by Clare B I can’t believe it’s already been a week that we’ve been here in St. Laurent! On Tuesday we started classes, and we were separated into three groups based on our level and understanding of French. Each morning we go to class for three hours, which sounds like it would be extremely exhausting and demanding. However, our classes are actually very enjoyable because we learn just as much outside the classroom as we do inside the classroom. For example, today my class had a homework assignment to prepare a presentation about our hometowns, but instead of each person standing up in front of the class to speak, we went to a nearby café and sat down together to present our hometowns to each other through conversation. At the same time, we learned how to act at a restaurant in France, as well as order food and drinks in many different ways. Our classes are also in the old part of the town of St. Laurent-Du-Var, which is absolutely gorgeous. 
On Wednesday my elective photography class went with the drawing class to “Parc Phoenix” in Nice and tested out our camera’s manual settings. 
Learning French in an immersive environment is very different than learning French in a classroom. Stepping outside the classroom to interact with only French people is very rarely available to us in America, and we are so lucky to be able to have this experience.