AIFS Abroad in Cannes, France: Semester

Choosing to spend a semester abroad was one of the best decisions of my life! It can seem daunting and scary sometimes, but it's so worth it! AIFS is unique in that it incorporates travel opportunities and excursions during the semester, which truly immerses you in the culture and helps you to feel more comfortable with traveling abroad. I really enjoyed my French language course, and my French skills increased exponentially. I felt like I was able to easily balance my classes and exploring, and my roommates and I traveled almost every weekend. Cannes is a fantastic location because of its stunning views and proximity to the airport. Our program director was incredibly helpful, knowledgable about the area, and always prioritized us having a positive abroad experience. I made lifelong friends and met so many people from across the globe. I learned so much about myself and different cultures, and my outlook on life changed for the better. If you have the opportunity to study abroad, 100% do it!

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!

This experience has been one of the best ones in my entire life. This program was absolutely amazing. It provided me with everything that I needed, go housing, amazing academics, and many excursions that really enriched my study abroad experience. One of the best parts about the program was our director, Sandrine Passeron. She played a huge role in helping us adjust to French life while providing us with many amazing opportunities to interact with French natives and to become enveloped in French culture. The campus itself is an international campus, meaning that there are students from all around the world who attend classes and live on campus. It was ana amazing way to meet people from all over the world. The campus is located right next to the beach, which was a huge plus. The classes were very useful in strengthening French language skills and increasing understanding of French culture. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone looking to study abroad in France.

Cannes gets the reputation for being a very ritzy and upscale place, however when studying abroad there for four months I found that there was a lot more to the city and the things that the community provides for young people like myself. I was also pleasantly surprised at how many people spoke French with me even when they heard my accent and how friendly they were. At College International de Cannes I found that there was also a lot of diversity in the people that came there. Students from all over the world coming to learn french gave me the opportunity to learn about not only the culture in Cannes, but make some worldly connections.

AIFS pre-departure assistance was somewhat lacking, but upon arrival in Cannes, that was quickly forgotten. Cannes is a gem in the crown of the Côte d'Azur, and the AIFS program based out of the Campus International de Cannes was great. The program director, Sandrine, is wonderful and goes above and beyond to organize group activities and assist individual students with their plans for the semester. The cost of living—and especially dining—in Cannes is higher than I imagined, but it's possible to find more affordable options outside of the main touristy part of town. The bus system and trains provide easy access to nearby cities. The best part, unsurprisingly, was the gorgeous beach.