Jeanne Boone, a rising sophomore majoring in public relations, is taking part in a study abroad class in France for credit this summer with UT.  While Boone's class this summer is structured differently than her previous study abroad in France through her high school, she feels the past experience will help her along the way.

When Boone was a sophomore in high school in Arlington, Va., she participated in the Arlington-Reimes Exchange Program to study the French language.  She explained that anyone who was enrolled in French was eligible to go on the trip.  Traveling and studying with 25 other students from the four area high schools, Boone was off to France.
My student was Camille and she was really fun to stay with. Her family was so welcoming to me and went out of their way to adjust to staying in France. Jeanne BooneThe high school program was designed for students to study in Paris for three days, then travel to Arlington's sister city of Reimes, France, to stay with native families.  Each American student was assigned a French family that had a student of the same gender and age.

"My student was Camille and she was really fun to stay with. Her family was so welcoming to me and went out of their way to adjust to staying in France," Boone said.

While the primary focus of the trip was to learn the French language, Boone and her fellow students were also able to do quite a bit of sightseeing. In Paris, the group visited Champs-Elysee, Saint Chapelle, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and the Rodin Museum.  Boone explained how the Les Invalides displayed a lot of interesting war artifacts.  She also reminisced about a boat tour on the Seine where she saw many areas of Paris.

"I am very excited to go back to The Louvre.  I saw it when we went in high school, but since the Da Vinci Code came out I think it would be neat to see where part of the movie was filmed too," Boone said.

When the group traveled to Reimes, which is famous for champagne, they visited Piper-Heidsieck caves.  They also went on a day trip to Strasbourg, Colmar and Alsace, which is in Northern France near the boarder of Germany.

Boone specifically remembered the Verdun, which was a place she toured during the day trip around Northern France.  She explained how intense it was just being there. 

"It is a hilly area from bombs that happened in the Battle of Verdun in 1916. It was so strange to think about how the hills were formed by bombs," Boone said.

On the way back to America, the group stopped at the European Parliament in France to learn how it runs and varies from American democracy.  The European Parliament is one chamber in the bicameral legislative branch of the European Union.

Boone enjoyed learning about the differences between French and American cultures during her first study abroad class in high school.  She noticed that in retail stores, for example, French employees and store owners tended to not like browsers.  They expect all shoppers to be in the store for a reason, and did not tolerate browsers very well. 

She also explained that some French citizens just do not like Americans.  Boone's teacher encouraged students in the high school program to fit in with the French culture more by dressing a bit more chic.

Because such differences were brought to Boone's attention, she plans to be more mindful of that during her next study abroad semester, which will happen this summer.

Boone's summer French 211/212 class meets every day from May 30 until June 21.  She will receive six hours credit from UT, but the program is sponsored and organized by the International Student Affairs.

C.C. Ray, a volunteer in the UT Programs Abroad Office, studied in France before beginning her graduate studies at UT through the College of Communications.  She learned countless things of the French culture and how citizens communicate in a workplace.  However, she also discovered something unexpected.

"I learned a lot about myself on that study abroad experience.  I loved going to France, especially through a UT program," Ray said.

Dr. Romeiser, of the French department at UT, is the professor for the course this summer.  He is also in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly with the students. 

However, the class is not structured like the typical French courses at UT.  The focus of the course is to learn the language, but also gain a deep understanding of the culture.  Students will gather at a central meeting place in Paris each day to have class for three hours, break for lunch, and then have group tours of Paris and surrounding cities in France.  Boone and the other students are required to buy Le Metro cards and get to class on their own. 

While studying abroad in France again may seem redundant to some, Boone thinks differently. She says she plans to be more independent in her free time this summer.  She plans to do this study abroad trip differently than her high school trip.

"I want to explore small museums or gardens no one may know about," Boone said.