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My Summer Program in Nice with Abbey Road – by Michael M.
by Student, Michael M. , New Jersey

Overall, I cannot think of anything that would have made my summer program in Nice any better than it was; it was really perfect. In the town of Nice, there was so much opportunity to learn. Old Nice was filled with shops and markets, where the vendors rarely could speak any English. Near Old Nice, in Garibaldi Square, I made friends with some local skateboarders, which not only gave me an opportunity to learn colloquially and slang French but also provided for some great action photography for my elective course. And when not in the town area, my friends and I would go down to the beach, get gelato, do some shopping, or learn some more French with our educators. Every weekend we would take day trips to different towns nearby.

From ones like Antibes, we could even see the Alps. Others gave a fantastic view of the French countryside or the Mediterranean. St. Paul de Vence even gave us a view of all three at once! Some trips were to the beach, others to old medieval style towns, and we even took a trip to Italy for a day. The day trips were really fantastic because they let us experience not only our “home” town but others as well, many of which were actually quite different. One of the most amazing things is that everybody got along. From the start, we were all friends, and we got along like one big family.

Some people were from Texas, Canada, and North Carolina, and even though I am from New York, we had no problems getting along wonderfully. I was friends with everyone on my trip and ended up spending my time with all of them at some point or another. It was truly a perfect group of people. My trip with Abbey Road was the best experience of my life. I had so much fun learning and experiencing France first-hand.

The teachers were fantastic, the other kids were fun to hang out with and as excited and enthusiastic as I was, and we were in what I now consider the best place on Earth while experiencing other cities as well. It was the perfect situation, and the people running the program were extremely accommodating, telling us that anything we wanted to do would be seriously considered. And these suggestions often came to fruition, which led to an amazing experience for everyone on the trip. My travels with Abbey Road were perfect, and I wouldn’t change a thing.