My first weeks in Strasbourg have been exceptional. The city is the perfect size to walk everywhere, but also offers efficient forms of transportation such as the tram and the bus (something we are not used to using in College Station). So far, I have noticed that many of the locals do not speak English. The locals that do speak English, however, oftentimes prefer when you attempt to speak French because you are in their country. This makes Strasbourg a great place to learn the French language. Depending on which area of Strasbourg you are in, it can either feel like you are in France or in Germany due to the fact that Strasbourg has belonged to both countries several times. Kehl, Germany is only a 15 minute tram ride away, and the students at Strasbourg often go there to get cheaper groceries!
The business program has a very diverse group of people. I expected for there to be more students from the United States, but most of the students are from countries across Europe. This has allowed me to learn a lot about other countries in a short amount of time. The business program is really great in that all of the classes are no more than 30 people. The classes also only meet once per week for three hours, which is very different from that I?m used to at Texas A&M. Although our orientation was a bit unorganized, the professors so far have been very helpful and offer very diverse insights when they teach.