France

Each student has a unique and individual experience on their Experiment program. The following essay is a single glimpse into a program from one student's perspective.

Carolyn Wesley -- Art And Adventure In Provence (FRD)

Ironically my seatmate on the flight over was a fellow Experimenter from Keene, New Hampshire-a town just twenty minutes away from mine where I had been only a few days before to do some last minute shopping. She and I had a nice opportunity to bond, and as the plane descended into Paris we held hands and giggled excitedly at the prospect of five whole weeks in France. That was how I arrived, full of hope, ready to fall in love with this new country and its people. The bus drive through the city was breathtaking.

The rest of my stay in Paris went by much the same way: me eagerly drinking in everything around me, particularly the solace of the great Notre Dame de Paris, and the inspiring light of the Louvre. By the time we left Paris I was excited at the prospect of some quiet time with my family and away from the sometimes-conflicting needs of twelve other people.

I was able to bond with my host siblings through a gift I'd brought-my favorite childhood game, UNO. Soon we discovered some common ground-games. We played UNO, Marseilles monopoly, video games, and they taught me a game called "le dauphin et la dauphine" which is very similar to the American game SPUD, which I in turn taught them. The homestay allowed me to understand more deeply the life of a French family.

The last ten days with my group were without a doubt a wonderful part of the Experiment. We bonded incredibly, and our group of twelve was happily devoid of clicks or romantic tension. We traveled around Provence, making and learning about art, and learning about each other. We stayed in lovely hotels, ate delicious food and were thrilled for any chance to swim. We were surprised on one particular outing when our host families turned up to meet us about four days after we had left them at the Gorges du Verdun. It was wonderful to see how much this group of people cared about us. On returning I treasure all the things I have learned. I was really lucky in being able to see first hand that people in every culture vary greatly. Just as it is unfair to classify all Americans in the same way, I was able to see that in France there are the same stereotypical groups that we have here. I met jocks and teenyboppers, hippies and conservatives, cynical people and warm loving people. I was as amazed by the differences in the two cultures as I was by the similarities. Siblings, for example, bicker the same way in France as they do in America, and all young children go through the phase of being a poor sport if they loose at a game. It is little observations like that that made my trip so wonderful, and I am so grateful to the Experiment for giving me this incredible opportunity.