Howdy from France!
It is really hard to believe that I have been in Strasbourg for SIX WEEKS already! Time really does fly over here, which can be good and bad. In the days before my departure of the states I was most definitely ALL over the place. Trying to pack for two season’s in a completely foreign land into one big suitcase and a backapacking backpack is a lot harder than it sounds! But I got to the airport in Houston and was able to get my luggage to 49 pounds (just one pound shy of paying extra-success!) and safely got on my flight with my Aunt to Frankfurt. In Frankfurt they almost lost my luggage so you can imagine the mini heart attacks the crazy american lady was having in the airport. Crisis averted we got on our charter bus to Strasbourg! About two hours later we arrived early evening around 5 pm and it was already DARK (odd), cold and rainy… quite the welcome. I probably should have done more research on the transportation here because we walked all around town with my luggage in a HUNT to find my dorm. It was a long first night to say the least….
The first week here was filled with “orientation” type events with the business school. I have never been more grateful for the organization of America and Texas A&M… the different insurances we had to buy, student cards, french bank accounts, and scheduling of classes probably literally made my hair go gray. Two of the classes I had planned to take and had pre-approved weren’t starting until JUNE for some reason so I had to completely re do my schedule and figure out what classes I could take here that would apply to my degree plan back home. Very stressful none the less. Made it through though! 🙂
That first weekend our group (5 A&M girls and two new friends from Ohio and Louisiana) took a random train to Freiburg, Germany for the weekend. It was my first European adventure and hostel experience and to this day probably one of my most favorite trips. We have also made trips to Nancy, France, London, and Disneyland Paris. For our winter break, the last week of February, we are going to Portugal and Spain! CANNOT WAIT! The travelling is honestly where I have the most fun and learn the most about Europe, it’s affordable and absolutely beautiful!
Classes are VERY different here. We go to each class about once a week for a minimum of two hours maximum of four hours each session. We pretty much go to class, take notes and that’s it. No online quizzes, no homework, no textbooks. EM Strasbourg does A LOT of group project work so it is interesting to work with students from all around the world and learn their culture work ethic. One of my classes was “intensive” and was done in three and a half days with about eight hours of class each day. Last day of class for me in April 9th and then we have finals the last week of April.
France definitely does live up to many of it’s stereotypical warnings… They aren’t the friendliest people and they refuse to speak English with you. Thankfully I know a good amount of French so I have been pretty successful. My diet consists of a lot of ham and cheese baguettes, pasta, and french fries! Haha I went ahead and made the investment to buy some cookware and lately have been trying to cook more in my dorm kitchen. Many of us will travel to Kehl, Germany (20 minutes across the border) for groceries because they are significantly cheaper there. The weather here stinks… it has been VERY cold and we probably only see the sun once or twice a week. Sometimes it makes it hard to get out and venture and stay positive, but it’s important to keep pushing through to the beautiful spring time that is upon us!
The time difference is also harder than I was expecting, just in the fact of trying to contact people back home. We are 7 hours ahead here so most of the time I am up at 1-2 am here to skype people back home. But it’s worth it. My favorite times are sharing all the good, bad, and ugly of my adventures of here in Strasbourg. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity and try to make the most of each day I am given here! I can’t wait to see how the rest of the semester plays out 🙂
Stay tuned for more wonderful adventure updates of my time abroad!
Much love to all! <3
Kelsey
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