Study Abroad Final Report



Study Abroad Final Report

Johanna Cook

2492170

cook0248@umn.edu

612-396-4692

Academic Experiences

I was a little surprised by the general academic structure: it was extremely low-key. I tentatively chose the classes that I was interested in taking when I applied to the program. However, I didn’t know what time the classes took place, so there was a lot of overlap with what I had already chosen. I ended up taking some classes that I wasn’t sure would transfer. It was a little frustrating to register for classes in general - everyone had to wait in line to talk to Martine Pes and there were a lot of students in the SELF program! It took quite a while. Plus, she would randomly leave during her posted office hours so I’d wait in line for an hour and then she’d leave with no explanation or information on when she’d return. In general, the classes were about three hours each, twice a week. However, that would change regularly because many of my instructors would randomly cancel classes or reschedule them during a different time period when some students already had a different class and couldn’t come. This happened at least once a week, but usually more often.

Compared to the classes at the U of M, the class structure was very different. I took a French language course, Brand Management, International Marketing, Cross-Cultural Management, and European Politics. Instead of being graded on assignments and tests throughout the semester, our grade was usually based on the final exam and maybe one presentation or group project. However, even with the lack of assignments to help us get to know the material, the final exams were pretty stress-free – they were open book, open note, and we could even use our computers and connect to the internet The content of the courses was really good and I learned a lot, but the classes were completely lecture-based, so they were hard to sit through sometimes. I think I would have learned more if we had had more class discussions and assignments. My French class was the only exception. I learned more in that class than any French class that I’ve ever taken! One nice thing is that we didn’t have to buy any books, but that also meant that we had to be fairly diligent about taking notes in class.

Logistics

My arrival was a little more difficult than it might have been for other people because my sister and I had rented a car to travel around Europe before my program started, so we had to maneuver around the city by car. However, it would have been great to have been told what Metro line to take and the direction. The student orientation was really helpful. We were given a packet of what we needed to know, including getting health insurance, when class registration started, a map of the university, etc.

Housing was relatively easy to deal with. We had to go to the University and speak with the housing director of the program who makes sure that all of your paperwork is in order and then you have to pay a few fees, and then you’re given documents to take with you to your housing complex. I would recommend to students that they go to the University to take care of this process as early as possible – not only was the line to speak to someone long, there is also a chance that something has gone wrong with your housing which happened to several people in my program. In my situation, I had to make an appointment with the apartment manager at my apartment complex, and she took me on a tour of the apartment, went over the lease with me and gave me instructions on setting up an electricity account. My roommate and I had to estimate how much electricity we would be using during our stay based on previous residents, and then we had to go the power (whose name escapes me now) and give them all of our information. If we had gone over in our estimate, then we would have to pay more money at the end of our stay. The apartment also told us about how to set up a French bank account so that we could transfer money in to it from our American bank accounts and we could also get a debit card.

I wish that I had known certain things about the apartment, like the fact that we they are almost entirely unfurnished. I didn’t think to ask about this so, it’s my own fault, but it was stressful because I was without bedding or towels until making a trip to Carrefour in the Centre Commérciale, a large shopping center (but Carrefour is always packed, so be prepared to jostle your way through the crowd). I also had to go to Ikea for things like lamps, utensils, plates, etc. Basically, I had to spend a lot more money initially than I thought that I would have to.

Regarding meals, you couldn’t ask for a city with better food. Everything you can think of is all around you. I tried Indian food for the first time, and anyone that goes to Lyon will become addicted to kebabs! American food is extremely expensive – for example, a cheeseburger at McDonalds is around $5. However, there are restaurants that have prix fixe meals that are a great value. There is usually a choice of prices, so they are great for any budget. On Rue Mercier near Hotel de Ville, there are restaurants where you can get all-you-can eat mussels for only 12 Euro! Otherwise Rue Mercier is pretty touristy and the restaurants are usually overpriced. The same goes for any restaurant on Rue de la République. Vieux Lyon is the best place to go for prix fixe meals. The smartest thing to do is to go to the farmer’s markets, which you can find every day, but the location changes. You can find fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, breads, meats, flowers, sweets – they are unbelievable! The markets are one of the things that I miss the most about Lyon; I’ve never eaten better in my life. Bread is fantastic everywhere that you go and fairly cheap, but the later it is in the day the cheaper it will be.

There are also lunches available it the University, which are inexpensive and really good. You can buy a packet of meal tickets so that you don’t have to wait in line (which can get really long right around noon).

The transportation system in Lyon is amazing. Between the Metro, the buses and the tram, it’s easy to get absolutely anywhere. There were several transit strikes while I was there, but even that wasn’t really a problem. They were only partial strikes so you just had to get more creative with your route. The city is completely safe, so walking was always a good option as well. One thing that I wished that I had been informed about is the Metro TCL card. I had already been in Lyon for two weeks paying probably eight Euros a day on the Metro, until someone finally told me about a Metro card that you can buy for a certain amount per month (around 37 Euros) and you can renew it each month. You just swipe it every time you ride the Metro. You can also renew the card at the ticket machines in the Metro, but you need a French credit card in order to do it, or at least a credit card with a “chip.” Regular credit cards don’t work.

