As you have seen I didn't gave many news for a while and I will tell you why!
I had my finals the first week of May in DeSales and after I stayed 3 more weeks travelling in the States!

Firs I went to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina for a week. It was so cool to be at the beach and enjoy a sunny and hotter weather than the one in Pennsylvania! Not everyone was on holiday so it wasn’t too crowded which was great. The sea was very warm I didn’t expect that. We rented a little house very close to the beach. During the week we have been to the Cherry Groove Pier, we rent bicycles, we have been to an outlet and buy many many things of course! But the coolest thing we did was a helicopter tour! We have seen the entire bay it was very impressive! It was my first time and usually I’m a bit fearful but strangely I felt very safe in the helicopter.

Then I met my parents in Las Vegas and we began a road trip for two weeks!!! It was amazing because we have seen so many different things, people, weather and landscapes! Here is what we did:

• Las Vegas
• Zion Canyon
• Bryce Canyon
• Monument Valley
• Grand Canyon
• Death Valley
• Sequoia Park
• Yosemite
• And San Francisco 

I came back in France at the beginning of June and one week later, this week then, I started a 2 months internship in Lyon. I’m working for the marketing department of a chemistry industry. I work on the marketing form for the r&d projects and I also do a market study of technical textiles. I really enjoy my work, which is all in English, and my office is really cool!

This article closes my American adventures, I really enjoy share them with you. I also want to thank my school ESDES  for giving me this opportunity to study abroad, DeSales University for the welcome and all the staff which was so nice and finally of course all my American friends that I’m will never forget !

I truly hope you enjoyed this article

Pauline

Introduction

The United States of America is a federal republic. They are 50 states and a federal district: 48 states and Washington D.C. are between Canada and Mexico, Alaska is the northwestern part of North America and Hawaii is an archipelago in Pacific.

Population

Around 318 million people share this territory which makes the country have the third largest population in the world. The United States have one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the world. Indeed because of all immigration waves that bring people during centuries, the American’s culture is incomparably multicultural. The European colonization began in the 16^th century but the population is also shaped by Native American and immigrant from Asia, South America and Pacific Islands.

This graph dates from 2010 but the distribution still kind of the same actually.

The largest cities are New York (with over 19 million inhabitants), Los Angeles (12 million) and Chicago (9 million).

Geography

With almost 3 million square miles, the United States territory is the world's third or fourth largest nation by total area. The North frontier is bound by Canada, the South one by Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, the East one by the Atlantic Ocean and finally the West one by the Pacific Ocean. The country’s landscape is one of the richest in the world thanks to its mountains, deserts, glaciers, plains, lakes, seas, rivers, fauna and flora. Because of its size, there is not only one climate because every part of the country has a various one: tropical in Florida, semi-arid in the Great Plains, arid in the Great Basin, oceanic in Oregon and Mediterranean in California for example.

Politics

Barak Obama is the 44th president of the United States elected since 2008. They are three branches; the legislative one, the executive one and the judicial one. The main parties are the Democrats and the Republicans. The United Sates enforce the law of the majority and protect the minority with laws. Every president is elected for a four years mandate.

Relationships

The United States are involved in many organizations which enforce its relationships with other countries. Its main economic partners are Canada, Mexico, Japan, China and Europe’s countries (mostly France and Germany). The US try to favor importations from other country to preserve their own resources like oil. Nevertheless, the country is a big exporter and 78% of its exportations are manufactured products.

Geopolitics

As a world power, The United States are involved in many international strategic situations not only for economics but also in wars and conflicts. The geopolitics’ strategy of the country is based on 4 main goals for the XX century:

• Deal with the nuclear issue in Iran
• Try to set up and maintain peace in between Israel and Palestine
• Manage its relationship with Russia and the Eastern bloc
• Remove the European embargo about Chinese arms sales

I hope you enjoy this article!

Pauline

(*This is my free subject article)

When I arrived here, I noticed that many students have a job on campus. I wanted to find out about that because we don't have the opportunity to work in our school in France.

