There are Shockers out in the world really taking their education into their own hands. In this series, we grant them an opportunity to pen personal essays about their experience abroad. Our second essay is courtesy of Max Roach, a Liberal Arts and Sciences senior who is currently studying at University D’Orleans in Orleans, France.

My time in France has been a blur of new experiences and personal growth that I find difficult to recount. Every morning when I wake up, I spend a quick few seconds before I recognize that this isn’t a dream. Then, I am once again launched into a completely new culture and way of life. I am greeted by the sound of French talk radio and the smell of ‘pain perdu’ as I descend the creaky stairs for my morning cup of coffee. As I am currently working on my fluency, the blur of French words provides a fluid backdrop for the amazing adventure that I have been fortunate to take part in. Day by day, I meld into the community here in Orleans by making new friends and having new adventures.

When I first arrived, I was optimistic, but hesitant to jump into everything the city had to offer. It was difficult to communicate with my host mother Monique, but I brought a positive, helpful, and open attitude to the table every day. Soon enough things clicked and our relationship began to form.

Before I began my study abroad experience, I was warned about culture shock. I may have felt some of its affects the first few days in Orleans, but after I attended a few pre-session ‘mixer’ events, I lost all fear of cultural differences. Shedding the little bit of fear I had, I dove into everything I could. It was the best choice I could have made.

I meet someone new every day — people on the tram to university, people in the cafeteria, and people in the center of town. They are listeners here in France who are more than willing to work through the language barrier to understand me and my perspective on life.

Through many conversations with people of different fluency levels, I have found that communication in a different language is a strong catalyst for true understanding. I have had better conversations in broken English and French that I have had in perfect English. In such a conversation, both people must be very active listeners. They must strive to understand the meaning that the other is trying to convey and pick their words very carefully. This amount of concentration is something that I find very valuable in communication and will strive to utilize for the rest of my life.

I often find myself sitting on a bench in the sun, standing out in the garden that my host family keeps, or walking on the banks of the local river just appreciating life as best I can. By closing my eyes, trying to absorb everything, and breathing deep, I strengthen the memories that I will keep for the rest of my life. This type of appreciation for life is something that I often found difficult to do before I left. I either didn’t have time to reflect or forgot to do so. It has brought me an inner calm to my life that I didn’t know I was missing.

I still get “tourist tendencies” and find myself taking far too many pictures of mundane things. However, the photo I take most often is the view from my room every morning. It is not because it is special, but because it is the space I have been fortunate enough to hold in the home of my host mother. I find the experience of living with a host family to be an invaluable one not only in terms of learning the language, but also in terms total immersion. She has been a wonderful help and I am very fortunate to have been matched with her.

Overall, France has been one of the most amazing adventures of my life. Every day it is a new experience. From the numerous baguettes, to the incredibly strong cheese, to the countless bottles of cheap wine shared with friends, I have a new perspective and appreciation for the little things in life. Communication, friendship and an openness to the experiences the world has to offer are invaluable for shaping you into a strong human being in this age of anti-globalization and closed borders. People are amazing, and everyone is here for a short amount of time. Appreciate each other and find reasons to love.