Name: Julia Green
Program at Carleton: Journalism, third year
Location: Grenoble, France
I tend to spend a lot of my free time surfing the Internet, running aimlessly, reading magazines, and sitting in coffee shops pretending to study.
I think about food more than the average person, and therefore put a lot of energy into cooking, then blogging about it. It was partly the world-famous cuisine and the endless varieties of cheese that drew me to France this year.
After two hectic years in Carleton’s journalism program, a year exploring Europe seemed like it would be a good idea for my mental health and my nagging wanderlust. I arrived in Lyon at the end of July, and completed a French language program in Saint-Étienne before beginning an all-French semester at Université Stendhal-Grenoble 3.
Despite never having been to Europe, I decided to apply for the Ontario-Rhône-Alpes exchange program and relocate to Grenoble with hopes of becoming completely bilingual by the end of the year. I began taking core French classes at the age of 10 but knew I needed the push of being forced to speak French all the time to consider myself fluent.
So far, the year has been incredible. Along with learning the language and adapting to the French culture of fantastic food, beautiful people and lots of travel, I have already seen a lot of other places in Europe, and hope to see many more.
Being in Europe has helped me garner an appreciation for art, history, and geography. It has also made me far more relaxed and able to laugh at the many tricky situations I’ve found myself in.
