Imagine going five weeks without speaking a word of English. That’s the challenge, and the reward, Harrison High School senior Ella Lindenman embraced through the IU Honors Program in Foreign Languages. Ella spent five weeks in Brittany, France, fully immersed in French language and culture. She stayed with a host family, attended school and explored shops and landmarks.

For Ella, highlights include biking through the car-free streets of Île de Bréhat, watching the Tour de France, celebrating Bastille Day in Paris and trying mussels for the first time. “I will remember most the good times spent with my peers and host siblings, the great things and places I experienced and my increasing ability to understand and communicate in French,” she says.

The program strengthened her fluency and broadened her appreciation of cultural exchange. Ella says she now has a greater empathy for students who take on the challenge of studying abroad, and the experience inspires her to continue French as a college minor. Her advice to classmates: “Just do it. It might be the best summer of your high school.”