Temps Bein Passé: Speeding Up and Slowing Down

By Micah Bessette

Published April 14, 2026

As I write this on my phone, I’m sitting on a train on my way to Ireland for the weekend. Last weekend it was Barcelona, in a couple weeks it might be Switzerland (I still need to plan that one though). Though all this might be a little much for one semester, travel as a young person is actually quite manageable. 

I had been saving money for a while to be able to afford this semester, but all of these weekend trips only cost around $200-300 in total. If you have a decent job, that’s a little more than half a week of work. Especially if you’re a college student, studying abroad can be quite affordable. My semester here in France (aside from all the trips obviously) has cost the same amount as a semester at Plymouth, and my usual financial aid and scholarships covered much of that cost.  

If you have any interest in traveling in your life and you’re a student, I cannot emphasize how accessible studying abroad is. You’ll get opportunities you’d never even think of and meet people from literally all over the world. In my French classes, there are students from every continent aside from Oceania and Antarctica. And those are connections I plan to keep.  

Another fun benefit of studying abroad is that you get to see the area you’re in from a local’s point of view. There are some days I still feel like a tourist in Pau, but most of the time I feel immersed, like I’m actually a part of the culture. Another tip I have if you plan to study abroad is to choose a lesser-known city, especially if you’re trying to learn the local language or experience a different culture. I’m sure you had no clue where Pau, France was before I started this column. I love it because while there are some tourists here, most of them are from France or Spain, so I’m constantly surrounded by French speakers, which is so cool. There’ve been a few bigger cities that I’ve visited, like Barcelona or Florence, where there are Americans everywhere, and it’s honestly weird at this point to hear so much English spoken in public. I’m sure I’ll get some reverse culture shock coming back into the US. 

I think you should study abroad if you can; it will change your life and perspective on the world. I honestly think a lot of the issues in our country would improve if more of our population was able to see the world outside of the country. I obviously haven’t really visited the East, so I still have a lot to learn, but I’ve noticed that most of Europe, or at least France Spain and Italy, has such a relaxed way of life and there’s just less pressure in general. They work less but don’t worry too much about ‘getting ahead,’ and everyone’s happier for it. I think the motivated culture of the US can be good for getting stuff done, but it’s become quite toxic. Everyone’s always worried they’re not doing enough, and that they’re going to fall behind. If they don’t work overtime, then they won’t be able to afford to live, and it’s a negative downward spiral. Obviously, most of this is a problem with governance, not the people, but I do think we could learn a lot from seeing the world outside our own country. The communities here are so much stronger, and people actually look out for each other, which I think is wonderful. 

I only have a little under five weeks left here in France, and my time abroad is very quickly coming to a close. This semester has been incredibly life-changing for me, and I really wouldn’t give it up for anything. I’ll probably write one more of these columns at the end of my semester, then I might do a final reflection a little after getting home. Until next time!