Hi, my name is Madeline Davis and I just finished my sophomore year at the college. I am an astrophysics and physics double major and a math and political science double minor. I am participating in the CofC in France and Switzerland: Global Health and Honors program. This is a faculty-led may-mester program and I’ll be taking Dr. Bossack’s honors class called “Future of Humanity in a Technological Tomorrow”. You may be wondering why on Earth I’m going on this trip if I’m an astrophysics major. Well, I’m going because studying abroad (especially in France) has been a goal of mine since high school, and I knew the only way I could study abroad would be via the honors college or my political science minor. I am very excited to be traveling to France for the first time because French is the foreign language I have taken throughout high school and college and I would love the opportunity to practice more. Another reason I chose to study abroad, in general, is because it can open up several opportunities for my academic and career interests. During my time in France, I hope to at least become conversational in French. There are several days during our trip when we will be in a business casual or business professional setting, so I also hope to improve my communication skills in professional and cross-cultural settings. I hope to immerse myself in French culture; including food, music, language, events, and maybe even dress. Some things I have found during my research of France are that the on-street stands have the best crepes, it is normal for meals to last several hours, and the coffee is delicious. I have also learned that you should start every conversation with Bonjour to avoid offending anyone and to not just assume everyone speaks English, it is more polite to ask “Parlez-vous Anglais” after a few French words have been exchanged.