Culture

One of my favorite things about French culture is how it is expected that you say hello and good bye whenever you speak to anyone. It’s a great way to get a conversation started with absolutely anyone and it’s very welcoming. For anyone wanting to become immersed in French culture, the best way is to try to meet as many French people as possible. Go everywhere you can with everyone that you can! It can be way too easy to stick in your comfort zone and only hang out with people who speak English. The Lyonnais can be a little cold at first, but when they become your friend they are your friend for life! Plus, it’s a great way to practice speaking French. French people want to practice their English too, so they tend to automatically will switch to English, but they are more than happy to speak French with you and are always encouraging. People are also much more polite to you if you at least attempt to speak French. I’m glad that I came to Lyon with a fairly good background in French, but you could easily get by without it – everybody speaks English and with all of the international students, was usually the only common language. My French definitely improved though, although it was always best when I was in a rush or stressed out oddly enough, probably because I didn’t have the time to think about what I wanted to say so I didn’t get in my own way as much!

One thing that I noticed that was somewhat disconcerting was that people tended to stare at Americans a lot. We stick out like sore thumbs with the way that we dress and act, but it takes some getting used to especially because people are not shy about doing it at all!

Another frustration was the French perception of time. Life goes at a slower pace in Lyon, which can be a good thing, but it took some getting used to. If a French person tells you that they will meet somewhere at 5:00pm, they’ll show up at 5:50pm and not think anything of it. My professors would tell us to take a fifteen minute break and not come back for 40 minutes. Banks close at random times, like 5:55pm, EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays so buy anything that you need the day before, and many places close for two hours in the afternoon. Check store hours before you go anywhere to save yourself a lot of hassle.

Social Life

For some reason the French students from the University weren’t all that interested in hanging out with the exchange students. Any French people that I met were always off campus. Integration with the other international students was great though. One of the program coordinators planned events for the students like a trip to the Beaujolais region to celebrate the Beaujolais Nouveau, nights out at clubs, etc. Plus by living in one of the housing locations suggested by our program, it ensures that you’ll be living with quite a few people from the international program. You can’t be shy in situations like this, you have to be open if you want to meet people and make friends, especially with a program this large. Oddly enough, I met my closest friends while waiting in line to register for classes. We talked for a few minutes, exchanged phone numbers, and made plans to hang out later that day.

On the weekends, I traveled as much as possible. Travel by train is relatively inexpensive; especially in you’re a student. You can get a pass at train stations that allows you to buy train tickets to destinations within France for half price. I had a Eurail pass, but I would definitely recommend the discount pass (I think it’s called the 20/25 card). It’s perfect for short weekend trips. However, it’s essential check and re-check your train itinerary! I was given multiple train schedules that were for the wrong day, even the wrong year and it made my life a lot more stressful than it needed to be. There are some airlines that offer really cheap flights (sometimes only one Euro if you book far enough ahead), but they are really unreliable. If you fly with airlines like Ryan air, leave plenty of time to get to your destination and back because delays are highly likely.

Other

I would recommend that students bring a fair amount of money, especially due to unforeseen costs that always pop up. I would say that students should budget for at least 1200 Euro a month (including rent, phone minutes, travel, food), but probably more when taking in to account the higher exchange rate. Rent is typically around 350 Euro per month; travel on the weekends would probably amount to100 to 200 Euro per weekend depending on how far you go and the business of the season; if you stick to shopping at the markets and dining at home and eat out only every so often then food costs can be kept to a minimum, but I would a lot at least 150 Euro per month; wine is inexpensive in stores, but drinks at bars and clubs are unbelievably expensive and can but a big dent in your budget if you’re not careful.

Since I was staying for longer than 90 days I needed a Visa to enter the country, but I didn’t have to go to the French Consulate in Chicago in order to get it. I wish that I had bought 20 passport pictures at one time because not only did I need them for my Visa application, I also needed it for my Metro card, my library card at the university, my student ID card, my international student ID card, etc. It seemed like you needed a passport picture for everything. It took around three weeks to get my passport, but I planned for it to take six weeks because of the backlog on passports last year.

For other CSOM students, I would recommend that they bring more warm clothes than they think they’ll need. Even in December and January it wasn’t very cold and I think it only snowed once or twice. I brought way too many clothes for cold weather. However, this will vary depending on where you want to travel and when. I would also recommend buying a French cell phone. You can buy a cheap phone from Orange and buy minutes from tabacs and most ATMs. But it’s really expensive to make an actual phone call with a cell phone, so my friends and I usually stuck to text messaging each other or extremely short phone conversations. As mentioned above, most housing options don’t come with bedding or other necessities so either factor them into your budget or bring them with you.

Get an International Student ID Card (ISIC) before you go because it gets you discounts on a lot of museums and attractions all over Europe. They are available at the Learning Abroad Center for only $20 or so. Also, If you buy a Eurail pass, buy it before you leave for Europe. They only sell them in the bigger cities like Paris or Munich and you can’t order it online once you’re there. And bring a travel pillow, slippers, and a light blanket! Sometimes you might be traveling for long stretches and the trains can get pretty cold, and most of the time the seats are not conducive to sleeping. My travel pillow was my lifesaver.

I received two scholarships for studying abroad, one specifically from the University and the other was from a private donor, but I applied for both through the University. I learned about the availability of the scholarships from my advisor, but I was able to look up scholarships on the Learning Abroad Center website to find out which scholarships I was qualified for. The application process included filling out an application and writing several essays about why I wanted to study abroad, how I would use the experience to my advantage when I came home, etc. It takes longer than you think it will, so don’t leave it until the last minute.

My biggest recommendation would be to just go with the flow as much as possible. Some of the quirks of being abroad can get frustrating at times, but you just have to accept them for what they are and learn to appreciate the differences. Some of the things that irritated me the most are now things that I look back on and miss.

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