Good afternoon. They say the best way to experience a culture is to immerse yourself there. And last summer, I had the incredible opportunity to immerse myself, not only in one, but two cultures at once. My name is Elise Newcomer. And this summer I created an internship with the help of LYNK funding to work for Gites de La Richariere, a British-owned business providing accommodations to holidaymakers seeking the rich destinations of the Loire Valley. But before that, I studied abroad through the Montpellier program. 

I've always known that I wanted to study French in college. But when I declared a French major, I knew I needed also to study or work in a French-speaking country to really understand the language completely. Little did I know that I would do both. My year in Montpellier was, as most study abroad experiences are, full of new challenges as I adapted to a different culture and was immersed in a language I had studied so closely. This connected what I had learned in the classroom to the French-speaking world. 

Here at Mount Holyoke, we studied mostly literature in the French department, which reveals many important qualities of the French culture. However, arriving in France, I realized quickly how one-sided my French skills had become. I say now that I could analyze a work of art in a four-page paper ready for Monday without too much difficulty, but ask my host mother what time dinner would be was surprisingly impossible. These challenges not only humbled me but showed me just how much work I had left to do and offered me the opportunities to make that happen in my classes at the French university and also at home with my host family. 

Being in Montpellier also put me in conversation with working adults and other students navigating the world of applications and interviews as well, though there, they're called [SPEAKING FRENCH], is blessedly the same. I networked through a choir that I joined. And while I didn't ultimately find the position I took through that venue, I learned more about the French system regarding internships, specifically how difficult it is for French students to find work. They faced similar issues in employment after graduation, and I saw this trend later in the summer working in Le Petit-Pressigny. By going through that arduous process, I feel more accustomed to the French system and could apply for positions within France potentially after graduation. 

Also during my time in Montpellier, I lived with a host family for one semester and an apartment the next. Living with a host family helped me to adjust to the French way of life, while also forcing me to speak the language. When I lived on my own, I found I didn't speak as much French, but I understood the world around me more closely. And I appreciated the independence of choosing the European life that fit me most. I believe that this cultural shift gave the emotional and communicational skills to adjust to any community abroad or domestic that I ended up using in my internship. 

Dave and Patience Brown privately own Gites de La Richariere, and it's also their home. When Dave retired from being a head teacher in England they, they bought this property in the Loire Valley in a small village named Le Petit-Pressigny and made it their business. But we are never officially met before I came to France. They are distant friends of my family, and I spent the new year with them. During that time, we discussed the possibility of me working for them during the summer to continue speaking French and went forward with the idea in May. 

So Gites de La Richariere is a property of French style cottages, which provide accommodation to holidaymakers seeking the destinations of the Loire Valley. And it's originally a farming property. So this building on the bottom here is the Pigeonnier, which in French means the pigeon house. And so it's this lovely couple's cottage that is a self-catering opportunity for couples honeymooning or things like that to rent that out for the week. There's a fully equipped kitchen. There's washing machines on site. It's really such a wonderful, beautiful place. 

This is a collaboration-- this internship-- was a collaboration on both of our parts, as Gites de La Richariere had never had an intern. And so this was an opportunity for me to learn about their business and assess what my skills could provide them. Here was a chance to combine the skills I gained at Mount Holyoke and French grammar and in my translation class in Montpellier. However, I would be remiss in not including funding as a major factor in this collaboration. As an independent business, my employers were not able to pay me. And the support I received from LYNK is the only way I could have taken this opportunity. 

I've included timing also as a major valuable in this application process as well. This is all done in the spring, as I was also weighing the opportunity of coming back to the United States overstaying in France, where I would need to renew my Visa and other complications. I found positions and applied through the alumni network as well as Lyonnet while I was in Montpellier, I applied to 10 different positions in America and Europe with La Richariere as a backup. 

I contend that no matter how much planning you can do, the process really does come down to what is available and logical and who responds quickly and positively to communication. Looking back, I would encourage any applicant to continue to remain in contact with the organization whose position you are applying for. After a week, send an email and remind them of your application to ensure that they received it. In multiple cases, the organizations had not received my application, and that's why I wasn't hearing back from them. After a week, send an email and remind them of your application. 

Remember that the Career Development Center is a great source for those applying abroad and on campus. Their online resources made my resume extremely strong, and I met with Karen Miller multiple times over Skype. MHC provides funding of $3,000 for domestic internships and $3,600 for international internships, which is an amazing asset for Mount Holyoke students. It is especially allocated for unpaid internships and gives students more freedom to choose opportunities they can forward their career. These are also adjusted for places with a high cost of living like Paris or New York. 

Step one is due Friday, February 16 in 2018, so put that in your calendars. But a guaranteed internship is not mandatory by that date, so it's best just to go to the mandatory meeting in January and submit an application for funding when you can. Sorry. I forgot to advance it. 

My specific job spanned a great deal, as I assessed where best to apply my skills throughout the summer. And it changed throughout the summer as well. Here is another picture of the property. So this was the house that Dave and Patience live in. And it's just a beautiful old farmhouse, as well as what I'm standing in there are field of sunflowers that we're all blooming around midsummer. And so each morning, I would take the dog for a walk, and it was just a lovely way to spend the day. 

So what I learned-- my specific job spanned a great deal and changed. I translated the website and publicity text from English to French using the skills that I had gained from Montpellier. And we were able to expand the readership of the website for La Richariere and advertising to beyond English-speaking audiences. Now this English-speaking audiences part is especially interesting because my English was very different from my host's English. And the conversations that we had around that were not something that I had expected. 

I expected coming from a French host family, where we had so many differences in language that were drastically different, I had expected something that was living with a host family who is British, it's basically the same language. It's fine. But there were really big differences in grammar structure and vocabulary that were completely new to me. And the conversations we had around those were really eye opening. And so I also learned the techniques that they used for maintaining the physical property and the great care that was taken to make each guest's experience at La Richariere comfortable and restorative. 

Living and working in a different region of France from Montpellier also afforded me the opportunity to experience a different way of life in a village versus a big city. In Montpellier, I was living on my own and living the young, single student life. And so I knew about maybe the nightlife of Montpellier, where in La Richariere, I knew more about family life and schools, as I also assisted my hosts teaching in an English elementary school-- French elementary school, excuse me. 

Many of Dave and Patience friends are also British and have transformed their farming properties to accommodate tourists as well. This is also a sign of the times that things are very much changing in these small villages. There are dwindling populations of French. And these villages that you would think would be the most French places of France are actually becoming more and more international. 

LYNK funding gave me the freedom to choose anything as an internship, nearly regardless of compensation. After my year in Montpellier, I knew that I wanted to stay abroad, specifically in France for my internship because I wanted to continue speaking French. However, my application process was maybe a little bit more frantic, and this is what I was able to create thanks to the LYNK funding. I learned a lot about French and as well as the French perspective from another culture from an English culture. And I am thankful to LYNK funding for giving me this opportunity. 

[APPLAUSE]