Andrew Lamb

Education Background

M.A., Linguistics, West Virginia University
B.A., International Business and French Language, Ball State University

Traveling Background

My sophomore year of high school, we had many international students from all over the world come to my school to study for a year. Becoming friends with them and getting to know about their cultures and backgrounds, I realized that I wanted to travel abroad and have a similar experience. I have always been interested in language learning and I was really looking forward to an immersive experience.

In my last year of studies at Ball State, I was fortunate enough to culminate my years of language studies by having a semester-long, fully immersive experience at Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier III in Southern France. During this time, I noticed my language skills improve drastically and thanks to that I felt much more comfortable and confident in social situations. I met many new people from all over the world, some of whom I still keep in touch with today.

I loved France so much that I even returned after graduating, this time as an English teacher at Université de Lorraine in Northern France where I spent three years. Living in France for a more extended period of time gave me the opportunity to truly experience day-to-day life in a different part of the world than I was used to.

Travel Tips

Always make an effort to learn some of the language when you are spending an extended period of time in a non-English-speaking country. You don’t have to be fluent to be able to order a coffee. Even being able to greet or thank someone in their native language can go a long way.

Make it a goal to talk to at least one local person every day. Whether it’s speaking to local students at your host university or even to the cashier at the grocery store, it will help you to branch out and open yourself up to making connections in your host city.