Silken Cinq-Mars is a third-year Bachelor of International Business (BIB) student in the French language stream. She is studying at Universite Jean Moulin Lyon III in Lyon, France. (All students in the BIB program are required to study abroad for their third year at one of our partner institutions.)Introduce yourself! Tell us a little bit about your goals and interests:
I am an active person with a love for many sports & being outdoors. I love to garden, I am a terrible cook & will always sing-along to songs despite my extreme case of tone deafness. I have wanted to travel all over the world for as long as I can remember, begging my parents each year to go on some type of trip at Christmas or over summer holidays (to this day, matter of fact). My goals through this exchange are to become fluent in the French language, complete at least one multi-day hike in the Swiss alps & make friends from cool places.
Why did you choose your language?
French being a national language in Canada made it a very logical choice, but I also come from a French Canadian background. All the members of my immediate family are fluent in French, and I must admit to feeling rather left out when they would use French as a way to have secret conversations when I was younger. Also, if I'm being brutally honest - I got very tired of people questioning how I could have a last name like Cinq-Mars and not speak French.
Have you ever travelled overseas before? If so, where? I have been fortunate enough to spend all my overseas experiences thus far with my family. Together, we have explored Paris, Barcelona, Mexico & Punta Cana.What 3 things MUST you take with you while abroad?
The staples like phone, wallet & passport aside, my three "must-haves" are headphones, Carnaby Sour Keys & a book.
What are you most looking forward to?I am most excited to see how much exploring I can cram into 8 months.