Abbie Ruckman spent four weeks speaking French in Paris in June and July. The Westview High School junior came home to Beaverton with college credit, a jump to Honors French and a $1,000 scholarship.
Ruckman took part in CIEE Global Navigators' French Language and Culture program from June 7 through July 4.
The program paired daily French classes with guided cultural excursions and free time to explore the city, according to a profile in The Nexus, Westview's student newspaper, written by Athena Schmelzer.
One highlight came on June 21, when Ruckman experienced Fête de la Musique, France's summer solstice music festival. She rode on the back of a moped through cobblestone streets as musicians played EDM, jazz and pop on sidewalks around her.
"Fête de la Musique is very big [in France]," Ruckman told The Nexus. "Music plays morning, afternoon, and night, until the next day … and it's all types of music: EDM, jazz, pop, everything. [The musicians] play on the streets, and everyone's dancing."
The program pushed students to speak French not just with Parisians but with each other. Ruckman said the constant immersion sometimes overwhelmed beginners, but for her it meant she could talk with friends without feeling like a translator.
By the end of the trip, she said she could navigate the Paris metro mostly without Google Maps and that conversations with locals felt "lighter and quicker."
After completing the program, Ruckman advanced to Honors French 7-8 at Westview and received college credit for her coursework. She also received a $1,000 scholarship to offset costs. The four-week Paris program costs $7,950, and according to CIEE, only about 2% of U.S. high school students study abroad each year.
The experience changed how Ruckman thinks about her future. She connected with the daughter of a Westview French teacher who lives in Paris during her stay, and said she would consider attending college in France. By the end, Paris felt less like a foreign city and more like a place she knew how to navigate on her own.
