CEA CAPA Education Abroad in Paris, France

Bonjour Bonjour

I studied abroad Fall of 2017 for one semester with CEA, and truly it wasn't long enough! From pre-departure to arrival and everything in between, CEA is with you every step of the way. I applied about 7 months in advance which gave me a travel voucher of $750 to help with my flight expenses. The pre-depature was made easy as I was throughly told what to do from the start and what needed to get done before I left. Upon arrival to Paris, I was given multiple presentations to help adapt with the culture and how to deal with unexpected situations which made me feel more comfortable being in a new city that I had never been to before. I took classes at Cours Civilization Français a la Sorbonne Monday-Friday and took French language classes. Overall my experience was one in a lifetime. Expect to make life long friends and have tons of fun on the adventures that CEA takes you on. My favorite thing about Paris was watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night. I honestly can't wait to go back and I'm so thankful to have had the experience that I did with CEA!

At CEA, you don't just study while abroad, you study while being so immersed into the local culture and city. I only spent about half of my class periods in the actual classroom - we were always out in the city with our professors (who are brilliant, btw) and learning through seeing and doing! I really recommend CEA in any city, but CEA Paris was amazing as a francophile and lover of French culture.

Above that, CEA provides so much support from the second you apply and even after you return home. I loved CEA Paris that I am returned again as a last semester senior, and the CEA staff have done SO much to make sure I get everything I need out of the program. I didn't expect to receive so much from them the second time around, but the staff has been endlessly helpful and I can't wait to return!

Every summer my university offers an internship opportunity in Paris, but this was the first time my school used CEA to take care of students' logistics (e.g., housing, health insurance). Last year there were nine of us in total going to Paris (plus our professor who did not live with us!). Before coming to Paris we were told that most likely we would all be living in different parts of the city. However, CEA pulled some magic tricks and managed to place us all in two apartments in the same apartment building in one of the wealthiest areas of Paris. And not only this, but my apartment also had a view of the Eiffel Tower!!!! It was spacious for a Parisian apartment, and was nicely decorated. My classmates and I had everything we needed from an iron and washer to a pizza cutter and rice cooker. The CEA center also had additional appliances that we could request, like extra forks, fans, and even hair straighteners. We did have some problems with our shower, but the CEA staff was very responsive and sent someone to repair it the next day after we reported it. They had also told us that the apartment would come with no TV, but it did. This was great because we were able to get a small peak at what French television shows are like, but also because once a week all of my classmates and I would get together to make crepes and watch a movie afterwards. Overall, I really enjoy our housing arrangements. I loved sitting by my window feeling the night breeze and admiring the Eiffel Tower! It truly felt like home and allowed my classmates and I to bond and become like a family!

Being apart of the engineering program at CEA was an interesting experience. This had been the first semester that the program was offered so there were some things that they were testing out for the first time. Overall, the engineering classes weren't terrible. They were different than those offered in the states though. They got two pretty great professors for us and one who was very disorganized with planning. This made learning hard in that class because all of us were unsure of what we needed to know. My other class that I took at CEA was amazing! The professor was great and took pride in her job and showing us a different side of Paris. The only thing I would really change about my stay here is where I chose to live. I lived in the dorm and we did not have reliable WiFi the entire semester. CEA was very helpful about that issue though. Besides that, the dorm was just some rules, some of which were included in the agreement, and some that weren't, that were just rather strange and made no sense. I loved being able to explore Paris on my own time and being able to travel within Europe though during my stay.

CEA Paris has exposed me to an vast array of challenges through the duration of my semester abroad, but the accompanying insights into culture, sociology, history (especially of art), novel academic environments, and international consciousness/"citizenship" have been utterly incredible and dually vital to personal growth that I have no doubt would be impossible to replicate elsewhere.

Paris itself is a location that I genuinely believe outranks [virtually] all others as a destination for study abroad; as I see it, the simple fact is that few if any other global cities can rival the vastness of its rich history, culture, and modern-day draw. For the ways in which their program has permitted me to access and observe that, CEA has my gratitude without reservations.

The CEA Paris staff were an immensely helpful and kind team. All my personal experiences with them were highly positive, whether the reason for our interactions was connected to academics, student life, or my own personal life/experiences in the city.

