Life Updates! Navigating Life as an International Student in France
Salut!
Been a minute. I still have to complete the beginner series I started in August (I have several drafts I have yet to publish), but I thought I would explain the pause with this post.
I got into an Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Scholarship program, Medical Imaging and Application(MaIA), and this program takes place in 3 European countries: France, Italy, and Spain (I could make another post to explain the application and selection process). I moved to France a few days ago…
Did I have expectations for this trip? Not that I can specifically point out. I was convicted of the fact that I was moving several miles, euros, and levels of maturity away from home and everything familiar. My immediate goal was to not miss a flight or a train and to get to my destination safely with less drama; every other thing, I hoped was going to come to me with a few Google queries and asking people in my cohort. Some of my classmates got to Le Creusot, several days before I was scheduled to arrive, so through their lived experiences, I knew how to get to my destination and how to circumvent the possible inconveniences that could come up. Yet, I have had my fair share of surprises as a l’étranger!
For a fact, I knew the plane food was going to be bad enough 😄, so I wouldn’t want to include that in my list of surprises. In my defense, I usually experience motion sickness, so as much as possible, I always avoid eating when commuting, but even if I didn’t ask for a meal, someone sitting close to me would. I took the meals anyway and only ate the sweets and plain carbs (drinks, cakes, bread, granola bars, etc.).
Now to the main surprises:
- With the exception of some university administrators and the students in English-taught programs, the natives can’t speak English (and don’t understand at all)! I assumed people here could at least try to understand me because this was my first exposure to native French speakers, and I only had to get past familiarizing myself with their accents and then gradually processing what was being said. I was in for a shocker when people at the bus station couldn’t understand English. It took the intervention of some student volunteers (seniors) who directed me and also met me halfway to escort me to my destination. PS: I studied French from basic school to junior high school, took a summer French course with Alliance Française, and have been complementing those efforts with some inconsistent Duolingo lessons. But guess what? I found out that I couldn’t even hold a civil conversation in French. Tragic!
- Some washrooms are free while others are paid for. I know some washrooms are paid for in Ghana, but those ones are usually in communities where washrooms are non-existent (people build their homes without places of convenience), and so the local government and even individuals use it as an opportunity to make money by providing public places of convenience. This surprise came when I couldn’t find my luggage for a good 30 minutes at the airport, and I needed to catch two trains. In my haste, I forgot to pee. I got to the bus station, and I had to urgently empty my bladder, which was threatening to pop out. I tried opening the washroom door and noticed it was locked! Locked? At 6 pm? Incredulous! I started looking around for someone who had the key, only to be told by a gentleman that I needed to slot in coins. Mind you, I only had euro notes and not coins. The gentleman was kind enough to give me a 50 euro cent, and that gesture saved me from the potential embarrassment of emptying my bladder unsolicited.
- The weather! I knew Le Creusot was going to be as hot as 30 degrees in September. The weather in Ghana was between 25–27 degrees, in August. In my wisdom, 3 more degrees wouldn’t be so bad! Because I exceeded the baggage limit, I had to choose between carrying more food items and clothes, and I gladly chose extra food and picked a few jeans and a few summer tops. Unfortunately, the heat is unbearable, and rooms here have only heaters without fans or air-conditioners. Opening my windows throughout the day would also mean dealing with mosquitoes and giant houseflies. Sigh
- I had no idea people drank from the taps. In Ghana, filtering and purification of water are too expensive, and it is more cost-effective to buy sachet water or bottled water than to filter (at least that was the situation in my house and a couple of homes I went to). Turns out, the water has been declared safe and potable. I am only riding on this truth because it is a cheaper lifestyle, but I haven’t made it out unscathed. I am currently suffering from a sore throat (the worst I have ever experienced), and even though I want to see a doctor, I have yet to set up my health insurance so I would have to pay for the service. I don’t know how much that would cost, but I have a couple of payments to make, and I wouldn’t want to risk being broke in the first few weeks.
Any Regrets?
- Traveling solo into a new country. I don’t think much could have been done about this, but I wish I had someone who knew about the French system picking me up from the airport. Besides needing to leave my bags with someone to visit the washroom and also finding train lines, it wasn’t entirely a horrific experience.
- I would have definitely found a SIM card before entering the country or getting to my destination. A lot of things are much easier to navigate when you have the internet, so without the internet for three days upon arrival, it was a very trying time for me.
- I would have put a lot more effort into studying and learning French rather than trusting in my scanty experiences with the language in the past.
Bonus!
I don’t think I will get used to how small the bathing space in my student house is! Good luck if you have to use the bathroom and you’re claustrophobic. I think it is a student housing thing, my hotel room had a much bigger bathtub.
Kindly share tips and applications/software you used in learning a new language with me. FYI, my program is entirely taught in English, so outside class hours, I am not obliged to speak French, but I want to learn it and learn it well this time around. So kindly share your tips with me.
Aurevoir mes amis!
