This past summer, I, Annika Trost, had the opportunity to live in France and participate in the Arles Project, which included photography, international journalism and French courses. The program was the perfect trifecta of all things media and French. 

If you’re interested in eating a croissant every day and waltzing through French streets and beach towns in the south of France next summer, the Arles Project might be the perfect opportunity for you. Join us at Hamilton Hall, room 172, at 6 p.m. Tuesday to enjoy a French snack and learn more about the program in Arles next summer. 

My cultural immersion did not end at home, as I was constantly surrounded by the French language and had the opportunity to put my skills into practice in our daily French classes and at local cafes.

I learned a lot about French culture in the south, including the three-kiss greetings, the slow afternoons and even got to explore the sites painted by Van Gogh during his time living in Arles. You can view one of my stories about Van Gogh and his connection to the city and Asian culture, along with many other articles, on the Arles Project website.

Through the language school Arles à la Carte, I was able to connect with summer interns and French employees at the school and build several cross-cultural connections. I also had the opportunity to meet and learn alongside 15 peer students from universities across the U.S. and three American professors. Not to mention, we were introduced to multiple publications in the community and had the opportunity to interview notable figures, such as the deputy mayor of Arles.

All of these experiences were in addition to my exposure to international journalism and photojournalism. We had the opportunity to refine our photography skills with Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Deni Chamberlin, participate in journalism lectures and even learn how to conduct cross-language interviews with an interpreter.

We even got to put our social media skills to use by refining the project’s Instagram account (@arlesproject) and started posting regularly.

Students of all majors and backgrounds are encouraged to apply on iEi Media’s website. If you’re interested in learning more, attend the information session at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Hamilton Hall, room 172. RSVP at this link or contact Chamberlin for more information.