Student Recalls French Semester Abroad

DJ DeLong
Creative writing and history major
College of Arts and Sciences, Marketing and Communication student employee

One of the many opportunities offered to students at Western Michigan University is the chance to study abroad. With over 90 study abroad programs available in more than 40 countries, there is a learning experience for anyone. However, tuition costs are enough to worry about and adding on travel expenses would stress any student. The College of Arts and Sciences tries to ease this burden by offering the CAS International Study Scholarship. This scholarship offers up to $1000 for any College of Arts and Sciences student to spend a semester abroad and is based on need and merit.

Senior Kristen Canavan was the recipient of a CAS International Study Scholarship in the spring of 2014. As she finishes her studies here at WMU (double major in Global International Studies and French, along with a minor in Political Science) she has been able to reflect on her study abroad experience in Besançon, France, a city similar in size to Kalamazoo. While there, she encountered a large Maghreb (an eclectic mixture of Berber/Amazigh, Arab and French cultures) and Turkish population and lived with an Algerian host family. A large majority of her fellow students in France were from Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Libya.

After a rough start to her trip, which included three different flight cancellations, lost baggage, cancellation fees and visa complications, Canavan enjoyed a memorable experience learning all about the Maghreb culture in France. She observed many different facets of everyday Muslim life during her time spent there. Canavan stated: “While walking around Besançon, it was not uncommon to see a halal corner store market, a kebab stand with a sign in Arabic, or occasionally, a man with a zebibah (prayer mark) on his forehead.” She had never experienced any of that before in the United States. When asked about how much it meant to receive the CAS International Study Scholarship, Canavan said, “Without the CAS Scholarship and others, I definitely would not have been able to go to France and have the experience that I did.”

Canavan explains that being in France exposed and taught her a lot about the real world and overall broadened her mind. She advised that students who wish to pursue a study abroad trip to “force yourself to step out of your comfort zone and try new things: new food, new movies, new music, new anything. Ask questions. Absorb your surroundings. Be adventurous. That’s how I learned some of the most interesting and valuable things during my trip.”