Submitted by Brenden Swanik on the 2022 winter session program in France sponsored by the Department of Material Sciences and Engineering and the Department of Physics and Astronomy…
The past two weeks have been astonishing, to say the least. To be fully immersed in a foreign culture with foreign values and a foreign language has been one of the greatest learning experiences in my life. Thus far, Professor Shah, my classmates, and I have embarked on several different adventures since arriving in Marseille, France on the MSEG/PHYS/HIST program. So far, we have had the opportunity to visit world-renown landmarks such as the Calanques de Sujiton and the Eiffel Tower as well as visit locations such as Nice and Avignon in addition to many other locations of both historical and current significance.
Although the first two days were a bit of an obstacle, learning how to communicate with those that you do not share a language with and coming to the realization that this will be our reality for an extended period of time. However, this feeling of uncertainty was swiftly overcome through constantly engaging in the surrounding culture, frequently learning, and keeping busy by making the most out of the time we have in France.
At the beginning of our program, I was fortunate enough to at least know the names of those participating prior to embarking, nevertheless I had no idea how close we would become in just two short weeks. I have already built several strong connections with those I never particularly had a chance to speak to outside of academia and it has been amazing to unlock everyone’s true colors.
Great experience so far, looking forward to the latter half of our program!
