Studying Abroad in 2021: An Interview With Logan MacMillan (FSU History alumnus)

Logan MacMillan, a history major, graduated from Florida State University in December 2020. Two months later, he left for France to pursue intensive language studies. Studying abroad has changed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, but many study abroad programs are working to provide the cultural immersion and experiences students seek. MacMillan took the time to tell us about his stay abroad in spring and summer 2021.

MacMillan became interested in studying French in high school and continued his language studies at FSU. What initially began as a way of fulfilling the foreign language requirement turned quickly into a passion for the language. MacMillan went to Paris to study abroad with FSU, and this experience made him want to continue with French in earnest. He earned a minor in French and decided to participate in one of the Alliance Française language programs in France as a “capstone” to his FSU education in the French language.

MacMillan has been living and studying French in Lyon, France, a city not far from the border to Switzerland since February. He attended a general French language course each weekday and had additional grammar and writing classes. “The course material is hard, but the classes are easy. I am taking an intensive course which requires me to work completely in French. This makes the class more difficult. Yet because I have been interacting with local people and immersed myself fully in life in France, communicating in French has become so much easier.”

MacMillan chose to live in the university dorms, but many of his fellow students at the Alliance Francaise lived with host families or worked as au pairs for French families. Once the lessons were over, MacMillan and his friends went to cafes and restaurants, explored the different areas of Lyon, or traveled further afield. When he went to a bar to watch the European soccer championship, he felt right at home among the other soccer fans, although he thought them even more intense than American football supporters.

Living abroad has shown MacMillan ways in which life in other countries is different. One thing he noticed was that cars were less important for people living in cities for their daily commute. MacMillan walked the two miles to class and back every day and found getting around Lyon very easy. “There are plenty of pedestrian-only roads, and cars always give way to pedestrians. The towns themselves are built very tightly, so there isn’t a need to walk on the side of a highway to get from one part to the other. While I’m France, I have never ordered an Uber and I normally only ride the metro a couple of times per month.”

Another difference MacMillan noticed is the political atmosphere in France. “While in the United States, the population is divided into vocal camps, the French seem indifferent to politics at the moment. This is in direct contradiction to the image I have of the many revolutions of France and the Gilets Jaunes protests. Just this year, former President Sarkozy has been convicted and imprisoned for corruption, but I never see the media mention this… France is currently holding its midterm elections and the only way to tell is by seeing some badly vandalized posters… However, at least once a month this quietness is broken with a gigantic protest attended by thousands which closes down the downtown area.”

Like most things the past few months, MacMillan’s time in France was affected by the pandemic. When he first arrived in Lyon, there was a 6 p.m. curfew and all the restaurants were closed. It was like a ghost town. MacMillan spent a week in quarantine before being allowed to join his language program. As time went on, he got to experience more and more of what French life was like. As the country started to unlock, the streets began to bustle with people, restaurants opened up, and it looked like a completely different place.

Living abroad made MacMillan face some distinct challenges. Initially, it took some work to get his visa organized and he had to collect it in person at the French consulate in Miami. Once in Lyon, MacMillan needed a new phone and number, as well as a French bank account. Researching (in French!) the best phone plan to get and which bank to use took some time but was necessary for his life abroad. MacMillan has seen success in the increasing ease with which he can talk to native French speakers, without being laughed at.

Living in Lyon has made its many layered history come alive for MacMillan. Just outside his dorm building is a Roman aqueduct, and close by MacMillan can walk around Roman amphitheaters. While visiting the cathedral in Lyon, he noticed that outside all the statues of saints had been beheaded. This happened during the French Wars of Religion when protestants came through the town and destroyed Catholic images. MacMillan also explored the town’s old silk factories, which helped make Lyon an epicenter of the European silk industry from the late fifteenth century onward. Another visit took him to the Centre d'histoire de la Resistance et de la Deportation, the Center for the History of Resistance and Deportation, which is a museum located in an old World War II resistance hideout. The city was a hub for the resistance during Vichy France. In Lyon, MacMillan can “feel the history” he learned about in his academic classes.

MacMillan spent about five months in France honing his language skills. This will allow him to have the necessary proficiency to start his graduate education. This fall, MacMillan will begin an MA at Kings’ College, London, studying international development with a focus on francophone Africa. He became interested in this subject while putting together a presentation on current affairs in the Congo for his French class. MacMillan hopes to pursue a PhD in London as well.

MacMillan offered some advice for undergraduate students interested in studying abroad. “It will be scary but do it.” Don’t be intimidated by all the extra work organizing your stay. MacMillan bonded very quickly with his fellow language students and felt that they were “all in it together.” The cultural immersion alone made it all worthwhile. One of his happiest moments in France was when he was walking through a park with a scarf on and a baguette in his hand and thought, “I am so French right now. I am one with the culture.”