In The Abbey and On the Road(page2)

“The experience we are offering students is quite a bit different than what other universities offer,” says Jay Grimes, USM Provost. “We’re not using just our faculty. We’re using faculty from other universities. And we are giving students a chance to continue the education they would be pursuing in the United States at their institution. But here, they’re doing it at a place where at night and on weekends they can go out and become immersed in the culture of not only France, but Europe.”

If anything defines the first group of American students to study here, it is the strength of the bond they’ve forged with one another. “The first night we got here, jet lagged and all, we just came straight here, to Le Commerce, and hung out, got to know each other and took pictures. It was like we’d known each other forever,” explains Sarah Black, a junior from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Joining our table is Adam Vietenheimer, a junior at Midwestern State University. “At your own university, everyone has his or her own little group,” he says. “But here, everybody knows everybody. You live right next to them, everybody’s on the same floor. You’re learning about people from other countries here, but at the same time, you’re learning about people from your own country.”

For a generation often stereotyped as jaded and cynical, the unabashed joy these students get from one another is surprising. “I feel like this is my group,” Graham says. “I’ve never been in a situation with so many people where we all just got along. It’s amazing how well we all like each other.”

Equally impressive is the gusto with which they’ve embraced the experience of living in Europe. For many, it is their first trip abroad. But the Abbey’s location, right in the heart of the European Union, and a 2-week midterm break for independent travel, make Paris, Cannes, London, Munich, Prague and Amsterdam homes away from their new home.

“It’s so easy to just hop on a train and go. You can be really spontaneous,” says Mary Frierson, a junior at the University of Southern Mississippi.

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