Abigayle Strano

Abigayle Strano

Major: French and Francophone Studies

Testimonial

Click on the tabs below to find out what she thought about the experience!

What was your most memorable experience while in Nantes?

One of my most memorable experiences was being on the tram and talking to the others about where we should go. Everyone wanted to go to London and I remember saying “We should go to London next weekend” so we did. It’s so easy to travel in Europe because you can fly everywhere or take the train. Four-day weekends and having Nantes as a home base made traveling convenient so we could go somewhere for a couple days but not have to bring a huge backpack with all our luggage. 

In what ways did your French improve while abroad?

Being immersed in the language and being in a country where the first language is French really help me improve my oral skills. I became so much more confident in my speaking during my time in Nantes. All of our courses were participation and discussion based so I gave me the opportunity to practice speaking in French. After getting back from Nantes, I’m less nervous to speak French in class because I did it for three months and it feels so much more natural. 

What was your favourite place to travel to and why?

I thought it was cool how in France you could see history through the buildings, so I think that’s why going to Clisson was so memorable. Clisson is a little town only a 15 minute train ride from Nantes with a castle that was built in the 13th century (800 years ago). I liked walking through the castle and imagining who lived there and what life looked like for them. 

What is one piece of advice you would give to future Nantes goers and why?

I would say try to be as present as you can. Four months can seem like a really long time but it goes by so quick! Along with meeting you academic goals this program gives you the freedom and convenience to to travel within and beyond France. That could look like flying to the countries you’ve always wanted to go to on the weekend. Or if exploring Nantes and surrounding little towns is what you want to do, plan little day trips to take the train around because everything is so accessible. This program gives you the opportunity to try so many different things and travel wherever you’ve been wanting to go.

How was school in Nantes compared to Trent?

The main difference between going to school in Nantes was the class size. Most of my classes last year at Trent were in big lecture halls full of students. What’s nice about the classes in Nantes is that you are only in class with the people in the Study Abroad program from Trent. We had a smaller group last semester which meant for all of our classes it was just the five of us. With the small class sizes it was that I was pushed to participate in class more than I would have in my classes at Trent and I got to know my classmates really well which made class more fun.

What was the biggest difference you found between France and Canada?

One of the biggest differences I found in my weekly routine was that almost everything is closed on Sundays. Sundays felt peaceful because no one has anywhere to be and they’re just enjoying the day. You could just walk around the city and take it all in and not have to rush off to get groceries.

How were the people?

I met a lot of international and French students in my building and we ended up being friends the entire semester.  

Would you go back to Nantes? Why?

I definitely would because my friends are living there! I wouldn’t stay for a long time, but if I travelled back to France I would make a pit stop there to visit my favourite bars and restaurants. To be honest it is just a city and I was not very interested in the Ile de Machines. Nantes is not very beautiful in the way of nature or unique buildings I found.