On Street Performers:

In Lyon, street performers, more often than not, are well-dressed people who seem to perform primarily out of passion for whatever instrument they play or show they put on. There?s a very put together woman who plays the harp at a local market, and while she does put a cup by her feet for donations, she seems more concerned with pleasuring her audience with beautiful music. In the states, I rarely see a street performer who isn?t primarily concerned with obtaining donations. However, A frequent (and awful) site in Lyon are women who beg on the street while cradling their babies. If the child cries, the mother will often just set the baby on the ground allowing him or her to cry (I think), so as to draw sympathy from those who pass by. Perhaps this isn?t a site particular to Lyon especially, but it?s one I rarely ever see in the states, and have already, in my three weeks in Lyon, seen several times here.

On When Things are Open:
All the stores aren?t open all the time as they are in the states. Salons aren?t open Mondays, and virtually every restaurant other than those serving Kebab (for whatever reason) are closed on Sundays. Generally, Sundays are a good day to travel around France, because Lyon is just dead that day. Once you realize that certain stores are closed on Sundays and Mondays, it?s easy to plan your schedule around their open hours, but I do wish I?d known earlier that I wouldn?t very easily be able to get a croissant on Sunday…

On Manners:

Even with the language barrier (which is gradually decreasing!), I?m realizing more and more that people are just people everywhere. Be nice. Be polite. Say “Sil vous plait” all the time. Smile a lot. Always say “merci” or “merci beaucoup” and “au revoir” when you leave a store. I get lots of smiles when I make a point about being polite and kind to the French people. Many times, people will even ask me where I?m from, and start up a conversation with me.

Click for more information on AmeriSpan’s French school in Lyon, France.

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Read all of Ashley’s blogs from Lyon France.

Avignon:
This weekend I went to Avignon with a couple friends from the school (again, the proximity of Lyon to other parts of France just makes Lyon a fantastic place to study French). In Avignon, there are street artists everywhere and practically every wall, car, and building is filled with posters of upcoming theatre productions. It’s common to see a man walking down the street with a rolling piano, clowns singing opera, dancers dressed up in old fashioned dresses. It?’s just an incredibly unique place. I would highly recommend visiting if you study in Lyon. Price for the train: 44 Euros (a bit pricey) and 30 Euros for the hotel (when split three ways). If you do make the voyage, I would recommend going on the ferris wheel, seeing the big park, and just enjoying all the street artists around the central downtown. I would not recommend going to any cathedrals that are expensive (the rooms really aren’t that cool).

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When something goes wrong (between student and teacher):
There is an instructor here who leaves the classroom every time we work on something. I wrote in my evaluation (we write evaluations of the teachers every week) that I wish he would stay in the classroom to help us, and I’m happy to say that he’s actually very different in the class now – he’s always helping us. This just to say, if you are unhappy with something in the program, you can let someone know and, usually, your voice will be heard.

What I wish I knew two weeks ago:

1. Do your homework. You have homework, even though it’s not assigned. Your homework is to fill out all the worksheets – and, believe me, you should do it even though no one asks for it the next day. The instructor will correct your worksheet if you want, and you’ll learn a lot from filling it out, answering it to the best of your ability, and carefully understanding your mistakes.
2. Make new friends (expand your social circle). I have a couple friends here that I just absolutely love and click with really well, but I actually have a hard time speaking in French with them. In the past two weeks, I’ve met a couple other friends who I really enjoy speaking French with and it’s really good practice for me to hang out with them (if I hadn’t left my comfortable social circle, I wouldn’t have met them).

Read all of Ashley's blogs from Lyon France.

Miluska is studying French & Cooking, one of AmeriSpan’s Language & Fun programs, in Nice, France. In this video, Miluska brings us to her French language classes and on some excursions with the French school.

For more information on this program, go to French & Cooking in Nice. 
See all French programs in Nice.

Watch a video blog from our guest blogger, Christina H., who is studying French in Quebec City, Canada. In this video, Christina takes us on a tour of beautiful Quebec City.

See French in Quebec City.

Watch a video blog from our guest blogger, Christina H., who is studying French in Quebec City, Canada. In this video, Christina interviews three of her fellow students and one of her teachers. (Note: Some interviewees chose not to appear on camera in order to protect their privacy.)

See French in Quebec City.