Over the upcoming summer, junior Danisha McNary will be traveling to Saumur, France. This trip will not be her first time out of the U.S. She has been to France and Spain in the past with peers, so during this trip she will not be as bothered about being alone.

“I’m worried about being gone so long but I think it will help me,” McNary said.

McNary will be leaving the U.S. on June 16 and will be coming back on July 28 and will be  traveling with the  Indiana University Honors Program in Foreign Language. This is a five-to-seven-week summer abroad program for accepted Indiana high school students. The way she was accepted into this program was by filling out an application and having adults that know her speak about her.

During this trip McNary will be visiting historical sites, learning about this country’s  culture and focusing on making her French more fluent. Students in the program who will be staying in Saumur will also be visiting Saint-Martin de Ré, Fontevraud and the Angers.

She made the decision to take French in 7th grade, it was the one language that stuck out to her. She still hopes to continue learning about what France has to offer her, she wants to learn about the culture that is in this new area.  According to McNary she is excited for this trip because it gives her a chance to be pushed out of her comfort zone, make new friends and find out information about France that she would not have been able to learn without being there.

In May, McNary will meet get her host family and will be able to speak to them. She will be preparing for her assignments and will be gathering her belongings to set off for Saumur the month after. Her parents are worried about their daughter traveling across the world by herself, but they think it will be a great opportunity for her.

McNary says she is very excited about getting the chance  to go to Saumur, and hopes to gather as much information about the culture. She hopes to learn more about the language so when she will be fluent by the time she comes back to the U.S.