After spending her fall semester as an exchange student in Paris, France, Kristen Legendre, business graduate from Chackbay returned to the bayou to share her experience as the first Nicholls student to travel to the French capital through the master of business administration exchange program.

As part of an exchange agreement between the Nicholls College of Business and the École Supérieure du Commerce Extérieur (ESCE), one of the top 10 business schools in France, several international students have enrolled at Nicholls to experience the Master of Business Administration Program, but few Nicholls students have been willing to stay at ESCE for a full semester.

“My business professors encouraged me to go, and I received assistance from throughout the campus to make the trip possible,” Legendre said. “I hope that by sharing my experience, other students will be encouraged to take the plunge.”

Legendre described packing up to live for four months in Paris as one of the most courageous things she has ever done. Surprising herself, she said that she was not nervous for her flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

“I think it was because I was so excited to be moving to a new place, to study new things, and to meet new people,” she said. “The flight was the least of my worries; in fact, everything went more smoothly than expected. All of my bags arrived safely, and my flight arrived earlier than its scheduled time.”

While she was always a student that was excited for the first day of school, Legendre said that starting a graduate semester in Paris made every other first day seem boring.

“We took a field trip!” she said. “It was a beautiful boat ride down the Seine River, the perfect way to start off my semester.”

After seeing and attending orientation, Legendre said that she fell in love with her schedule, two business classes and two French classes.

“Schedules of classes are quite different, as is the grading system, but not in a bad way,” she said.

While her classes were not all taught in French, Legendre said that it took some getting used to the fact that everyone in her classes was speaking to each other in different languages. She was able to overcome the language barrier by paying attention in her French classes.

“I have to say the French classes were my favorite, especially French civilization because it was great to learn some of the history and culture of both the city and the country as I experienced it all for myself,” she said.

While living in Paris and studying at ESCE for a semester, Legendre said that she had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world.

“I made friends from France, Germany, Russia, Finland, Latvia, Mexico, Canada, Ireland, Brazil, Spain, Morocco and so many more,” she said. “The friends I made while living in Paris will be friends forever.”

Legendre said that although Louisiana is heavily influenced by the French culture and history, many things are different in Paris.

“The people and the culture are one of a kind, just like here in south Louisiana,” she said. “It is a culture shock for sure, but it just takes a little getting used to.”

Like many people that visit France, Legendre said that the food was one of her favorite things about the country.

“Of course it is difficult for any place in the world to compete with food from South Louisiana, but France sure does rank pretty high in my book,” she said. “Escargots, crepes and bouef bourguignon were some of my favorites.”

Among her other favorite things were the art and architecture of Paris.

“From gothic cathedrals to Haussmann’s renovation projects, the architecture of the city of Paris is probably the most beautiful I’ve ever seen,” she said.

Legendre also visited many of the “countless” museums of France.

“Not everyone can say that they went to the Louvre and got to see the real Mona Lisa, played in the gardens of Chateau de Versailles, or have their family name of the Eiffel Tower,” she said. “‘Legendre’ is engraved on the Eiffel Tower! When it was built, the names of 72 famous thinkers of the time were engraved on the four sides of the first level of the tower to commemorate them for their contributions to France.”

Although most of her time was spent studying in Paris during her stay, Legendre was able to make a few trips around Europe. She spent part of her fall break in Barcelona, Spain and was also able to visit Amsterdam.

“The great thing about Amsterdam is the people,” she said. “The people reminded me of home and southern hospitality.”

As a part of her studying abroad, Legendre started a blog to record all of her experiences in an effort to make more students aware of the exchange program. It is available at http://kristenlegendre.blogspot.com.

“In my blog, I write about lots of things,” she said. “It details school, friends, roommates, traveling, social events, school events, cooking and tons of information about the city.”

Now, back in Louisiana, Legendre is working to finish her master’s degree in business administration and plans to graduate in December. She still updates her blog, and she is also a liaison between Nicholls students and ESCE students both here and in Paris.

“This was a wonderful opportunity that I think more Nicholls students should take advantage of,” she said. “I encourage all students to expand their horizons and study abroad. It is a chance to get to know yourself while enriching your college experience.”