Submitted by Alexandra Klysa on the 2018 winter session program in Martinique sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
My name is Alexandra Klysa and I am studying in Martinique, a French-speaking island in the Caribbean, for the 2018 Winter Session. I am studying here for four weeks while I take two classes that will go towards my French minor.
My first four days here have been nothing short of an adjustment, in more ways than one. First off, I swapped the East Coast snow and eight degree weather for hot, humid, rainy eighty degree tropical weather. My body is very confused. While I am grateful to bypass the snow storms that are hitting the mid-Atlantic region, the intermittent rain and perpetual state of being sweaty is something I normally don’t expect during the month of January.
My next adjustment, without a doubt, is communicating and culture shock. Let me just tell you, culture shock is real. My first day here, I was so frazzled that everything was okay and I just went with the flow. But by the second day, reality had set in that this was going to be my home for the next month so I better get accustomed to it. The island is beautiful, and there’s so much to see and do and learn, but I have felt this overwhelming sense of feeling ungrounded. I know everyone feels this way at some point in their study abroad program and this feeling will pass with time, but it’s a very uncomfortable feeling. But with traveling to new places, comes stepping out of your comfort zone.
Communicating was my biggest source of anxiety for this trip. I have been taking French for eight and a half years now, but to be totally immersed in a French-speaking country was quite frankly, terrifying. I have to admit, my speaking skills are getting better as the days go by, but at first, I would look at my host mom (whom I call Mamou) with a wide-eyed expression and a nervous giggle as my response. Of course, one of my goals of this program is to improve my French speaking, so the only way to do this is to push through the fear and just try to communicate my thoughts. One aspect of the program that I did not put much thought into was how exhausting it is to comprehend French and conjure up the courage, and response, to communicate. We truly take for granted how easily our native languages come to us when I’m struggling to express the simplest of thoughts.
Okay, enough of the logistical stuff, I know you want to hear about what I have done so far. Our first day, we walked around the capital of Martinique, Fort-de-France, and saw “Le cathédrale,” “L’hôtel de ville” which is the equivalent of town hall, and we took a ferry ride to a different part of the island called “Les Trois Îlets” where we swam in the most crystal clear, turquoise water. Our second day, we had our first day of class when my roommate and I quickly learned the bus system is very unreliable. The campus is very lush and green (along with the rest of the island because it will randomly torrential downpour for ten minutes and then be sunny again) and quite different from UD. After class we were free to do whatever we wanted, so a large group of us set off for what would be a very interesting journey which consisted of walking alongside a highway for part of it. Our goal was to find somewhere to eat and go to the beach which we eventually did, but it took a lot of scouring the neighborhoods of Martinique and asking strangers for directions. It was quite the experience. Lastly, yesterday we went to class again and did a half day excursion to “La village de poterie” which had little shops and we watched a pottery demonstration done by a man who made a vase.
Overall, the first few days have been a beautiful learning curve. Studying abroad is not an easy feat so I am proud of myself and the other students on my program for venturing out into the world. There have definitely been some low points, but I am doing my best to take it all in and be in the moment as much as I can. I am excited to see what is in store for the rest of the program!