“Bonjour! Good day! How is your family?”
With winding cobblestone streets and half-timbered houses along picturesque canals, Syracuse University students wake up every morning in a fairy tale setting as they live an authentic French adventure studying abroad in Strasbourg, France.
In this historic European city—nestled on the border of France and Germany—students have the unique opportunity to live with local host families offering unparalleled insight into French life and culture. This immersive experience not only sharpens their language skills but also opens minds and broadens perspectives, making the Strasbourg study abroad program a truly unforgettable experience.
A vibrant city with over 400,000 people, Strasbourg, France, is both historic and modern with a lively music, art and sports scene.
A Global City With Local Charm
“Strasbourg is a really unique place,” says John Goodman, director of the Syracuse Strasbourg program. “It’s a city with a multicultural heritage—both French and German—but also today includes communities coming from Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere.”
As the capital of the Alsace region, Strasbourg offers a setting that’s both enchanting and dynamic. Steeped in history, culture and charm, it is home to more than 50,000 students from across the globe and is also a hub of international relations, housing institutions such as the Council of Europe and the European Parliament as well as more than 50 international embassies. With this backdrop, students not only gain academic and cultural knowledge but an appreciation for global perspectives.
Giovanni Zanin (center) with his hosts, Gérard (left) and Danielle Barthe-Sichting.
The Homestay Experience
Owen Truppo ’25 (left) with his host, Anne Amiez.
At the heart of the Syracuse Strasbourg program is the homestay component, which places students with local families who provide a warm welcome and a full immersion in French culture. From language practice at the dinner table to daily routines and personal connections, the homestay experience offers students more than a place to stay—it offers them a second home.
The Barthe-Sichting family has been hosting students for over two decades. “They welcomed me in with open arms,” says Giovanni Zanin, who stayed with the family during the Spring 2024 semester. “It was very comfortable from the beginning.”
“I had an amazing experience,” says Owen Truppo ’25, a Martin J. Whitman School of Management student majoring in accounting and finance. “I had a lovely lady who lived very close to the Strasbourg Center, and she was an excellent cook. I would absolutely do a homestay again in a heartbeat.”
Chase Bradshaw (center) with his host parents Lassad (left) and Dominique Essadi. During his time in Strasbourg, Bradshaw bonded with them over a shared love of music and performed at local open mic nights.
Beyond delicious home-cooked meals and a prime location, Truppo’s homestay offered a melting pot of culture. With an extra bedroom available, his host welcomed other international students for short-stay programs. “I got to meet kids from all over Europe, so it was very neat to get to meet all these different people,” Truppo says.
Bradshaw works at his desk in his homestay bedroom.
Chase Bradshaw also found the homestay experience deeply rewarding. “Living and speaking French every day was the best part of this experience, because that is the education,” says Bradshaw, who lived with Lassad and Dominique Essadi in their beautiful apartment in Strasbourg’s historic city center.
“It’s a really lovely space,” adds Bradshaw, who enjoyed the balcony off his bedroom. “I’d go out there in the morning, or at night, hang out and watch the people go by.
The homestay experience comes highly recommended—even by those who begin the program with little or no French language skills. Alternatively, students may choose to live in a private, fully furnished studio apartment at La Canopée Student Residence.
Morgan Meddings ’25 (right) explores Strasbourg with classmate Nelo Okafor.
Benefits Beyond Language
While cultural immersion is a vital benefit, students also walk away with something equally valuable: independence.
Danis Cammett ’25 found academic inspiration in Strasbourg, from lively courses to European parliamentary debates.
“I joined the Strasbourg program and didn’t know anybody else who was going,” says Morgan Meddings ’25, an inclusive childhood education major in the School of Education. “Getting to meet entirely new people and form close relationships was a really valuable experience.”
Meddings credits her semester abroad with giving her a new sense of confidence. “Just that sense of independence and risk-taking and appreciation for my time alone affected every aspect of my life,” Meddings says. “I now feel more comfortable pursuing opportunities, like applying for Fulbright or exploring opportunities on my own. I’ve realized I don’t need to lean on anyone else to do something.”
For Danis Cammett ’25, a political science and international relations major and Army ROTC cadet, Strasbourg was an academic awakening. “The courses offered at the Strasbourg Center were academically engaging and challenged a lot of my notions about the state of European democracy and politics,” Cammett says. “I got to sit in on European parliamentary debates. I got to try new foods, meet new people and travel to a part of Europe that I’ve never been to.”
A group of students visited the Neuschwanstein Castle in the Bavaria region of Germany—the iconic landmark that inspired the Disney castle.
European Explorations
When they’re not studying or sharing meals with their host families, students take full advantage of Strasbourg’s central location in Europe. From class trips to Munich, the Austrian Alps, the south of France, Paris and Interlaken, Switzerland, to spontaneous weekend adventures, the semester is packed with travel and exploration.
“I did a lot of personal trips—some group and some on my own,” says Truppo, who went to Ireland to visit family over Easter, spent spring break in London and Madrid, met friends in southern Spain, visited Vienna and Istanbul, and took a solo trip to Italy.
Meddings, too, embraced the chance to explore on her own. “I wanted to challenge myself to do one solo trip while I was abroad,” she recalls. “I had a few cities in mind and ended up spinning a die—it landed on Prague.”
The Syracuse Strasbourg Center is the academic home for study abroad students, located in a private villa on the banks of the River Ill.
A Journey of a Lifetime
The study abroad program in Strasbourg offers students a transformative journey—one that opens doors, challenges assumptions and fosters lifelong personal and academic growth. Whether it’s through navigating foreign cities, forming friendships from around the world, or simply sharing a meal in a French kitchen, students return with stories, skills and a stronger sense of self.
“I talk about it constantly to the point of fault,” laughs Cammett. “But it was truly an amazing experience.”
