<p>Since I’ll have a couple years of college-level French under my belt and since I truly love the language, I’m thinking about taking a trip over to Qu</p>
<p>Does your college have any summer study courses in a French speaking country? I would suggest starting there.</p>
<p>Who is paying for this trip,many how long do you anticipate it lasting? Where are you traveling from? </p>
<p>We know a student who became a summer nanny abroad. She worked through an agency that places students.</p>
<p>You need to have a plan of what you are going to do before you plan the trip.</p>
<p>What do you want to do on this trip?
How long do you want to be away for?
Where are you going to stay?
What are you going to eat?
Will anyone be joining you?</p>
<p>These are just some of the many questions to ask your self when you are thinking about the trip. </p>
<p>If you want to go away for a longer period of time maybe you could get a job abroad! That’s just one idea that might help you have something to do on this trip and make your parents more into the idea.</p>
<p>Maybe start by figuring out about how many days you want to spend in each spot, and how long the drive is between them. Work out a tentative schedule. Then I’d suggest using TripAdvisor to identify any specific things you want to do in a given city/location. Once you know that, look at hotels in relation to the things you want to do. Again… TripAdvisor has a very good hotel review section. You can tell sometimes from the comments about safety at a hotel, too.</p>
<p>If I were you I’d just pass through Detroit and Windsor, maybe a one-two day stop (I from not far from Detroit, and am a big fan of Greenfield Village/Henry Ford Museum there, that would be my top recommendation for someone from out of town to see).</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies! These are some good things to consider. </p>
<p>To add a few things… </p>
<p>I’d be traveling from northern Ohio, I’d be paying for the trip myself, and I’m thinking about maybe a week or two. Definitely not like the whole summer or anything. </p>
<p>My university does have a summer program to France, and it’s through a private University and would cost about 7k for tuition (6 credits) and a room with a French family, obviously leaving travel and food expenses to be accounted for. I’ve been looking into into that option, but I’d honestly like to wait until maybe my junior year to do an entire semester abroad. That’s why I’d like to start with a “vacation” of sorts to practice getting around in a foreign place with with foreign tongue.</p>
<p>The trip from Detroit to Toronto is less than 4 hours so I wouldn’t worry about driving times. </p>
<p>I would stop at London along the way. It has a TON of festivals throughout the year if you want to look into when those are and plan accordingly. </p>
<p>I don’t really think there’s anything different about being a female traveler vs a male traveler. JMO. I traveled around the US for a while by myself and got really freaking lonely (which I knew was a possibility) and will never do that again. </p>
<p>I used to travel around Ontario quite frequently for my job. It’s really not at all different from the US (especially if you grew up around the Great Lakes) and you shouldn’t have any problem booking a hotel or whatnot. I would definitely try to book ahead though to avoid any potential issues. </p>
<p>Your cell will probably not work if you don’t have an international plan. Mine stops as soon as I’ve crossed the bridge. Just something to consider. </p>
<p>Best of luck 
and have fun!</p>
<p>My daughter bicycled 4000 miles on her own (age 23), carrying her own food, tent, clothing. She did a lot of her planning by reading blogs by people who had done similar trips. If you search for “solo travel women blogs” I’d expect you’d find a ton of them.</p>
<p>Any chance you could find a friend to join you?</p>
<p>I’m actively searching for people to come with me, but a lot of my friends either don’t want to go because they don’t speak French or don’t want to spend money and then further lose money by not being able to work. I’ll see if I can eventually convince somebody, but I’d rather prepare for the worst than prepare to have company and then end up by myself, if that makes any sense.</p>
<p>I have been and definitely will continue to read various blogs of people traveling alone. I absolutely love them! And I hope to perhaps be able to write one myself one day. :)</p>
<p>Your ambition is good. You could have many wonderful experiences on your trip. I would suggest you look at some travel books at your local bookstore or library. They often have travel tips to save money and for safety. </p>
<p>Don’t forget your passport.</p>
<p>I like frommers guide- there is an online one.</p>
<p>I don’t know if someone else has mentioned this, but you could also look into becoming an au pair.
Make sure to go through a reputable agency, though.</p>
<p>In case you’re not already aware – the French spoken in Quebec is noticeably different than that in France. Consider the difference akin to English in New England and English in the deep South, only more so.</p>
<p>Growing up in Toronto, we started learning French in grade 6, but with a France accent. When I worked in Laval (a Montreal suburb) in my 30’s, it was easier conversing in French with an expatriate Vietnamese colleague than with my Quebecois colleagues.</p>
<p>I’m not saying this to dissuade you – please do go. Just know that the French you hear will almost certainly differ from what you’ve learned in class and in language labs.</p>
<p>You can get by in Quebec with English. Many people speak it although not all. Go to Tripadvisor. You can get a lot of insight there. It is a beautiful area. We went a couple of years ago and stay in b & b’s. I imagine you might like to stay in hostels. Again go to tripadvisor and ask the folks there some questions.</p>
<p>You have to be 21 to get into Motor City, MGM, and Greektown. I don’t know what else anyone would want to do in Detroit, so you might as well skip it. You only have to be 19 to get into Caesers in Windsor. The Canadian club tour there is really good too.</p>
<p>There might be more things to do than clubbing and drinking. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Clubs are everywhere… Those are casinos. Canadian club tour is like a museum kind of thing.</p>
<p>But Canadian Club is a liquor, right? Again… there are a lot of things to do in most cities besides clubs, casinos, and touring liquor museums… Pretty sure showing her mom with an itinerary of those kinds of stops wouldn’t build confidence. And the OP has shown no interest in those types of stops. Casinos just don’t scream “romantic traveler” to me…</p>
<p>I go to Detroit probably once a month. I’ve only been to Motorcity a handful of times. There’s plenty to do there and in the area that doesn’t involve clubs or casinos…</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions! </p>
<p>I’m definitely not one who likes to club or drink, so I’m sure I could find a lot of other interesting things to do and see in Detroit. I have heard of Detroit’s various museums, and I think I would really enjoy that. I’d also like to see some of the various churches. I feel like there’s a lot of history and culture in the “Motor City.” </p>
<p>And yes, I have heard that French-Canadian French is MUCH different than French-French. That’s why I’d like to to eventually study in France but also experience the Francophonie culture of Qu</p>