Angie Wright '17 - Languages, Literatures and International Studies

Although I eventually triple majored in International Studies, French, and Economics at NMU, my interest in and dedication to studying French language and francophone culture ended up permeating all three majors. For my International Economics class, I studied the effects of globalization on baby names in France for my end of year project. In my Economics of Regulation and Anti-trust class I wrote a paper comparing the types of foods that are subsidized in the U.S. versus France because of the political mechanisms in each country. 

While doing a semester study abroad at La Sorbonne in Paris from 2015 to 2016, I felt my relationship with France was only just beginning. After returning, Dr. Kupper informed me of the Teaching Assistants Program in France (TAPIF) and encouraged me to apply. At the time, I was more interested in the opportunity to live and work in France, and less interested in teaching. I was accepted to TAPIF for the 2017-2018 school year. Since I didn’t have a pedagogical background, I drew significant inspiration from Dr. Kupper’s classes. As a quiet student, some of the assignments and projects she utilizes in her curriculum were outside of my comfort zone, but after moving to France I found myself immensely grateful for La Table Française and recording ourselves speaking. I renewed my TAPIF contract for a second year, and then went on to teach in Hungary and Poland, and live in Germany on and off for a few years. I still think about Dr. Kupper’s lessons 6 years after graduation, and how appreciative I am for the many opportunities NMU afforded me, such as bringing in guest speaker Joan Kimball-Morgan who demonstrated through her life story that my dream of one day living in France wasn’t absurd and it was entirely possible if I work toward that specific goal.

I struggle to think of an experience in my life in the past 10 years where my French studies haven’t played a role in some capacity. Knowing French has helped me in countless ways, and it has certainly opened the world to me beyond just francophone countries. Just one of the many benefits is how learning French has tuned my ears and eyes differently so that when I’m in countries where I don’t speak the language, I can pick up on words that sound or look familiar to draw educated hypotheses of what is happening. For example, sugar is “le sucre” in French, “der zucker” in German, “cukier” in Polish, “cukr” in Czech, “cukor” in Hungarian, and (after I learned the Cyrillic alphabet on a train journey in Russia) “цукор” in Ukrainian. Suddenly grocery shopping around the world, and other normally routine tasks, become much less daunting. While I was living in Poland, this new skill helped me when my Ukrainian neighbor invited me for coffee because I don’t speak Ukrainian and only a little Polish, but I could piece together what she was saying when she was asking me how I wanted my coffee. For our deeper conversations, we had to pull out a translator. 

Even in places where one would least expect it, it seems there’s always a way to connect back to French. I taught business English for students at HSBC Service Delivery in Kraków, Poland. Most of my students work with colleagues or clients in France. They expressed how they sometimes struggled when communicating with their French counterparts because of cultural differences and communication styles. Even though both countries are considered to have a direct communication style, Polish people can come off as rude or disinterested while the French can seem invasive. A Polish person isn’t going to ask how you are, but a French person is going to be shocked when the response to that question from a Polish person goes into a story about the troubles they’re having that day. During their English lessons, I was able to draw on my knowledge of French language and culture to incorporate mini-lessons and help bridge some of these gaps they were experiencing with their French counterparts. When I was teaching conditionals, we talked about superstitions in Poland, France, the U.K., and the U.S. Also, much like La Table Française, I would frequently set aside 30 minutes during our 90-minute lessons to ask them open ended questions around a central theme. Since there are so many holidays from November through February, many of our discussions were based around those holidays. Although I quickly became the student during those discussions because of how eager my students were to share, I was able to talk about the similarities and differences we have from what I’ve experienced in the U.S. and France and what they shared about Poland. One example is Epiphany. I had never heard of this holiday in the U.S. In France, this day is seemingly celebrated throughout the entire month of January with the tradition of sharing “galette des rois” and crowning the finder of “la fêve” in the cake as the king of the day. In Poland, Epiphany is often celebrated with a parade, carols, and bringing items such as gold, amber, incense, or chalk to be blessed. Chalk is now the most common, with the consecrated chalk being used to write “C+M+B [Current Year]” or “K+M+B [Current Year]” on their door to signify that their house has been blessed.

In June 2023, I am returning to France as a student as well as a teacher. Ever since my study abroad experience, my goal has been to work in International Higher Education. I am interested in working in a role such as Student Services Coordinator or Program Manager at an organization like ISA Paris, CIEE, or at a university. Now with some international work experience on my CV, I intend to complete a Master’s in International Relations in France, where I plan to remain indefinitely.