there are at least a million favorite memories. But, some things that I carried back with me are the many friends I made when I was gone- Americans and foreigners. USAC does a wonderful job of creating programs that allow students to travel a lot. I fell in love with about 10 different cities. One of my favorite memories was the day I realized I could live in any one of the places I visited. Finally, the thing I miss the most was having a daily routine of my life abroad. Being gone for the year allowed me to really get comfortable with Pau. Establishing a routine and getting comfortable with my new life was my favorite part. The obvious benefit to studying abroad is that I now have a solid foundation of French. Being abroad anywhere can teach a lot, but something that stuck out for me was my ability to be flexible. It was difficult at times having to adjust to something that was unfamiliar or bizarre. It would be difficult not always being able to communicate and sometimes there was straight frustration and anger with the whole situation. Small cultural differences can prove to be the biggest difficulties when studying abroad. Those moments were important though because it taught me flexibility and patience.

Living in Pau was one of the most wonderful experiences in my life. I was able to try different foods and wines and immerse myself in French culture. One of the most memorable experiences for me was the nights of Carnaval in Pau. It is like no other event in the world. There are traditions in this Carnaval where men dress as women and women dress and hunters. The women are dressed as hunters to chase down people who are in bear costumes and are hunting the men dressed as women. This night was an amazing night where everyone watched and ran from the bears providing for a "different" kind of excitement only those who have gone to Pau would understand the partying that goes on in this little town during Carnaval. The week of Carnaval is something you cannot miss out if you visit Pau in the spring.

If I talk about the fun moments in Pau I also must highlight the cross cultural differences between France and the United States that we would never think about. Most of my experiences are funny moments that at first I did not understand but now I laugh over. An example would be when I first arrived to France and was just adjusting to the time difference and I was running late to school. On this day I did not have time to eat at my host parents' house so I ran out eating an apple on my walk to school. As I walked to school people stared at me and I did not know why. It was not until I asked my host mom why people stared at me she told me and I quote "Claudia, tu n'est pas en États-Unis" meaning Claudia you are not in America, in France people do not eat while they walk they only eat if they are sitting at a table. For me this was strange but now it is funny to remember people's reactions to me eating an apple it was --PRICELESS.

Now when it comes to the educational aspect the USAC Pau program is a very well organized and provides students with everything you need. The resident director Robina and assistant director Ryan are awesome people who you can joke around with and give good tips about things to do and places to go not only in Pau but around France, and Europe. The classes were provided in both French and English depending on the level of proficiency. There were elective courses such as the Government and Politics of France that fit well with my major in International Relations. They also offered other courses but mostly the focus of this study abroad program are intensive language courses to improve students level of French rather than pure electives. Classes are small and teachers are very helpful but strict as well so do not think you can just slack off either.

If you're thinking about doing this program, I have two words - DO IT! My time in Pau was seriously the best 4 months of my life. My host family was amazing, perfectly picked for me. We got along great and I really felt like I was a part of their family. I was able to see what real French life is like, and my language skills improved so quickly. Classes with USAC are good quality and fun, but not overly work heavy, so you have time to travel and enjoy your time abroad. I got to see a lot of really cool places, through both personal travel and USAC and Université field trips. Not many people know where Pau is, but I ended up loving the city and region. I only have one complaint: I had to leave after only 4 months!

I had the best host family. I had the best teachers and the best USAC staff helping me the entire time. I met amazing people, who I am still in contact with, and I saw places, sites and art I had only read about. I recommend going abroad in the first place, but I recommend Pau if you're looking for an authentic French experience. I walked to a local bakery every morning with my host father so we could buy the bread for breakfast. I played with the small hedgehogs that were in my host father's garden while he pulled mint for our tea later. I took a bus to school every day and had a 20 minutes coffee break every two hours.
This place is drenched in culture and history. King Henry IV's castle is a 10 minute walk from the university and a two minutes walk from the center of town. There's parks everywhere you look and a French language to be learned.

Bring your walking shoes!