Learning to be Uncomfortable (in three languages)
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Welp. An idea, a dream I’ve had since before starting my freshman year of college, is quickly becoming real, and I feel equally excited and terrified.
As a pre-med biochemistry major with a French minor, it has always been my greatest wish to study abroad and become trilingual through full immersion in a French-speaking country. I grew up in Germany in a German- and English-speaking household and moved to the United States at the age of almost 16. Languages have always felt exciting to me, especially French, which I began learning in 6th grade. From early on, I dreamt of, one day, becoming truly fluent.
But like many pre-health students, I kept hearing the same thing: it’s really difficult to study abroad as a science major, especially if you’re pre-med! So, as an overwhelmed freshman, I ran to the Off-Campus Study office as soon as I arrived at Hope. After nervously rambling through my hopes and fears, my advisor smiled and said, “It is totally possible for you to study abroad.”
Sorry — what?
I was so surprised that I didn’t believe her. I kept looking for the catch, the hidden complication, the inevitable “but…” – and it wasn’t there. Yes, it required planning, but I had far more flexibility than I expected. With the help of my academic and study abroad advisors, I started mapping things out. After intentionally saving some of my anchor credits, I found a program in Nantes, France that felt almost too perfect: full language immersion, courses taught entirely in French that count toward my minor and anchor requirements, and the opportunity to live with a French host family.
Talk about immersion!
Whenever I tell people about the homestay, I often get concerned looks. And trust, I understand – it does sound intimidating. Going away from home to share space with a completely new family from a totally different background sounds, at worst, completely out of one’s comfort zone. But maybe that discomfort, the new and unfamiliar, is the point.
In middle school, my family hosted a French student named Guillaume in our home in Germany. He was in his early twenties, and his visit quickly turned into one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had. There were so many funny, slightly chaotic moments that come with blending cultures and languages under one roof. One of my favorites is watching him unsuccessfully try multiple times to understand that my mom was offering him a croissant, which she kept pronouncing as “crissaunt”. Or convincing him to play Just Dance with me and my brother for what felt like hours.
What stuck with me, though, wasn’t just the humorous moments – it was the connection. Guillaume became part of my family. Over the years, he has come back to visit us multiple times, even bringing his parents to meet us. He was someone I admired deeply, not because he tried to teach us anything directly, but because of the way he lived, communicated, and shared his perspective. By stepping into our world, he expanded it – and in doing so, quietly encouraged us to expand ours.
Now, as I approach my twenties, I think about that experience a little differently. After moving to the United States, I went through my own version of cultural and linguistic whiplash. From small things – like smiling at strangers on the street – to bigger adjustments, like navigating a completely different social environment, everything felt new. It wasn’t always easy, but it shaped me in ways I’m incredibly grateful for.
That transition pushed me to develop self-awareness, empathy, and curiosity. It forced me to listen more carefully, to observe more intentionally, to put myself in others’ shoes before drawing conclusions, and to accept that feeling uncomfortable is often part of meaningful growth.
Still, as a German saying goes, there is always air to the top. There is always more to learn, more to understand, more room to grow, and – do not forget – my dream to become fluent in French.
Even though I’m admittedly nervous about stepping into a completely new cultural, culinary, and linguistic environment – especially within the close setting of a host family – I’m also incredibly excited. I know that the kind of growth I experienced before will just deepen through this. Growth is guaranteed when you fully immerse yourself in a place where you can’t escape to your familiar.
And I am so ready for that challenge.
I can’t wait for the awkward moments, the misunderstandings, the small victories of finally expressing exactly what I mean in French, and maybe even being mistaken for just a normal French student. I’m thrilled to learn not just in a classroom, but around a dinner table, in everyday conversations, and through the rhythms of daily life.
And if I’m lucky, I’ll come with a few new favorite recipes, too.
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