I am writing to you from sunny Nice in the Cote d’Azur, on holidays after having FINISHED my exchange in Lyon! Somewhat begrudgingly, I packed up my little life in Lyon a month ago to begin my summer holidays. I’ll just give you a brief run-down of what I’ve been doing, as I’d prefer to equip you with some tips for your upcoming (or potential) exchange.

I began my holidays with a week on an organic farm with Jess and Marcella via WWOOF (an organic farming organisation). We stayed on a beautiful farm in the middle of nowhere (literally) and did everything from raking hay to pulling out weeds to walking donkeys in return for lodging and food. The couple with whom we stayed were fascinating, having abandoned an urban lifestyle on the outskirts of Paris in favour of a small and highly successful hiking business in St Auban where families come for a night or several days to stay in a Mongolian yurt and hike with the aid of donkeys. My time there furnished me a unique perspective on sustainable development practices; a fitting conclusion to my semester of study in Environmental Law. In dire need of a little pampering, the girls and I headed to Cannes for two nights where we “de-farmed” by dressing up and going out in celebration of Marcella’s 21^st Birthday. We visited Grasse, the world’s perfume capital, where we made our very own fragrances and toured Grasse’s oldest parfumerie, Mollinard.

The Three Musketeers then went their separate ways. I flew to Gdansk in Poland where I met up with another friend, Kate, who had also completed an exchange in Lyon. Over the course of ten days, we visited the quaint Medieval Town of Torun (where Kate’s grandfather was held as a POW), the gloomy capital of Warsaw, where Stalin’s former influence is still quite apparent, and the beautiful city of Krakow. Whilst in Krakow, I visited Oświęcim in order to see the former Nazi Concentration Camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. Visiting a concentration camp is not something which is easily explained or conveyed to a reader. It is a very personal experience and is not easily reduced to words. Suffice to say, Auschwitz is indelibly etched in my memory.

Following Poland, I returned to Paris to meet up with my parents who had been travelling in the UK. We spent a few enjoyable days in Paris as flâneurs (wanderers) before moving on to Lyon where I showed them the sites of my former (sniffle) home! Going back to Lyon after a few weeks of travelling made me realise just how much I loved living there. I was very sad to bid the home of the gônes a final farewell.

Tips for your exchange:

1. I would advise you against buying an International Student Card. STA at UQ sells them and apparently you are able to use it to get discounts on museum entry fees etc but I haven’t used mine once so I suggest you save your $18. You will receive a student card from your host university which will allow you to benefit from transport concessions and museum entry fees.

2. In my opinion, there is no pricing parity between Australia and France. As a consumer, you will suffer greatly reduced purchasing power and the only things for which you will pay the Australian equivalent (instead of double) are wine, flowers and cheese ie 3 € for a bottle of wine = AUD$6. Bargain! Everything else, for example a cup of coffee, is the same numerical value (eg a $3 cappuccino in Australia and a €3 cappuccino in France) but after the exchange rate is accounted for, you have effectively paid double (eg AUD$6 for the coffee). Not a bargain. If you are going to Lyon and staying in the student residence, you will save a lot on rent but if you are renting in the private sector, particularly in Paris, be prepared to turn tricks to make ends meet! Rent aside, the lack of pricing parity between Australia and France means that you will need a lot more money to do your exchange than you have previously been advised. In my opinion, if you intend to do an exchange in France, live comfortably and make side trips to other European destinations, I would recommend saving a five-figure sum. If any of you would like to me to elaborate further on this point or run you through some of the costs, please do not hesitate to email me or come and find me at Merlos!

3. Pack lightly. You will accumulate more ‘stuff’ than you’ll know what to do with during the course of your exchange so it’s best to start with a small quantity…and watch it grow!

4. Make friends early! I know that sounds a little bit awkward, but really, be brazen! Go up and invite that person who seems like he or she would be cool, out for a beer after class and do so during the first couple of weeks. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself a month out from the end of it all, with incomplete dossiers coming out of your ears, desperately trying to hang out with those people and lamenting the fact that you didn’t make an effort earlier. This a common regret among the international students I have met while on exchange.

5. Building on Tip 4, step out of your comfort zone even further and make FRENCH friends early on in the piece. International students have a tendency to make friends with other international students which is fine but you should also make some French ones (given that you are in France). Some of my most enjoyable nights out in Lyon have been spent with Vivien, a Lyon local who strolled up to a group of us in the cafeteria one day, introduced himself and asked if we’d all like to go out one night. If you see a friendly-looking character in the cafeteria one day, BE BOLD, say salut.

