UQ Program: Commerce/Arts
As a student of French in my Commerce/Arts degree at UQ, going on an exchange to France had always been in the back of my mind. I decided to take the plunge early and headed over for the second semester of my second year to study in Lyon, which I chose because I felt it could offer me an authentic experience of the French lifestyle whilst maintaining a city atmosphere.
A few weeks into my exchange at the University Lumière Lyon 2, I decided to enrol in the university Women’s Basketball Team, something I had never really planned on doing. This however turned out to be one of the best decisions I made while abroad. I was the only non-French person in the team and was thus forced to speak in French during trainings, games and social sporting events. Although this was definitely a challenge at first, the welcoming attitude of my teammates allowed me to improve my French whilst forging friendships that I know I will treasure the rest of my life.
Of course, with this amazing experience came many a challenge. The first obstacle I faced was enrolling in subjects and subsequently getting them approved by UQ. This proved quite difficult at first as some courses were already full and others did not accept students on exchange, however with the support of UQ Abroad, everything was sorted out quite smoothly. My two favourite courses were by far Photography and Translation. I think that these courses really allowed me to gain a greater appreciation for the differences between French and English expression.
The main reason that I decided to go on exchange in France was to improve my French language skills and before leaving, I thought that learning and understanding the language would be the greatest challenge that awaited me. However, I found that it was learning how to be confident in my own decisions and abilities, without the comforts of the familiarity of home and the English language that proved the real challenge for me on exchange. I was forced for the first time in my life to truly forge my own path and although this at first was a struggle, the rewards have been endless. For me, there was nothing more gratifying during my exchange than pushing myself, failing time and time again, but then finally gaining that sense of achievement, whether it be in the form of being able to hold a conversation in French, having friends from all over the world, or even just finding the hostel that I was to stay in that night. If going on exchange has taught me anything, it has been that there is no greater place to be than out of your comfort zone, discovering the world out there and how you want to fit into it.
5 top tips:
1. Enrol in the pre-university PRUNE course where you will meet many exchange students going through exactly what you are going through during the settling in process.
2. Partake in the “Binôme” program, which couples you with a French student learning English with whom you subsequently meet up with for coffee etc. to speak both French and English.
3. Join a team or do an extra curricular activity at your host university.
4. Social: Vieux Lyon for cheap traditional Lyonnais dinners with great pubs all along that strip namely the St James and the Wallace (pub quiz Thursday night at the Wallace); Péniches – clubs on boats docked on the side of the Rhone river; during the warmer months picnics at the Parc de la Tête d’Or which also has a zoo.
5. Travel: 12-25 SNCF card which gives you heaps of discounts on trains; Book in advance for cheaper flights, buses and trains; Don’t be afraid to travel by yourself!