I expected my French to improve substantially by the time my 4 weeks were up, I expected endless sunshine, golden sand and many other gap year students willing to share the experience with me. The weather lived up to my expectations, and even excelled them, in the entire 29 days it rained once on the first day and for the rest of the month clouds were positively rare and I returned to England with a glorious tan.
My teacher Danielle was the most delightful teacher I’ve ever had! She spoke enthusiastically, always in French. I never felt that there were too many lessons, they ran from 9am to noon and for the rest of the day you can pick up French in whatever way you choose. Every time you go to the beach or the bars you pick up the language. When you get stung by a jelly fish, you’ll pick up the relevant French, because you need it: “J`ai été piqué par une méduse!” (Luckily it wasn’t me that got stung).
If there was an ideal location for a college, this was it. The French Riviera is a beautiful part of the world to begin with, and the campus is only 3 minutes away from the beach, with its soft, golden sand. There are also frequent excursions organised by the college that give you the chance to see various other parts of lovely of France: Aix-en-Provence, St.Tropez and Monaco to name a few.
The month I spent in Cannes was the best month I’ve experienced in my life. If I had to pick a ground hog day it may well be one of those days when the suns made everyone exuberant during the afternoon, followed by an evening out made special by the sublime discussions we’d have about our different cultures. Any apprehensions I had about meeting people from different countries have gone. Cannes unexpectedly made me love the world and has given me a newfound passion to travel.
My accommodation was right next to the college. This is brilliant, as you can wake up at 8.55am, roll out of bed and be in class for 9am (for personal hygiene reasons you may want to wake a bit earlier and shower first). The canteen at the school is good and has a nice salad bar, which meant I could eat healthy whilst on my course. The breakfast is very basic, but sufficient, half-board is recommended.
CESA was very helpful and pleasant to discuss things with on the phone. I never ran into unexpected inconveniences during my entire stay.
I will definitely return, (it was money well spent, one month in Cannes is certainly worth 4 months of hard work and saving in England) Cannes was a memorable Gap Year for me and it’s amazing how much the world has expanded for me in just 29 days. Thanks CESA!