6. If you are planning little weekend trips to other European nations, use Skyscanner.com to help you find cheap flights. It will produce multiple flight journey options, often with two airlines. You simply click on the links to each airline’s website and book the flights through the individual websites. I was a little sceptical at first booking flights with companies who bear odd names such as “BMI baby”, “WizzAir” or “Baboo” but they turned out to be completely fine.

7. Paris or Lyon? If you’re currently in the elementary stages of your exchange planning and are trying to decide on a destination, this advice may be pertinent. Let me preface this by saying that Paris is a beautiful city. It has history, grandeur, fashion and more and is a place you definitely should see. But in terms of LIVING in France, I would recommend Lyon. Here are my reasons:

(A) Lyon is France’s second (arguably third) largest city and a European capital because of its proximity to Italy and Switzerland but is small enough that you can virtually walk everywhere. Some of my best memories are of the long and sometimes arduous walks home up the giant hill in Vieux Lyon, after a night out. The best conversations were had, songs were sung, photos were taken, cheese was burnt off and taxi fares were avoided!

(B) Lyon is the culinary capital of France! If you enjoy going out for dinner, Lyon is the place to be. Book a table at Chez Mounier on rue des Marionners for a traditional and affordable Lyonnais bouchon experience.

(C) There are fewer tourists in Lyon. You will be surrounded by the French language and not be subjected to the drawl of an American tourist, wearing running shoes and a bum-bag, asking you for directions to the Chawmps-Eleesay (see the last segment of the film Paris Je t’aime for the visual).

(D) You will have the opportunity to take Malcom Harvey’s translation course which is simply brilliant. It is one of the most interesting, useful and entertaining courses I have taken over the last four years and would certainly recommend it to you! All of that said, if you have your heart set on Paris or have already applied there, don’t be deterred. It is spectacular and you will see some of the best-dressed people in your life not to mention shop like you never have before. Paris boasts a beautiful Jewish quarter, called Le Marais, where you can sample the most amazing falafel you’ve ever tasted and picnic alongside the canal. If you have enrolled in Sciences Po too, an elite college, you are virtually immune from the effects of education strikes so your studies will not suffer the same fate as mine! Those going to La Sorbonne, however, are not so immune!

I would love to stay and reiterate at length how invaluable my exchange has been for me on every imaginable level but this should be apparent by now and, true to form, another exclusively French adventure awaits me and I am compelled to leave McDonalds (that’s French for McDonalds), cross the road and feel the rush of wind as Lance Armstrong and the other Tour de France competitors scream past me, while basking in the background glory of their international media coverage…spot the Brooke!

I have now being away for four months and time is flying! The strike has finally lost momentum and classes have recommenced with a vengeance. I had six hours of make-up lessons for my Middle Eastern Geopolitics class on Friday finishing at 8:30pm! Needless to say, six hours of being bombarded with statistics, maps and information on petrol and water conflicts in a foreign language left me more than confused. I nervously asked the pretty girl next to me to send me her lecture notes only to discover she already had the names and email addresses of 10 other foreign students seeking the same thing…apparently I wasn’t the only lost sheep.

Jess and I are now the proud owners of a fridge; a worthwhile purchase I feel given that spring has truly arrived, bringing with it highs of nineteen degrees (my former practice of suspending milk, cheese and other perishables out the window is no longer an option). Spring is truly beautiful here: cherry blossoms, pansies and chic terrace-dining locals are a plenty. We’ve also been having picnics in the Parc de Tête d’Or which is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon and given that it doesn’t get dark until 8:30/9pm, the fun continues well into the night.  I spent a weekend, a few weeks ago, in the little cherry-producing town of Bessenay with the family of my French friend, Marie where I was spoilt with escargots, firm goat’s cheese, quiche Lorraine and whipped chocolate! Marie’s family were so welcoming and it was beautiful to see the flowers in bloom.

Prior to staying with Marie, I took a trip to Paris with a group of friends who are also on exchange at Lyon II. We left Thursday afternoon, after turning up to our Médiation Culturelle class to find that it was cancelled owing to the strike, on the only train destined for Paris that afternoon due to….you guessed it, a strike. The trip began with me being abused by a man wanting to take my seat and me politely but firmly explaining that it was not my fault that French people love striking as much as they love baguettes leaving you, Monsieur, without a seat. I told him that I would not be moving anytime soon before complaining to the lady next to me: “the nerve of some people”. I have learned that the best way to conduct small talk here is by complaining – “it’s so cold today”, “the bus is late yet again”, “I’ve being waiting for the metro for more than two minutes now” etc.

