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Elizabeth Humbert
Elizabeth Humbert is an Ambassador who studied abroad in France.
Briefly describe a specific cultural experience you had on your trip that made a lasting impression.
At my collège there were French students. The Americans, however, did not interact with the French students very much. I thought originally that the French girls were sticking to the French stereotype of hating Americans and being rude. I learned differently however. One night we were walking back to the college and we ran into a friend of ours who were with 2 of the French girls. I ended up speaking with the girls (in French) and they were shocked at how well I spoke French. I ended up getting along really well with these girls and it was the last week. One of the girls told me it was a shame they were just meeting me now because they would love to have met me earlier so we could have hung out. I talked to a friend of mine who was good friends with the girls and he told me they were afraid to talk to the Americans because they didn't think that they spoke English enough to talk about. Talk about how guilty I felt knowing they were scared to talk to me because they didn't speak english well enough and then I was scared to talk to them because I didn't think I spoke French well enough and it turned out if we tried to speak the language then we could communicate. If I could do it all over again, I would have been talking to those girls from the start!
Why did you choose the program in which you participated?
I am a French major and wanted to experience France and help myself rapidly increase my language skills. Also, studying abroad made it possible for me to add French as a major. If I had stayed at CSB/SJU I would have only been able to complete my math major and secondary education minor (I still have room to get my teaching degree in both areas of study!)
Describe your overall study abroad experience.
I made friendships with people from all over the world that will last for a life time. I learned how to adjust to an entirely new country. I learned to be independent. Mostly, I learned about myself, how I work leading me to discover where I want to go in life.
How has the trip affected you? How are you different for having completed the experience?
One of the biggest things I learned was how big the world is and how small my problems are relative to it. I struggled my sophomore year of college finding the right group of friends for me. Drama surrounded my life. I went abroad and I realized that drama only exists because people create it. There is so much out there in the world. I traveled and I met the most amazing people from all over the world and I realized that if you are struggling with friends who aren't treating you right, there are always more people out there that you can meet who are better for you.
What advice do you have for future Study Abroad Students?
I have a lot of tips and hints for how to adjust to the new culture. Being away from home was hard for me, but I got through it with frequent skype dates and writing emails home. I also learned a delicate balance of travel, school, homework and keeping in touch with people from home.
Do you have questions about studying abroad in France? You can email Elizabeth at emhumbert@csbsju.edu