My semester in Strasbourg France has come to an end and all I can say is WOW! I know everyone says that study abroad is the best thing they have ever done in their life, and now I can join that club. Study abroad was the best thing I have ever done. Strasbourg was the perfect place and I am now its biggest advocate. It is the ideal city to study abroad in and you can’t change my mind. The school was great, the city was amazing, and it was perfectly located in Europe. It does not get enough credit for all that it has!
For starters, the school was so vastly different from the US. I was admittedly nervous about passing classes because of the lack of assignments, but the professors were so helpful that this fear went away quickly. Having 3 or 4 hour lectures was an adjustment, but now I will need to adjust to 50 minute lectures at TAMU. Getting to sit in classrooms with students from all over the world was so enlightening. A lot of my classes had group projects, so I got to know these students and learn about their culture. We loved getting to learn what everyone’s home university was like and how it varied based on country. Overall I had a great learning experience at EM Strasbourg!
Secondly, the city does not get enough credit for all it has! It is a beautiful city that I feel is the perfect study abroad location. It has a rich international student group that makes the city feel smaller. Everywhere you go you see someone. The French have a reputation for not being the nicest, but that is nowhere near true for Strasbourg. The city is full of friendly people who love interacting with the international students. It has beautiful architecture, delicious food, and such rich history. The public transportation was also so easy and one of my favorite parts of the city! The tram line was my best friend while I was there! There is so much I will miss about this city. I cannot stress how perfect it was! It also has the perfect location in Europe. Because it is so central, it is so easy to travel to all the amazing places nearby. It’s location on the German border created an experience vastly different from the typical French one you’d get anywhere else. The Alsatian region is something straight out of a fairy tale. The German influence mixed with the French influence was so unique to the area. Pro tip: take the tram into Kehl Germany to do all your grocery shopping! Groceries in Germany are cheaper than they are in France and its a 10 minute tram ride from Strasbourg!
This experience allowed me to grow a tremendous amount and develop a better understanding of French culture. There is so much I miss from Strasbourg that I would give anything to experience again as a student!
