This is the first real chance I’ve had to settle down after my first week in this program, and wow! What an experience! None of our briefings or meetings could have prepared me for what it would actually be like to study abroad. Because while “studying” and “traveling” feel very static on their own, it’s impossible to pass our classes without engaging with this breathtaking city. Every morning is an adventure that takes me from the hotel onto a tram, through the streets of Strasbourg, and into a foreign business school for a new lesson. Sometimes, the lessons themselves send us on scavenger hunts or trips outside of the school. For the last five days, I have explored more alleys, shops, and bridges than I would have on a normal vacation.
Although the weather this weekend is cold, the rest of the city is anything but. Buildings like the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg and the Parliament stand as strong testaments to Strasbourg’s history of perseverance and unity. On a smaller scale, the buildings of Strasbourg look just as they did nearly a hundred years ago. This city has a natural rhythm in its historic design and integration with modern buses and trams. Strasbourg its identity true to its history in a way the United States can learn from.
What strikes me most about the culture of Strasbourg is its combination of efficiency and community. Most of your day in Strasbourg doesn’t work if you waste time. The trams will move at a fast pace, the traffic ebbs and flows at its own logic, and even the appliances are different or nonexistent; the culture stresses reusability in order to minimize clutter. Conversely, people are still able to talk to each other whenever possible—even if they don’t know each other. One of the first lessons I learned about France is that, at restaurants, meals tend to last for two hours or more. If you’re ready to pay for your meal, you need to let the waiter know or else they won’t bring you the check.
The heavy emphasis on casual communication is a high learning curve. During this program, I want to grow in my confidence and challenge myself to engage with people in Strasbourg, even if I don’t know French. This skill will help me adapt to Strasbourg’s culture, and any other culture I visit.
