Location:

Aix-En-Provence, France

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Summer

Program Overview

Program Description:

The Barat Foundation Summer Program in Provence provides a unique opportunity for total immersion in French language and culture. The sun-drenched region of Provence that has inspired artists, writers, and travelers throughout the centuries, will serve as your backyard and classroom. You will explore the wonders of Provence speaking French with a talented staff of renowned French artists and professors, hand-picked from both the French academic world, and the forefront of the European artistic community.

You will be living in Provence not as a tourist, but as a native as we attend the spectacular summer festivals of Avignon and Aix-en-Provence, visit Van Gogh’s city of Arles, and shop at colorful open-air markets. We will travel through the vineyards of the Cotes du Rhone, and sun bathe along the beaches and shores of the azure Mediterranean. At the end of the day, we will linger at cafés or venture home to watch the sunset over the lavender fields in our backyard.

Your stay in Provence finds you at a fully equipped French country estate with outdoor swimming pool. Our French teachers and staff will personally introduce you to France, its language, culture, history, and art. Living in a truly international environment with students from all over the world, you will develop skills which will prepare you for life in the global marketplace of the 21st Century, where national borders and language cease to separate one people from another, and where knowledge and understanding have become the international currency.

Summer study with the Barat Foundation is an experientially based learning program, including morning instruction in French language, art, and culture; and exciting afternoon workshops covering subjects as varied as French cuisine, studio arts, photography, creative writing, video and film, music, dance, and theatre.

Your classroom extends to the wondrous sites, festivals and monuments of Provence,directed by a teaching staff of enthusiastic French nationals with expertise in French language, culture, and art. A history lesson on the powerful Roman presence in the region is reinforced as you attend a modern dance festival held in a Roman amphitheater, dating back to the 1st Century. An art history lesson on Vincent Van Gogh begins in Arles, where Van Gogh spent his most productive period; and ends in St. Remy where the artist spent his final days. A lesson on Cezanne, the father of modern art, begins in Aix-en-Provence where you can visit his atelier preserved exactly as he left it. Learning is a fully integrated experience, reinforced and combined with on site experience and completed with individual expression.

The Barat Foundation classroom extends to all aspects of daily life as you shop at a boulangerie (bakery), visit the marché (market), linger at a café sipping a citron pressé (lemonade), and attend the internationally renowned summer music and theater festivals of Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, and Vaison-la-Romaine.

STUDENT COMMUNITY SERVICE:
For those students who are interested in community service hours, the Barat Foundation offers up to 40 hours of community service to students who are interested in teaching English to French children in our community; as well as to students interested in working at Barat Foundation art exhibitions in France.

EXCURSIONS
You will be taking frequent excursions to explore and enjoy the natural beauty, history, culture and art of Provence. Accompanied by your French professors, you will have the opportunity to immediately apply what you learn in class as you explore ancient Roman ruins, medieval castles, cathedrals, museums, and monuments, with a personalized understanding of their significance and place in history. You will visit the lively cities, villages, festivals, cafes, beaches, nature preserves, vineyards, fields, and open air markets that have made this region a world center for art, tourism, commerce, and cuisine since the Romans first visited over 2000 years ago.

Medieval cities, warm Mediterranean breezes, and castles echoing the dreams of centuries beckon. Come join us, your French professors and artists, and your new friends in Provence for the best summer of your life.

The month-long Barat Foundation Summer Program in Provence includes three meals per day created by our French chef, all courses, programs, excursions, and local travel.

THE BARAT METHOD
The Barat Foundation course curriculum featuring French language and culture immersion is taught within the context of a three-fold learning method, including
1) Exposure; 2) Experience; and 3) Expression.

Exposure:
First, the student is “exposed” to new material in classes and workshops including French conversation and literature, creative writing, studio arts, cuisine, photography, video, cinema, music, dance, and theatre.

Experience:
Second, the student “experiences” the material, tangibly, on site, in person, in the form of field excursions, accompanied by teachers and staff. Visits to monuments, churches, nature preserves, museums, the Mediterranean sea, medieval villages, ancient and modern cities, businesses, vineyards, and theatrical events reinforce the initial exposure to the new material, and make it personal and alive.

Expression:
Third, each student creates his or her own individual “expression” of the new material, by articulating the learning in his or her own voice. This opportunity for self-expression takes place in a series of “ateliers” or workshops, based on artistic exploration including subjects as diverse as “ drawing”, “photography”,“nature and movement”, “fashion photo and film”, “architecture of the natural world”, “history of the Middle Ages”, “surrealist poetry, walks, and writing”, “French cuisine”, “theatre”, and “music”. Each year, new and exciting workshops are created providing each student the opportunity to pursue and develop his or her particular interests.

“The Barat Method” expands formal academic study to include personal and cultural exchange and communication through artistic expression. Each student becomes empowered with a more profound sense of self, an ability to break “comfort zone” barriers, and the capacity to interact within a group as both an individual and a team member. Our unique staff, hand picked from both academic and artistic disciplines, work together with students, both in and out of “class” time, to create a fully rounded language and culture immersion program.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Pablo Picasso

Setting Description:

Accommodations:
You will be staying at a fully equipped, beautiful country estate with outdoor swimming pool, in the heart of Provence. Lodging and three meals per day are included. Our French chef creates provencal dishes prepared with the freshly picked, local produce that makes the region a world renowned culinary center.

About the Barat Foundation
The Barat Foundation is a (501-C-3), not-for-profit educational corporation. Its mission is to maximize human potential and inspire learning, rejuvenation, and creativity through a unique experience of cultural and artistic immersion. Over the past years, the Foundation’s Summer Program in Provence has welcomed students from all over the world.

“It was a really good experience to live like a family with people from all over the world and have close contact with all of them. I could confirm that everybody, without any exception, has something wonderful to teach. And in this point, I broke a barrier that existed

Cost:

$7,695.00 including three meals per day, all courses, programs,excursions and local travel. Program fee does not include air travel to Provence.