In The Abbey and On the Road (page5)

At the end of the semester, Abbey students have an opportunity to visit their new friends at the University of Orleans.

“I was amazed at the number of languages they spoke,” Wood says. “All of them spoke very good English, two spoke Japanese, and most spoke Spanish, one spoke Italian, and one of the girls had studied four languages. They all enjoyed doing things with us, tried to be involved as much as possible, and were pleasant to be around.”

Sopping up the last of the pasta sauce with a piece of crusty French bread, our conversation naturally shifts to the most popular topic in France, food.

“We ate a lot of bread, wine and cheese when we first got here,” Fales recalls. “That was the meal of choice, because at first everybody was wondering what all this strange food was.”

Eyeing the desert menu, Vietenheimer says, “It took some getting used to. When I first got here I didn’t like the food all that much, but now I love it, I’m full all the time. I’m getting fat. Everybody’s getting fat.”

Local restaurants are doing their part to cater to the American tastes. Café des Sports, just down the street from the Abbey, now serves chicken nuggets, and an original creation, chili frit—a bowl of French fries smothered in American-style chili—which appears to have addictive properties. For several weeks this dish was virtually the sole item in one student’s diet, until his body staged what might be politely called an uprising. Happily, he soon discovered other items of French cuisine to replace the banished entree.

As their days at the Abbey near an end, the students eagerly reflect on the world they are about to leave. “Coming over here has really opened my mind,” Black says. “Now I know I can just pack up and go anywhere and I’ll be fine.”

Graham’s eyes light up. “I’ve always had a sense that I would want to do something with my life besides just graduating and getting a job, and coming here totally reinforced it. I know now that after this experience, I have to just…go. That’s what we do here, we just go. There are things you need to do in your life, and you’ve just got to go and do them.”

“Living here has made me more open to getting to know different people,” Vietehheimer says. “I’m not willing to go up and start talking to people I don’t know at home. But I hang out with a lot of people here that I normally wouldn’t.”

“If someone were thinking about studying abroad,” Graham says, “I’d recommend this program because you’re not just let out there by yourself. You have people here to make sure you experience the French culture, you get to know local families and get the most out of the experience.”

In fact, the students are so well adjusted to living in France; it’s hard to believe very few speak French. “I don’t speak hardly any French,” Fales admits, “but it’s no big deal because you’re around people in this town who are trying hard to not be shy and learn to speak English. And when you’re out with other students and meet your French friends, well we all have gotten pretty good at our “Franglais.”

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