France Study Abroad

The main reason that I decided to start this blog was because I need help raising funds for my plans to study abroad in France. Now, I have finished! Basically, I flew to France and am living here for a school year in order to learn the language. I live with a volunteer host family. I attend a private French high school and live like the French people. For the first half of the year, I lived in the north of France near Lille. Now, I have moved to Troyes, a city in the Champagne region about an hour east of Paris.

I chose to participate in this program for various reasons. I am a strong student and find many of my classes boring and easy. French is the most difficult subject for me, so spending a year learning French will provide a challenge and stretch me to my limits. I am also becoming bored with the daily routine of life on the Africa Mercy. I am interested to see what life is like in France as part of a different culture.

Also, I feel restrained by the limitations that living inside a giant steel milk carton (I live on board the Africa Mercy, a hospital ship in West Africa. The Africa Mercy used to be a ferry, so it is very square-shaped and resembles a milk carton. For more information about what my family and I's life on the ship, click here. For more information about the organization Mercy Ships, click here) . Don't get me wrong, I love the Africa Mercy and it is my home. It has been an amazing experience to grow up here, but I arrived when I was nine. Now, I am fifteen and have lived here for six years. I think that living on land for a year and experiencing life in a developed country will give me more freedom and teach me independence. When my study abroad is over, I will return to the ship.

I am also aware that learning the French language will be extremely helpful all throughout the rest of my life. In West Africa, many nations claim French as their official language. I hope to continue serving the poor later on in my life, so knowing French will be very useful. Even if the countries I work in do not speak French, learning a second language will make learning a third or fourth language easier.

I want to thank all of the crewmembers of the ship for buying my chocolate chip cookies that I used to raise money for this venture. I also thank all my friends and family who have donated. Most of all, I want to thank my parents, who have been very supportive and encouraging. All of you have made this experience possible!