Things I wish I’d known before studying abroad in France
- Bureaucracy is a joke
If you want to sort out any documentation or bureaucracy nonsense, it’s more than a day’s work. The important things that are needed for your set-up abroad is a bank account, sim card, insurance, etc. However, to set up everything else you first need a French bank account and to book an appointment you need to physically go in since you have no phone. To add to the nightmare, you can’t find out the opening times because you have no Wi-Fi or data in your room. When you do go into the bank at 12pm thinking it’s a perfect time, the bank will be closed. Why is that? France love their long lunch breaks which lasts 2 hours and you come back when they re-open only to find a ridiculous slow moving queue.
Easy solution? Set yourself an alarm for 7am and make it to anywhere involving documentation before 9am if you want to get everything organised within a week.
2. There are no PowerPoint slides
Yes that’s right, apparently chalkboards still exist in the 21st Century. 95% of my lectures were written and explained on chalkboards, so to us non-natives it was a nightmare. First of all, let’s forget that everything is written in French so already you’re a bit anxious but you comfort yourself that you can just copy and go through it later at home. But here is the issue, French people have this fancy swirly handwriting which is completely incomprehensible in chalk. As you’re sat there pondering whether that letter is an ‘r’ or ‘s’ save yourself time and ask the person sat next to you because they will very kindly clarify that it was in fact an ‘f’ and you’ll end up making a friend.
3. You’re a French speaking pro
It is absolutely shocking the amount of French that can come out of your mouth when you are lost and need to get your point across. It may not be perfect French but from using only filler words in your French classes to spitting out full sentences it’s definitely a major improvement. You can spend years learning a language in a classroom but it can never compare to actively speaking the language in a foreign country.
4. You are never alone
My biggest fear before I set off on my year abroad was the possibility of never making any friends and being all alone in a foreign country. The fact that you are no longer a coach ride away from your family is very scary. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong. There were many other Erasmus students that were in the same shoes which only brought us closer. Everyone understands the situation you are in because,most probably, they feel it too. And the best surprise of all is some of them end up being lifetime friends that you still keep in contact with.
5. It will be the best experience you’ve ever had
Yes, you may face some bad times in your year abroad, it’s not always high and bright. I have lost count at the number of times I have had a breakdown and wanted to leave France. However, with good friends and a good night sleep you get by. I have felt my lowest but also my highest on my year abroad and (prepare yourself for a cliché) it has made me a lot stronger.
With thanks to Justine Salles and @Tracy Enright
