By Rogelio Alvarez
The East Los Angeles College Modern Language Department is offering students an opportunity to study abroad in Paris next summer.
The program is being offered through a collaboration between other schools within the the European Studies Association.
“The nice thing about our program is that (students are) there for the month of July. They live like Parisians in a very nice, upscale, safe part of Paris. It’s just a very nice atmosphere. They really do get immersed in the culture,” Modern Language Professor Dr. Lynn Vogel-Zuiderweg said.
Students will be staying in dorms, where they will be fed.
Dr. Vogel-Zuiderweg will accompany students on the trip and will also be one of the staff/ faculty teaching French to students abroad.
ELAC will join other students from Los Angeles Valley College, Los Angeles City College and City College of San Francisco in the trip.
After completing the program, students can receive up to 8 transferable units. Students attend their courses in the morning and have different activities planned for the day.
Students have two program courses they can choose from. Students without any knowledge of the French language can take the survival French course.
Students with intermediate or advanced French can choose the course where they study at a private French university.
“We’ll go to an open-air market. Everybody, then, buys 5 dollars worth of cheese and then we come back and have a potluck. Some of the professors will tell them, ‘Well, this cheese comes from this area’,” Dr. Vogel-Zuiderweg said.
Students will visit the Louvre Museum and the Musee d’Orsay.
The program also includes a ticket to either the ballet or the opera.
Included in the program is a weekend trip to famous French castles and Omaha Beach where the famous D-Day World War II battle occurred.
Vogel-Zuiderweg says the weekend trips included in the program are different from the previous weekend trips taken during the program the past couple of years.
The program includes visits to impressionist artist Claude Monet’s garden and the village where Vincent Van Gogh painted.
Students will be provided with a monthly metropass to help them get around the city.
“We’re going to do a presentation this Friday, on Global Awareness Day, at 11 a.m. On Nov. 29, we’ll have two meetings, one at 12:30 p.m. and one at 5 p.m.” Vogel-Zuiderweg said.
The meetings on Nov. 29 will preview the different things the study abroad program offers and answer any questions and concerns students have.
The study abroad program is available for anyone over 17 years old.
For more information, contact Dr. Lynn Vogel-Zuiderweg at vogelzlc@elac.edu.