Culturally, I gained ongoing insights and immersion opportunities through my courses at CEA. I think this was the greatest strength of academics in CEA's Paris Program—the integration of field studies, general out-of-classroom adventures, and French culture learning to encourage a deeper level of immersion in the local culture throughout the semester. Beyond academics too, a series of weekend trips, evening excursions, and in-house workshops supplied almost non-stop opportunities to explore the nuances and histories of Paris/France. This spread of activities was incredibly well-prepared and planned by the CEA staff and aided adaptation immensely. A bit sadly, I did not feel as though I had connection to community in Paris, nor did I find myself building relationships with Parisians through the course of the semester, though this is reflective of French social culture and *not* of CEA's immersion programming.

Through the excursions built into CEA courses and included as weekend activities of the program, there were many times during which I was able to connect more deeply with my peers as we shared very special exploration and discovery experiences in Paris and beyond. Paris/France are beautiful and *fascinating* places, and the people with whom you experience so many "firsts" here are ones with whom you naturally begin to grow closer. Despite the challenge of connecting with the local French people, the sense of community that I see within the student body here at CEA Paris is quite strong, and for that I am very grateful.

My abroad travels were certainly worthwhile. I feel as though after living abroad I have a new found confidence as well as a changed global outlook on the world. I found internship opportunities through CEA which complemented my experience as well as my resume. One of my favorite aspects of CEA was their cultural engagement program, where the staff lead excursions to connect students with the Parisien community.

CEA staff made every effort to assist students in connecting with local culture. They did this through arranging housing among other french persons, arranging guest speakers, and arranging a variety of day trips and walking excursions within the city throughout the semester.

I felt as though the intensity and rigor of the courses I took did not align with that of the program descriptions I had initially looked at when applying for this program. I actually found the courses to me more intense than anticipated accompanied with more homework, research papers, and presentations than I though. However, the resources provided were beneficial to my courses and the cultural engagement requirement for each class (where students are required to participate in an excursion that pertains to the course material) I found to heighten my comprehension of course content as well as my interest in the Parisian culture. Additionally CEA Paris has an impressive range of professors with real world experience within their disciplines.

The administration here at CEA made every effort to acclimate their students. They did this through formal orientation programs and out of the classroom activities.

Living abroad can be a tricky situation however my living arrangements were very comfortable. In the event of a leaky pipe or power outage, the staff at CEA always responded immediately and helped my roommates and I to fix the situation.

Meal plan was not an option for this program. Paris however has an amazing range of things to eat so I never went hungry. Additionally, upon arrival, CEA staff coached us on where to shop for food, how to read labels, and inexpensive dining options that aligned with our student budgets.

I never personally had to see a doctor or go to urgent care while abroad. However my roommates did, and CEA staff were accommodating, discreet, and took the time to follow up multiple times with the students.

I never felt unsafe once while studying in Paris. My housing was in a quite neighborhood, people on the metro were civil, and because I was aware of my surroundings and tried my best to not stick out I was perfectly fine.

Though Paris is an expensive city to live in (like any major city) I found it manageable finance wise to eat, shop, and travel.

Every professor and staff member encouraged me to use and practice my french while abroad. I definitely think my language skills have improved since going abroad.

If i had to do it over again I 100% would. I learned so many practical life lessons that I would have never learned in a traditional classroom. The only thing I would do differently would be to sign up for an entire year abroad!

The only thing I wish I knew before this program would be the level of difficulty of some classes. For me, I knew only a small amount of french before going abroad and the level of french that I took abroad was probably too hard for me (but I managed :) ).

I decided to study abroad for one academic year in Paris through CEA during the '16-'17 year, and absolutely loved it. It was by far my favorite year out of all four years of my college experience and I cannot wait to return to Europe in the near future. All of my advisors through CEA were amazing, and helped me with everything I had ever needed when I was abroad. The education I received was great, though there was some confusion with what classes were available and which were not prior to my enrollment for the second semester. I was placed with wonderful host parents, though they were not always at home and were a bit more conventional, but I learned a lot from them in the end. I hope to continue keeping in touch with CEA one way or another and would highly recommend studying abroad with them!

I had an amazing time studying with CEA in Paris. The onsite staff was so supportive, the classes were interesting, and I made AMAZING friends. We went on really fun excursions, and I loved being able to travel. I was nervous about how I would fit in with other students, but I made friends quickly. I was also nervous about how classes would go, but everything turned out great. Again, the classes were really interesting, and I loved my professors. They were all so kind and helpful. I would definitely go abroad with CEA again.