Carolyn Goes to France Bonjour! This past year I was living in Chambéry and attending the Université de Savoie at the Jacob-Bellecombette campus. It was such a different experience from my other years at university but oh so rewarding. While living in away from home, you ve got to try everything from stinky (but delicious!) cheese, to different wines, a hike up in the mountains or to skiing an Alp to swimming at the Lac du Bourget. The first piece of advice I would give to any student studying abroad is to be patient! That was probably the hardest lesson to learn, but there are a lot of steps and boxes to tick when you re starting a life in a brand new country. Secondly, and you ve probably already heard this, but I ll say it again, don t procrastinate. I am the worst for it, but seriously, get that Visa
process started and when you arrive in France, get your bank account and carte de sejour as quick as you can because everyone is going to want that information and it is such a good feeling to get it out of the way. Academics: Most of the literature and history courses that I took were worth two or three ECTS. I did take one course worth six ECTS, and that was more of a class that I was used to. That is, a lecture and a seminar with a written assignment and a final exam. The courses worth two or three credits usually only had a final exam worth 100%. Sometimes the exam was written, but I did have to do a few exams orally. For these oral exams, you wait in line and then get to select your topic from a hat. After this you get approximately ten minutes to write up your answer and then you must present it to the professor. Don t be late! Professors have been known to deny students entry after a few minutes late and it s very disruptive to the class as often the lecture halls are small and cramped. Just like a home, it s all about respect so no eating or drinking is usually tolerated in class as well as wearing hats. Attendance is mandatory for some classes and sometimes you can t take the exam if you ve missed more than two classes. Some classes will have slides, others will not, so be prepared to take lots of notes. Also, many of the classes don t have textbooks, so what the professor talks about is very important. A good way to make friends in classes is by talking to the French students near you and getting their emails so that you can ask them about things you don t understand or get notes for a class you may miss. Introduce yourself to the professor and make sure that if you have any problems or questions about material or assignments, to email them. For me it was better to have a written copy to look back on and really read through so that I didn t just nod at the teacher without really understanding everything they said. Be
sure to take classes with a mix of international and French students as to get to be able to know more people. Getting around Chambéry: The walk to school can be a bit of a hike but you will get used to the climb in no time. Be sure to layer, layering is key, because you ll be boiling on the way up, but once that sweat dries, you ll be freezing in class. Most of the time, I walked wherever I wanted to go in Chambery. It was a lot cheaper than getting a bus pass, though a single bus ticket was 1.30. Not to mention that most of my friends, along with downtown and the school were all within a half hour s walk. You can also rent bikes for a day, weekly or monthly. Lunch time and Sundays: The French like their food. From about 11-2 pm many stores, businesses and schools close for a long lunch. Many people go to restaurants or go home to eat. At the Jacob campus, there are a few different cafeterias to get food at, and the Restaurant Universitaire has a big lunch with daily specials for a good price. Take your time to enjoy the time off and digest, don t forget to grab a little coffee from the vending machines before class! On Sundays, pretty much everything is closed. People take their Sundays as a serious day of rest so if you want to get anything from the grocery store, be sure to go before noon. Sundays can get a little lonely, so why not invite a few friends out for a walk and then maybe make dinner together and watch some movies? Also, the Subway restaurant near the train station is open on Sundays and I must admit I went there more often than not on a Sunday because I wasn t awake in time to get dinner-fixings. Phone and Internet: It may take a little while to get connected to the internet and get a phone, so let your family know that you will talk to them as soon as possible. I managed to get a deal
with Virgin Mobile, only 9.99 a month and that came with a good amount of data and call time as well as unlimited texts. That was perfect for me when my laptop broke with one month to go and I had to message my mother to let her know that yes, I was still alive. In my residence, La Cardinière, there was no Wi-Fi, but there was an Ethernet port that was hooked up to Neonet service. This is a separate charge. Your room may or may not come with the cable, but you can definitely get one at Carrefour. If you have these monthly payments, make sure that you get everything squared away and paid off before you return to Canada, or else you might end up with a surprise bill after your bank account is closed. And that can be a headache. There is Wi-Fi up at campus and a few computer rooms where you can print. There is Wi-Fi hotspots all over town as well as at the library. You can access the Wi-Fi at the Médiathèque Jean-Jacques Rousseau by signing up for a free internet card. Traveling: Chambery is in a pretty good location, only an hour or so away from Lyon, Geneva and Grenoble; so traveling by air is pretty easy. While taking the airport buses can be good if you have lots of luggage, getting a student reduction pass for the trains can be less expensive as well as looking into ride shares. Chambery is in such an ideal place that it is really simple to get to Switzerland, Italy, Germany and the rest of France. There are a lot of interesting places to go in the Rhône Alpes region that is not more than a few hours train ride and can be done in a day. The ISEP exchange program also offers trips to Geneva and Turin and sometimes plans ski trips. When looking for travel deals, be open to going somewhere you never thought about going. Sometimes those places can be hidden gems! For example, I went to Lisbon, Portugal on
my own for a few days. I don t speak any Portuguese, but it was my favourite travel experience because I got to realize that I could be independent and have a fun time meeting new people! So in the end, living in Chambery was an amazing experience and I wouldn t change it for the world. I think I grew as a person and my confidence in French (and in general) has truly improved. This small city was situated in the mountains and had a little bit of everything for everyone. It will always have a special place in my heart and be one of my homes. You will be sure to have a great time and don t be afraid to get outside of your comfort zone, because it never hurts to try. Au Revoir, and if you have any questions, feel free to email me at cvachon@uoguelph.ca!