By Brianna Luby, Managing Editor of Digital Content
Most students by now have heard about the Global Opportunities (GO) program, or Susquehanna’s version of studying abroad. There are a ton of options, and it can be super overwhelming to choose. Not to mention that the thought of spending more than a week in a foreign country is overwhelming, especially to students not familiar with travel.
When I first started at Susquehanna as a Creative Writing major back in Fall of 2023, I remember sitting on a couch in the Writers Institute with Dr. Catherine Dent and talking for nearly half an hour with her about France. France has always been a dream destination for me, even just for one trip. And suddenly that conversation turned into a reality, two years later.
Dr. Dent, along with her partner Silas Zobal, lived in Aix en Provence for a short period of time, and now spend their summers taking students back to the town in a GO Short program. The program is around four weeks long, and has students explore creative projects of their choosing, to work on before, during, and after the trip. Students live with host families while they are there and meet for classes a couple days of the week. Not to mention plenty of fun planned excursions.
So, I spent four weeks this past summer, from the end of May to the end of June, living in Southern France. I went with fifteen other Susquehanna students, two of our lovely writing professors and their kids. Despite spending seven weeks talking about what to expect living in another country, the first night I got off our shuttle bus to Aix en Provence, I was terrified. We were all living with host families while we were there, and I stayed by myself with a single French woman, on the top floor of a seven-floor apartment building. Not to mention I speak nearly no French, a thought that made me extremely nervous.
Despite my initial terror, it turned out great. My host mom was extremely kind, and despite the language barrier, we got along great. I got to try French foods, wander the streets of a medieval city and try to figure out French menus. Not to mention that their food is fantastic, and I got to try something new from their menus every single day. We even found some starkly American things, like a Five Guys, and the newest craze of cat bookstores. Susquehanna partners with the Institute for American Universities (IAU) when abroad, so we got to use all their campus buildings, attend their university café, and host classes in their main student building. When we weren’t meeting for class discussions, students got to explore a ton of different local restaurants, bookstores, shops and even some neat IAU hangouts.
In the main student building, IAU had what they called the “Cave” (pronounced CAH-ve), a giant underground student lounge built under the streets of the town. A little bit odd at first, it became a fan favorite very quickly. Mostly because when it was getting hot in the Mediterranean weather, the Cave was always nice and cool.
Our professors also made scheduled events for us to experience as much of France as possible, including visiting an Oppidum (city ruins), Pont de Gard (a roman aqueduct), Nimes (a roman city in France), Hotel de Caumont (an art museum in a Victorian home), MUCEM (an art museum on the mediterranean sea), the Caves of Cosquer (a museum replica of ancient underwater caves), Antibes (a coastal city), The Village of Vence (a coastal city with a full rampart wall), Mount Saint Victoire, La Ciotat and Cassis (National parks), Camp des Milles (a migrant camp turned museum and memorial) and Chateau d’Ilf and Ils de Frioul (mediterranean islands with castle ruins). We even got to learn from IAU professors, who did walking tours of cities and museums, and showed us bits of history we wouldn’t know otherwise. We got an art lesson and even drew the mountain that famous French painter Cezanne spent his life drawing.
It was a lot packed into four weeks, but every moment felt like a new adventure. Not to mention we had the support of both our professors, the group and of course our host families. The trip is great for people who want to explore new things with the safety of a group, or anyone who wants a slightly shorter trip. Prior to going, I was worried four weeks would be both too short and too long. Too long for me to be away, and too short to get a real adventure in. However the trip was just the right length, and I made plenty of friends out of our group from SU, and from other students studying abroad.
The workload was perfect too, just the right amount of exploration to learning. With the class, we spent days working in the local Museum, Musée Granet, to select our project ideas. Each student picked a particular piece(s) to work on throughout the trip. We then used those ideas to form full projects. At the end of the trip, we presented our work to the rest of the class, and some members of IAU.
The best part? We get to come back and share the projects we’ve been working on. The GO Southern France class of 2025 will be presenting their work in the Blough Weis Library on two nights.
The first night will feature a living wax museum, where attendees will be able to attend quick presentations by the first half of the class, and wander from exhibit to exhibit. There will be work curated by Sophia Bostwick, Logyn Cammarota, Rebekah Givens, Francis Rogai, Molly Shull, Fayth Snyder and Tyler Turner. It will take place on Thursday Oct. 2, from 7:00 to 9:00pm.
The second night will feature a traditional reading set up, where attendees get to listen to works curated by Lexie Kauffman, Jake Kolasa, Brianna Luby, Ethan Mathes, Jennifer Martin, Kendall Montney, Trinity Trimmer and Ell Virgilio. It will take place the following Thursday on Oct. 9, from 7:00 to 9:00pm.
The Southern France Class of 2025 was a truly spectacular group to spend four weeks with, and I hope you’ll come visit us for Night At The Musée, Parts I and II.
