I have officially been in Strasbourg, France for 6 weeks now. During the weeks leading up to my arrival, I was so nervous. I was nervous about flying across the world, nervous about the culture shock and nervous about missing my family and friends. However, looking back, I am so glad I decided to study abroad.
France is and isn?t what I expected. The people aren?t overly friendly, but they aren?t always super rude either. In my experience, the younger people and students are more welcoming and accepting than anyone else. The stereotype of the French eating cheese and bread is spot on. I see people every day walking around holding a baguette. Wine is a more accepted drink than water, and I am enjoying learning about it in my two wine classes. Also, if you want to go to eat or go shopping on Sunday, don?t even try. Everything, and I mean absolutely everything is closed on Sundays. The city basically shuts down?so weird for me since I?m used to 24 hour Whataburger?s and H-E-Bs.
Never again will I complain about the way A&M does anything. The business school in Strasbourg is not the most helpful, and creating a schedule and registering for classes was not the easiest task in the world. One of my classes got cancelled a week after registration closed, which is crazy to me that that?s even possible?I was able to get forced into another class, but there was definitely no advisor to put me at ease. I finally got my schedule finalized and now school is going well. I only have class 3-4 times a week and only for 2 hours a day. Most of my classes have group projects instead of exams, which is nice. All of my classes are small, with a max of 20 students. The professors and staff here are nice, but not overly helpful and definitely don?t feel the need to rush anything.
I am staying in a dorm about a 10-15 minute walk from the business school. My room is small, but what I expected. I have my own bathroom and enough storage for all of my things. There is a kitchen on every floor in my building so I have bought pots and pans and now cook at least once a day. There is a shopping center about 10 minutes away from my dorm, with a movie theater, grocery store, clothing shops and supermarket. Down the street from my dorm are several restaurants, a convenience store, post office and ATM. I am extremely happy with my living situation, simply because of the location.
Since I have been here I have traveled to Freiburg, Germany, Vienna and Salzburg, Austria, London, England and Disneyland Paris. Each place has been amazing in their own way. Freiburg was a small college town with good beer and amazing views from the Black Forest. Vienna and Salzburg were very different: Vienna being a large, historical city and Salzburg being smaller and more about the scenic views. That trip has hands down been my favorite for several reasons, including the fact that the Austrian people were the friendliest people I have met since being in Europe. It was really fun to be able to see the famous sights in London such as Big Ben and the House of Parliament, but the exchange rate between the dollar and the pound was not kind to my bank account! Disneyland Paris was very similar to the park in Florida, but it was fun spending an entire day with the exchange students I have met.
I am trying to explore Strasbourg during the week and travel on the weekends. Strasbourg has many museums and historical sites so I hope to get to most of them before I leave. I haven?t been able to go inside Parliament yet but I hope to do so soon. I have started running, and it is fun exploring the city in that way. Overall, I am enjoying my time here. There are pros and cons about France, but I am so glad I decided to study abroad.
Thanks and Gig?em.
Victoria Valadez