AIFS Abroad in Cannes, France: Semester

The experience of studying and interning in Cannes, France was life changing. The city of Cannes is beautiful, and Campus International de Cannes is less than a five-minute walk from the beach. On campus, there is also a terrace where students like to sit and chat, play games, and relax while looking at the view of the Mediterranean Sea. Apart from the views, the school's professors helped me improve all across the board. My grammatical and oral skills majorly improved. I now feel a lot more confident speaking to native speakers and having conversations about all sorts of topics. The immersion with the people in the city also helped with my progression. I would use concepts we learned in class with the everyday people I interacted with in the city, which was very helpful. Moreover, on campus we had our program coordinator who was a great support for anything we needed or for general advice about living in France. We went on excursions with her, which took us to every region of France, and allowed us to see parts of the country which are less explored by tourists. Just a couple of the places we visited include Avignon, The Verdon Gorge, and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, all of which were amazing experiences. Additionally, I was able to intern at the Cannes Film Festival Immersive Competition. Here, I was able to work with French natives in guiding the festival attendees through VR experiences and network with a wide variety of film professionals. Cannes lights up during the festival; it is extremely cool to see the range of people it attracts to promote and appreciate the art of film. If you are looking to be immersed in the French culture and take part in the experience that is the Cannes Film Festival, this program would be great for you!

My semester abroad met its expectations. The location was stunning, the program director professors were friendly, and there was plenty of flexibility allowing me to travel to other countries, a major “plus” for someone who had never been to Europe before! Cannes is a quaint little town that absolutely transforms into a hustling city come the annual film festival. It was interesting to get to know Cannes so well during its “off season” before the film festival kicked off. Overall, it was amazing.

Studying abroad in France absolutely changed my life. I had French classes until noon every day, then optional seminar classes that were once a week for around 3 hours at a time. Once I was done with classes for the day, I could spend the rest of the day at the beach, talking with the locals and hanging out with my classmates. The beach was a two minute walk from the campus, so not only was I hearing the waves at night from my dorm room, but I was also able to walk down to the beach at any time to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and crystal Mediterranean waters. When I wasn't studying for my classes, I was practicing my French with my classmates who also lived in the dorms, as well as members of the staff. They were from all kinds of different countries, so sometimes speaking French was a must! Everyone that lived on campus or worked for the campus were part of the best part of this experience. The staff were super welcoming and made me feel like I was at home, especially our program director, Sandrine. She is absolutely amazing! She took us on tons of excursions all around France that really helped made me fall in love with French culture and the language. We tried so many foods, saw so many museums, and went to so many cities that I really felt like I got to see France while I was studying. It was really nice to have such a lovely guide while we were there, as well. She was always there if we needed anything and answered every question I could ever have. The most amazing thing about this experience was that I got to learn a new language, take classes, travel around Europe, see France, and so much more, all while earning school credits! It didn't at all feel like school because most of my studies were learning about the country I was living in, so I was really excited to do the work--even though there wasn't much of it! My teachers knew that we wanted to spend lots of time exploring, so I didn't have a lot of homework either. It was such an incredible experience. A huge thank you to AIFS for making this process super easy, affordable, and letting me focus on having the time of my life!