We checked into the hostel before meeting up with my friend Steph and a friend from Brisbane, Tom, for a drink at a bar in Montmartre before heading back for an early night. We were staying in Montmartre at a hostel which was great despite the icy water bidding you bienvenue in the shower. The Saturday morning began with a stroll through Montmartre. We visited Sacré Coeur and wound our way through the little paved paths that led us down the hill before walking to the Moulin Rouge in search of Amélie Poulain’s cafe. We stumbled upon it after an hour of walking but were disappointed to find that it was closed for renovations. We made our way back to the Backpacker’s via a cute lingerie boutique run by an eccentric man who told us in English “my eye know your size” when we asked for the sizing chart! Friday night we visited the Louvre as it was free for students that night - something for those of you coming to France to keep in mind. The Louvre was simply incredible! Needless to say, I only had a taste of what it had to offer and spent my time in the Italian Renaissance section and the Egyptian exhibits which were fantastic. Egypt is now at the top of the list for my next travelling adventure.

After working up an appetite meandering through the Louvre, we dined at a beautiful restaurant called La Cave which I had heard about through a friend. It’s hidden away in a lifeless street in Montmartre but makes delicious food and is buzzing with locals. Saturday morning we went to one of the Marché des Puces only to find that they really had nothing to offer other than swarms of pick-pocketers! We got out of there quick smart and headed to the Marais in search of falafel. Being Saturday, the Jewish holy day, we only found one restaurant which was open but delicious nonetheless. A few of the girls went their separate ways and I met up with Tom and we did a spot of shopping before walking through the Jardin des Tuileries and strolling down the Champs-Elysee. We had a drink with Steph in a cute little bar in the Marais before heading back to Steph’s to get ready for a night out in Paris. Tom and I had an incredible dinner at a local haunt called the Le Dindon before visiting a nice little array of bars. Sunday morning Tom and I went to the Musée d’Orsay where I found the painting I would like in my chambers one day when I become a Barrister: L’avocat by Cézanne….perhaps a little out of the price range.

I will leave it here as I am in the midst of a medieval festival in Vieux Lyon and feel like I’m missing out on some valuable photo opportunities being trapped inside a cafe!

I am now “officially” in week 3 of the university semester here in Lyon after spending last week on winter vacation. I use the word “officially” entre guillemets because we have been on strike for three weeks now. We are planning on taking off our revolutionary colours and settling into classes soon though. Environmental Law, Geopolitics and Conflict in the Arab World and Translation are on the cards. I am also taking a cultural mediation subject which analyses the French reception of Anglo-Saxon culture. We will be treated to multiple theatre visits to Anglo-Saxon plays, which have been translated into French, and will undertake a liaising-role for other upcoming cultural events in Lyon such as the Crime Fiction Festival.

It is actually the professors who are striking. I’m finding it all quite interesting and feel like I am having lessons in French political life simply by turning up to classes, in which the professor refuses to teach, and listening to his or her qualms about the reforms Nicolas Sarkosy has made to the university system. The students are actively involved too and every second day, a General Assembly is held to decide whether the strikes will continue for the following day. We, as international students, are well within our rights to go along and are allowed to cast a vote.

On a lighter note, my winter vacation was jam-packed and so much fun. (I must confess I felt a little bit cheeky taking a holiday two weeks into semester!) Jess and I began our holiday last Friday with a train trip to Paris. The TGV is incredibly fast so we were there within two hours. We stayed with two of our friends from UQ who are both on exchange at Sciences Po. They have an amazing loft apartment in the 3^rd arrondissement so we were very fortunate to be so close to Paris’ little treasures. I must confess, I wasn’t a very avid tourist and spent most of my time meandering through the sunny streets of Le Marais, the Jewish quarter,  lurking for hours in “Shakespeare and Company” on the Seine and relaxing with glass of red in hand at the little bars which the girls have discovered.

