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Making Friends Abroad: How These Students Found Beaucoup Besties in France

IES Abroad

It's easy to fall into the trap of "but what if I don't make friends abroad?"

The funny thing is, every semester, that is one of the most common fears our Correspondents blog about...only to say how surprised and happy they are with how quickly they gained a sense of community abroad.

If you find yourself sweating it, just remember: you like study abroad, they like study abroad. You're both at least a little worried about making friends—that's already two things in common! If that's not enough, our Correspondents in France have been posting plenty of reassurances for any of your friend-finding woes.

Get ready to band together with some new study abroad buddies and experience a whole lots of firsts abroad. We're already dreaming about your first crepe or café au lait! ☕

Deadlines for programs are quickly approaching, so don't wait on your study abroad dreams.

"Once together for our orientation, the IES Abroad students in Nantes began the process of building a community, we lived a lifetime in 10 days and found home with each other. Our lives were all turned a little upside down, we were all a little bit alone, and in those 10 days we formed and stormed faster than any group I have ever been a part of. I had no idea what this experience was going to be like, and I still have a long way to go to figure it out, but I am so happy that these are the people that I get to have it with. I came to Nantes alone, there was no one from my school here, no one I knew at all.”

- Making Friends in an Empty Elevator and Other Thoughts on Going Abroad Alone, RJ Walters (IES Abroad Nantes | University of Colorado - Boulder)

"The other students with IES Abroad are simply the most generous and selfless people I’ve ever met, always ready to lend a helping hand. There’s a visceral spirit of “we’re all in this together” and it shows in every action and conversation. I think that nothing quite bonds you with people like being thrown into a situation in which you have to stick together in order to get through it.”

- No Favorite Things, Clare Hogan (IES Abroad Nantes | Wofford College)

"Because I decided to be vulnerable and leave behind the fear of speaking French to natives, I made a new friend and discovered a whole new part of the city just by saying "hi" to someone."

- Finding someone to dance with/a dance community—checked ✓, Martin Lopez Melendez (IES Abroad Paris | Lewis & Clark College)

La vie est belle for our Correspondents in France—check it out on the #IESabroad feed!

Say oui! to your next big adventure.

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