In August 2010, shortly after graduating from college and completing an intensive French language camp, I moved to Strasbourg, France for nine months as a kind of independent “study abroad” experience.

My primary goal for the year was to prepare for graduate school. The meant improving my French and German language skills to be able to work comfortably with primary documents in both languages. But beyond the written page, it meant living within and experiencing French culture in order to better understand the society from which my favorite works of art emerged.

Not everything went as planned… which, really, was a lesson about France unto itself. I began studying French only three months before I arrived, and I just didn’t speak well enough to find a job right away. After the intensity of my summer program, the slow pace of my language classes was also quite a let-down — fortunately, my experiences outside of the classroom were much more informative.

All in all, it was not exactly the year I was expecting, but in most respects that was for the best. I got more out of my time abroad — both educationally and personally — than I ever thought I would, and ultimately, I think I did achieve my original goal: by the time I left, I felt far more prepared and excited for grad school than I was when I arrived.

You can read more about my experiences in France by checking out the “living abroad” tag. Some entries are about French culture. Some are just about living abroad as a young person. But together, they’re kind of a scrapbook about my life in Strasbourg.