After leaving Paris, I took a train to Colonge to visit my German friend, Jumana, and to celebrate the Carnivale with her. The Carnivale takes place in both Colonge and Venice simultaneously each year. I found myself donning a Minnie Mouse costume, eating a hearty German breakfast and drinking pink grapefruit beer at 11am before going to a giant outdoor tent for the party. It was great for the first five hours until my minor form of a cold evolved into the black death thanks to the smokers leaving me coughing and spluttering! Whilst in Colonge, I also visited the Kolner Dom, a magnificent gothic style church built between 1248-1880AD and sampled a few German delights: leberwurst, a pretzel and something that resembled a rissole. I also introduced Jumana to the wonderful world of chai lattes. Consider yourself warned: they do not exist in France or Germany except in Starbucks! So if you are also a chai lover, I suggest you start drinking up a chai surplus, STAT or hunt down some powdered chai to bring with you.

Since returning to Lyon, I have already booked tickets for a weekend trip to Paris in mid-March so I endeavour to climb the Eiffel Tower, see the Mona Lisa, go to Pompidou and kiss Oscar Wilde’s grave this time! I will be going with new friends from Norway, Germany and Canada so I am really looking forward to it. We are also contemplating going to Corsica the weekend after our Parisian adventure so it’s all go here!

Last night I went to see an exposition on La bande dessinée américaine (American comics) at Le Musée d’art contemporain with Marie, a French Art History student with whom Lyon II paired me up.  We attended an intriguing conference afterwards, presented by a lecturer from Bordeaux, on La bande dessinée américaine underground; a counter-culture movement which emerged in America in the late 1960’s. The first couple of times I met with Marie, I felt a little awkward because often when I wanted to express my opinion on a topic I’d make mistakes and have to keep correcting myself so it took a long time to get anything out. Yesterday though, we walked through Le Parc de Tete d’Or together and enjoyed lots of stimulating conversation despite me stumbling on my conjugations every so often! She has invited me to go and stay with her family for a weekend in the countryside soon too which will be great!

I spent today snow-shoeing at Le Plateau du Retord with a group of about 50 international students. Alter-Ego (the Lyon II equivalent of UQ Abroad) organised the activity which included a few hours walking in snow-shoes in temperate springtime weather together with lunch at a barn-style restaurant in the middle of nowhere, only accessible via show-shoes, Nordic skis or sleighs pulled by huskies (naturally)!

On the whole, my French is improving slowly but surely. It is great listening to professors speak in French; however, most of the friends I have made are other international students so English is rampant! The time is ripe to pounce on more Frenchies.

Coucou,

I have been in Lyon for just over two weeks now, living in a petite 3×3m room at La Residence Andre Allix; a student residence which is occupied, for the most part, by ERASMUS students. The room was pretty musty and mouldy when I arrived but I had minimal expectations so there were no feelings of disappointment. Jess and I went out and stocked up on cleaning products and then spent hours cleaning every square inch of our little spaces. (Might I suggest you add “handkerchiefs” to your packing list…see photo below.) The upside of living in the residence is that I have been fortunate enough to meet and befriend exchange students from all corners of the globe. I went salsa dancing with Mexican students until four in the morning, when my feet gave up on my fun, celebrated Chinese New Year with a feast prepared by the Chinese exchange students on my floor and ate unidentifiable cow parts at a traditional ‘bouchon Lyonnais’ with a local French girl.

Prior to my arrival in Lyon, Jess and I spent two weeks with my Australian friend, Louise, in the quaint little village of Samoëns in the Haute Savoie region. We were very lucky to be able to stay with Louise as her boyfriend runs a ski school, called “Zig-Zag”, which meant that we enjoyed a week of free skiing lessons! I improved a lot and managed to ski up to the lookout point for Mont Blanc. It was breathtaking; just like a postcard. I loved it until the last day…..when I had a SKIING SAGA! So on the day in question, Jess and I went skiing with our instructor, Fred, and his five year old son. It was already late in the afternoon by the time we got up there and we commenced our journey into unchartered territory. We came upon a terribly steep slope and I began to ski down, just as normal, trying to ignore the fact that I would slide down to my death if I slipped (perhaps a little exaggeration…probably wouldn’t have actually died.) Suddenly, I heard Fred yell “stop”! Naturally, I thought that he was talking to me and turned my head to investigate…guess what happened next? I fell over. I couldn’t move because I slid every time I tried to so I decided to take off my skis….bad idea. Ten minutes later, a lovely snowboarder helped me to the side of the piste. I was crying by this time, speaking half-English and half-French to a German person. Fred came and rescued me because I couldn’t ski down it by myself. He then had to race after his five-year-old who was, by this time, MIA thanks to his weak twenty-one year-old counterparts who were taking so long. So Fredless, Jess and I had to ski down four or five more pistes to get back to Samoëns…..I couldn’t do it. I think the fall had completely psyched me out because I literally couldn’t ski anymore. Jess side-stepped the WHOLE way down the piste. I tried to do that but then concluded that it was better to die in the snow with the marmottes (strange beaver looking creatures) than move anywhere. I was petrified and muttered intermittently “worst experience ever”, as I continued to sob. Finally, some brown suited men on a little snow mobile came to my rescue and asked if I was ok…I felt like saying “what do you (insert-obscenity-here) think? I’m sitting in the middle of a piste, without skis on!” I did my best puppy eyes in the hope that they’d put me on their little snow-jet-ski and take Lassie home. They did. Louise thought it was terribly amusing and told me that I’d have to go skiing again before I left for Lyon …get back on the horse….or she’d never be my friend again (no pressure or anything). I did go skiing again and it was great.

