Elli is a junior majoring in Film Studies and French at the University of Utah. She is currently on a fall semester ISEP Exchange program at Université de Picardie Jules Verne in Amiens, France.
My time in France so far has been quite the roller coaster ride, for which I am grateful. I have been here in the quaint, charming Amiens (about 80 miles north of Paris) only for a month and I have made priceless memories already. I know it is cliché to say that study abroad changes your life, but it really does. My eyes have been opened to view the world as a multi-faceted, beautiful place.
I got to France on September 10, which was a weekend, when all of France is apparently shut down, so the residence office was closed and I had no way to get to my room. I found a room with a chalkboard and some desks in the dorm building and I figured I could sleep there with my luggage until someone appeared at the front desk. Then, through an open window, I heard English speakers! A group of American girls came into the building and as soon as I explained my situation, one of them invited me to sleep in her room for the night. It was a blessing in disguise that I showed up on a day when the office was closed, because I met a lot of really cool people right off the bat. We all went out that first night to Saint Leu, the student district. All the advice I had heard pre-departure was to go to any social situation you’re invited to, no matter what, because you will make connections with people. Even if you’re tired or homesick—or in my case that night, extremely jet-lagged—you have to leave your comfort zone and go out. The student district here in Amiens is very stereotypical French—there we were at midnight on a cobblestone path and all the sidewalk cafés jam-packed with people. And; for whatever reason, there were fireworks that night too! I love fireworks! A perfect introduction to France, even amidst the aggravation of not having my own room.
Once I was able to actually discover the town I’m studying in, my frustrations would disappear. Amiens is such a beautiful town. There are so many water canals, flowers, ponds, parks, and little houses with colorful shutters. The cathedral here is very famous, and rightfully so. The Notre-Dame (yes, it shares the same name as the celebrated one in Paris, but the one here is about twice the size) was built in 1288 and it has the most intricate carvings of Jesus and his disciples, the Virgin Mary, and the Three Wise Men on the exterior of the structure. It is insane to think something built in the 1200’s is still standing today. At night, though, is when the cathedral is most spectacular. During the process of laser cleaning in the 1990’s, it was discovered that the western façade of the cathedral was originally painted in multiple colors. A technique was created to determine the exact make-up of the colors as they were applied in the 13th century. Elaborate lighting techniques were developed to project these colors directly on the façade with precision, recreating the cathedral's original appearance. When projected on the statues, the result is a stunning display that brings the figures to life. The light show plays nightly, and my friends and I love it--it is absolutely amazing to watch, and hard to believe that is only a short bus ride away from my apartment. 
I came to France to extend my studies in both the French language and in film. France is the birthplace of cinema, and since I’ve been here, I have been exposed to so much film. I am enrolled in two classes on the subject, one of which is the history of film. In this class, I was able to watch one of the first movies EVER MADE! It is called “Le Voyage Dans la Lune” and it was created in 1902. It was amazing to see a film that I have written so many reports about and have referred to in so many presentations. Also, in a trip to Paris, I was able to visit the Cinémathèque Française, a film museum in which they had an exhibit called “Brune/Blonde” (translated o “Brunette/Blonde”), analyzing the impact women’s hair has on a movie’s plot, characters, and aesthetics. It has been such a treat for a movie girl like me to be so engrossed in a culture that embraces the art of cinema as much as I do. Whether I’m seeing a movie at the local theater, researching for a report on French auteur Jean Renoir, or registering for the Amiens Film Festival, I know this is the exact place I need to be to enhance my film studies.
My time in France so far has been quite the roller coaster ride, for which I am grateful. I have been here in the quaint, charming Amiens (about 80 miles north of Paris) only for a month and I have made priceless memories already. I know it is cliché to say that study abroad changes your life, but it really does. My eyes have been opened to view the world as a multi-faceted, beautiful place. 
