Alex’s Time in Antibes, France

Hello! My name is Alex Seaver, and I’m a TY student from Dublin. I’m just back from spending an amazing three weeks in Antibes in France. I came to France with the main intention of improving my French, but also to meet new people and experience new cultures. I studied at a Language School in Antibes, and I stayed at one of the residence campuses with one of my friends.

GREETINGS FROM ANTIBES!

We arrived in Antibes on October 1st and were greeted at the airport by one of the leaders of the residence. He was extremely welcoming, fun & lively. When we arrived at the residence, we met even more of the staff who were just as dynamic. There were other new students like us, and we learned that every weekend some new students arrive and some students leave. That put us at ease knowing we weren’t the only new ones around and that there were many people in the same boat. The staff made a huge effort to make us get to know the other students, and that evening we did lots of fun activities.

SCHOOLS DAYS & ACTIVITIES

The school days were a lot shorter than in Ireland. The classes were from 9 – 12.20, with a 20-minute break in between. The people staying in the residence would take a bus to the school, and we ate breakfast and lunch at the school each weekday. The classes were really interactive and there was a good combination of written and spoken French taught. There were about 15 people per class, so you really got to know everyone quite well and chat about shared experiences.

We did different activities in the afternoon. There was a large variation of activities, from sports, to sailing, trampolining, museum tours and even visits to other cities! Not all the activities were compulsory, however I would recommend to everyone to take part as it was always a fun experience and it’s a great way to build connections and make new friends. On afternoons when we had free time, we would go toto beach or head into Antibes. I loved the independence of free time and I found it really helped me gain more confidence in myself.

On the weekends, we took day trips to places like Nice, Monaco, Cannes and Île Sainte-Marguerite. I really enjoyed visiting the other cities along the Côte d’Azur. Each place is so pretty and unique. I was really fortunate that the residence was near the train station, so all the cities were only a train away.

MY INCREDIBLE TIME IN ANTIBES

Overall, I had an incredible time on my language course in Antibes. I found my overall French improved, particularly my understanding of French, as I was constantly surrounded by people speaking the language and the classes were in French as well. All the other students were so friendly and it was so easy to make friends. The teachers and animators were really chilled and the school and the residence had the most fun environment. Antibes is a really cool town, I would recommend going to visit even if you are not going to study French. The course was a completely new experience for me, but I was so grateful that I was able to go and spend three weeks in the south of France.