What kind of job?

Some students work at the library where they help the librarian few hours per week. Other work at the gym where they are supervisors. I have also seen a notice for a job: being the University's mascot during matches! Also some students are part of Character U. This is a Desales' program to help freshmen when they begin college. Each mentor supervise 10 freshmen during a year and are here to help them. They also organize activities like trips or keynote speakers. For example this semester the Olympic Gold medalist in gymnastics Carly Patterson came at DeSales! Each mentor is a junior or a senior and they are paid because it is recognized as a job for all the time they spend to organize this. But the job I particularly want to talk about is the tutoring. Indeed, the University offers to student help for their classes and this help is provide by students! How does this work?

Being a tutor

To be a tutor you have to be very good in a class and after you ask to the University to become a tutor, or the University, through Ann Koefer, asks you. You work a few hours per week at the same time for example every tueday from 2pm to 3pm you are able to help students. There is a specific room where you have to go. Tutoring is really interesting for two points:

• First one, even if no one come you still paid! You can bring your homework and study one hour like that you are paid to study!
• Second one, each hour is paid twice! How is it possible? For each hour of tutoring is open to more than one student. So potentially you can tutor up to four students. This is why tutoring is different from a private lesson and so is paid twice. 

For the organization part, every two weeks you complete a time sheet (do not forget to write that you have work from 2pm to 4pm even if you were just there from 2pm to 3pm) and two weeks later you will pe paid for this period. You receive a paycheck that you can cash at your bank or at the bookstore on campus they exchange it against cash (there is a 50cents fee).

My experience as a tutor

As I am French, and as DeSales offers French classes, Ann Koefer ask me to be a tutor in French. Every tueday from 3:30pm to 4:30pm I help students who needed. It was very interesting to help people but also to be part of the tutoring process. Indeed, I felt more like another student because I was involved in the campus life. I really liked to do this work on campus and I think it is a really good idea. First because you can earn a bit of money and also because it is important for students to help each others. You havve to be there every week so it give you some responsabilities. 

What about you?

You are a French (or Spanish) student going to DeSales next year and you want to be a tutor? What you have to do is talk about this with Brian MacDonald and Ann Koefer (her office is in the building Dooling) As you are a stranger you will need a Social Card to be paid. It will take half an hour to do it in Allentown and after you will receive it in your mailbox (on campus!) Ann Koefer will probably make you fill two or three forms and a last one at Carol Ritter's office (she works at the payroll office) If you need any help I am sure they will help you!

My opinion

To conclude, jobs on campus is a really good thing for both students and universities. From one hand the university doesn't have to pay someone to do the job, and students are those who know the best all these things (the gym for example). From another hand, this allow students to earn a bit of money, to be responsible and to have some experience for their résumé.

I hope you enjoy this article and that you discovered something!

Pauline

As I said before I am here to study. And this is what I do!

I have many papers to do and these are the ones I am the "most proud of".

Of course they are write in a french-student-style, which means adapted to my class and with my level of grammar in English.

I wanted to share them with you if you want to have an idea of what I do when I am at the Library for hours!

Pauline

It was very cool to be there for my birthday! First I was a bit sad because I missed my friends and family a lot and it was strange to not party with them for this occasion. But they all sent me some cards, messages (and snapchat!) and they made this day (or week!) very special for me. I realized how lucky I am to have met these people. And I think Kelly, Cait and Ellyn will be friends for life for me. Of course they know they are always welcome to Laura’s house or mine and we really hope that they could come soon in France!

Here are some pictures of my Birthday week. We have been to Red Robin because everybody can have a free burger for his birthday! So I had my free burger and it was a good excuse for my friends to eat one of these delicious burgers!

Then Friday and Saturday night we made some parties at the height! I didn’t know but Kelly made me a cake, it was so nice from her!

I wish everyone could have the luck to meet nice people like them. I am truly grateful to my parents for being here and have so much fun!

I hope you will enjoy this article as I enjoyed my American Birthday!

Pauline