I got to France on September 10, which was a weekend, when all of France is apparently shut down, so the residence office was closed and I had no way to get to my room. I found a room with a chalkboard and some desks in the dorm building and I figured I could sleep there with my luggage until someone appeared at the front desk. Then, through an open window, I heard English speakers! A group of American girls came into the building and as soon as I explained my situation, one of them invited me to sleep in her room for the night. It was a blessing in disguise that I showed up on a day when the office was closed, because I met a lot of really cool people right off the bat. We all went out that first night to Saint Leu, the student district. All the advice I had heard pre-departure was to go to any social situation you’re invited to, no matter what, because you will make connections with people. Even if you’re tired or homesick—or in my case that night, extremely jet-lagged—you have to leave your comfort zone and go out. The student district here in Amiens is very stereotypical French—there we were at midnight on a cobblestone path and all the sidewalk cafés jam-packed with people. And; for whatever reason, there were fireworks that night too! I love fireworks! A perfect introduction to France, even amidst the aggravation of not having my own room.
I eventually got my own room, which is super tiny with a bed that folds down from the wall. And the shower turns on via the sink, which took forever to figure out, but I had many problems thereafter. My adapter/converter exploded both my charger for my laptop and my hair dryer, so I was without a working laptop and constant wet hair for the first week. Also, even though I have studied French for close to 7 years, the language is much more difficult to grasp when you’re interacting with native speakers. The first week here was especially difficult for me, but thankfully I had made friends right away that were able to help me through it and make me not feel so alone in my challenges.
Once I was able to actually discover the town I’m studying in, my frustrations would disappear. Amiens is such a beautiful town. There are so many water canals, flowers, ponds, parks, and little houses with colorful shutters. The cathedral here is very famous, and rightfully so. The Notre-Dame (yes, it shares the same name as the celebrated one in Paris, but the one here is about twice the size) was built in 1288 and it has the most intricate carvings of Jesus and his disciples, the Virgin Mary, and the Three Wise Men on the exterior of the structure. It is insane to think something built in the 1200’s is still standing today. At night, though, is when the cathedral is most spectacular. During the process of laser cleaning in the 1990’s, it was discovered that the western façade of the cathedral was originally painted in multiple colors. A technique was created to determine the exact make-up of the colors as they were applied in the 13th century. Elaborate lighting techniques were developed to project these colors directly on the façade with precision, recreating the cathedral's original appearance. When projected on the statues, the result is a stunning display that brings the figures to life. The light show plays nightly, and my friends and I love it--it is absolutely amazing to watch, and hard to believe that is only a short bus ride away from my apartment. 
I came to France to extend my studies in both the French language and in film. France is the birthplace of cinema, and since I’ve been here, I have been exposed to so much film. I am enrolled in two classes on the subject, one of which is the history of film. In this class, I was able to watch one of the first movies EVER MADE! It is called “Le Voyage Dans la Lune” and it was created in 1902. It was amazing to see a film that I have written so many reports about and have referred to in so many presentations. Also, in a trip to Paris, I was able to visit the Cinémathèque Française, a film museum in which they had an exhibit called “Brune/Blonde” (translated o “Brunette/Blonde”), analyzing the impact women’s hair has on a movie’s plot, characters, and aesthetics. It has been such a treat for a movie girl like me to be so engrossed in a culture that embraces the art of cinema as much as I do. Whether I’m seeing a movie at the local theater, researching for a report on French auteur Jean Renoir, or registering for the Amiens Film Festival, I know this is the exact place I need to be to enhance my film studies. And as I wandered through the sidewalks of the centre-ville last night in the middle of an impromptu parade for the town’s Nuit Blanche festival, following a local drumline as they beat a rhythm that was impossible not to dance to, I was reminded again that this is the exact place I want to be right now. There is always so much going on here, and although homesickness and frustration come in ebbs and flows, negative thoughts don’t last long. I mean, how can they when you can go out on any given night and dance in the streets?
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