Hello! My name is Marc Brazeal and I am a junior studying international business-finance with a minor in French. I just arrived in Lyon, France, at the end of December to study at Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3!

When I first arrived in France, I felt like there were so many tasks that I needed to accomplish, such as getting a French SIM card, buying a metro pass, getting my French visa registered and subscribing to their social security health care system. While I have studied French for a long time, it was a little difficult at first to talk about these kinds of things in another language, but I’ve gotten more used to it and the people are very nice and can often understand what you’re trying to say even if you’re struggling to speak confidently.

Now that I have accomplished all of those things, I’ve been able to really focus on learning more about the culture, language and exploring Lyon and other places in Europe. I live with a host family while I am here and they’ve really been a huge help in showing me around the city and supporting me in getting acclimated to being in a new place. For example, they helped me to get my metro pass and showed me around a district called “Vieux Lyon” or Old Lyon. It’s famous for its Roman Amphitheatre and a beautiful Cathedral called Notre-Dame de Fourvière. This was a great way to learn about getting around the city and to explore culturally significant places in the city. We also speak to each other in both French and English so that we can both improve our second languages. Every day I feel that I am getting better at knowing more French words and being able to express myself in another language. I look forward to continuing to learn more about the language and culture in France and Europe overall!