One more thing: tonight I received a phone call from a lovely French delivery man, telling me to come out of the residence to collect some flowers sent by someone special at home. Just as I stepped out of the building it started to snow. It is a magical moment like this which renders all of the inevitable frustrations that come with living in France insignificant, which makes you realise that ties at home needn’t be severed in order to go on exchange and which ultimately, will leave an indelible mark on your memory.

Joyeux Noel from Vannes, France!

My adventure began on the 18^th of December; however, my access to internet has been somewhat limited; as I was staying in a hostel in Tokyo, so I shall bring you up-to-date now! I am travelling with another student from UQ, Jess, so you will hear me mention her name a lot.

Our trip to Tokyo was jam-packed. Jess and I were determined to see as much as possible in a short space of time. Day 1 was a little tumultuous; emotions were still flowing from the morning departure and navigating our way through the Tokyo Metro and Railway lines after a nine hour flight, followed by carrying our luggage up endless flights of stairs, was a tad trying but we made it to our little hotel in one piece and were greeted by a lovely English-speaking Japanese lady who made us feel very welcome. Day 2 was great. We visited Daikan-yama, a sleepy little district selling vintage and antique items, went to Ginza for a spot of shopping and finished with dinner with one of Jess’ friends – Eriko in Roppongi. (Eriko did an exchange at UQ last semester.) Day 3 started out with a trip to Akihibura, the anime (or manga) capital of Tokyo, followed by beautiful sushi in Harajuku with Eriko. Unfortunately, we only spotted two Harajuki girls so that was a shame. For dinner, we visited Shinjuku and sampled tempura followed by a session of photo-booths, Japanese style which was fantastic!

Day 4 started with sentiments of panic. I woke up at 5:30 and leaped out of bed, realising that our 4:30am IMMINENT FLIGHT WARNING alarm, to fly to France via London, had not in fact gone off! We packed up and then Jess threw the keys in the after-hours return box before we had locked the door…not a great start. We then walked to the train thinking ‘phew’, crisis averted. Oh how we were wrong. After 10 minutes on the train, it stopped at a little station. We sat there for about 10mins and naturally, I was beginning to worry (Jess continued to sleep). There was lots of Japanese talk coming through the intercom and a couple of people started to get off. I found a lovely girl who spoke English who led a pack of travellers, Jess and me as we sought desperately to get to the airport via another line. I spoke my best Japanese to the stationmasters (all of 4 phrases) to try and decipher the best route for us to take. Two trains and a taxi later, we made it to the airport with an hour and a half to spare. Funnily enough, along the way we met an Englishman who we chatted to and caught the taxi with and who happened to be seated next to us on the plane: how uncanny!

But wait, there is more. We arrived in Paris after hopping on a connecting flight in London, to find that our luggage had been lost. So Jess and I spent an hour at the airport in Paris filling out forms for our luggage to be sent to our accommodation in Vannes – a small town in Bretagne. Our luggage arrived a few days later so it all turned out to be fine in the end!

We have been staying in Vannes with a lovely French family since Sunday. The daughter of the family, Caroline, has been truly amazing - helping us to organise discount train cards and mobile phone credit and showing us the sights of her beautiful little town. My French is getting better already too, simply by being immersed in an all-French environment. The food here is so interesting and cliché about cheese is not really a cliché at all: after EVERY meal we eat cheese which is fantastic! Today is Christmas day and apparently the whole afternoon will be spent by eating! I had better finish up as little presents, under the Christmas tree, beckon me.