The Beginning of An Adventure
Welcome to my blog! Since this is my first entry, let me tell you a little about myself.
My name is Aleksandra (but I go by “Aleks”) and I’m a Psychology and French double-major. I’m also a junior who is still undecided about what she will do after college. I love Centenary and have been involved in many campus clubs and organizations (see my profile!). I’m originally from Poland but live with my parents and younger brother in the United States; and last year I decided I wanted to study abroad in France.
Encouraged by my friends who had taken advantage of the exchange program that Centenary has with the Catholic University of Lille, I became a foreign student… or rather, a double-foreign student, since my first study abroad experience had begun in an American high school.
Although I have been in France for over a month now, it feels like I’ve lived here forever. As stressful and exhausting as the first few weeks were, I have finally fallen into a comfortable routine of going to class, studying, and hanging out with friends.
It wasn’t an easy task, since, as expected, living and studying in France is much different from living and studying in the States, and even from living and studying in Poland.
First, let me introduce you to my city: Lille, the “crossroads of Europe,” is conveniently located in the north of France, the Nord Pas-de-Calais region, right on the French-Belgian border. My love for chocolate just *might* have had something to do with my choice of location. But I digress: Lille is a lively and interesting city, though I have to admit that during my first couple of weeks here, Lille was little more to me than a cold place away from family and friends, where bureaucracy reigned and class registration was a pain. However, now that I’ve finally settled in and established my new comfort zone, Lille is more about the warm people, the travel possibilities and the amazing, ever-seducing bakeries.
The school system is very different from what I am know, and I am still trying to get used to the two-hour-long lectures (and the ensuing note-fests) as well as the apparent lack of homework… Only apparent, though, since the student is expected to find useful readings and additional research on his/her own. Needless to say, at times it can be extremely difficult to actually sit down and study for a test or complete even the smallest assignment; and it doesn’t help that there is no all-encompassing course syllabus, like the one I was used to getting at the beginning of each semester at Centenary.
The French educational system seems to expect more initiative on the part of the student and more critical thought outside of class rather than during the class period – which is why there are virtually no discussions or group projects (at least not in the courses I’m in). I can’t say I like this kind of system very much, since I enjoy more of a forum-based course structure, but I am doing my best to adapt to this new approach to learning, which is also characterized by a much more distanced and formal relationship between the student and the teacher. Another important thing to note is that almost all of my classes (except translations classes) are in French – talk about a change!
Although studying is (supposedly) the main reason I have come to France, I have been able to make new friends and together explore the city’s best places and flavors… Well, my two best friends, Isis and Helen, being from Hong Kong and me sharing a kitchen with them, I have ended up having much more Chinese food than typical French food, but so far I have tried several different kinds of French wine, French cheese, French desserts, and even Belgian waffles – or, as the locals call them, gauffres. What I like the most about about French cuisine is the amount of work that goes into the preparation of even the simplest dish: it’s definitely about the quality, not the quantity. That is why I always love to try whatever my French friends bring with them to school or to work: every piece is like a little feast.
I have also been taking advantage of Lille’s convenient geographic location and have done some sight-seeing. Although I am trying to save up some money and go on a longer trip a little later in the semester, I have so far had the chance to visit Brussels and Dunkerque.
The one-day trip to Brussels was organized by my university and I went with a group of friends, most of whom are exchange students from Hong Kong – so take this into consideration when you look at my photos and it looks like I just stopped a random group of Asian tourists to take some pictures (as my Centenary roommate has pointed out). The worst part of the trip was that we hadn’t planned it in advance and ended up wasting a lot of our time trying to decide what we should see; the best part of the trip was the chocolate, chocolate, chocolate… Oh, and we went to a few museums and even got to dine at an fancy Belgian restaurant. But, ohhh the chocolate!
Dunkerque, located right on the seacoast, was a whole different kind of experience. I had already heard about the wild Mardi Gras carnival and parade that takes place on the streets of Dunkerque every year, but no warning could fully prepare me for the extent of the parade. Never before had I seen so many men in eloquent make-up and high heels. Never before had I been thrown cooked fish at from windows. Then again, never before had I celebrated Mardi Gras the “Old Continent” way. As exhausting as the experience was and as cold as it got by the end of the day, I had a great time and lots of hot chocolate afterwards (is it me or is my life centered around chocolate a little too much?).
To end my entry on a slightly random but hopefully amusing note, I have a story from my very first day in Lille that perfectly shows how not knowing the way things work in a new place can lead to a lot of unnecessary stress (and good stories to tell on your blog).
On my first night in Lille, I went to a phone booth right outside of my dorm to call my parents and let them know I had arrived safely. However, when I came back, I found that I could not get in to my residence. I had my room key on me but I had never received a separate dorm key, so I’d thought that I would have to ring the door bell and the landlady or another student would let me in. I ringed and ringed, and pushed the little button, but no one opened. I went back to the booth and tried calling the dormlady but I had no money, just an international calling card… and I forgot the country code for calling France. Which means that I couldn't call my French friend, Sophie, either. I went back to the main door and tried ringing and knocking again, but to no avail. I spent almost an hour and it was already nine at night, dark and cold. Needless to say, I was getting worried. I finally I asked a passer-by if I could use his cellphone really quickly. The dormlady did not pick up, but I got a hold of Sophie and she told me that the keychain I had been given along with my key wasn't just a keychain but, in fact, an electronic key that I had to press against a little black box on the side of the door... I don’t think the dormlady ever explained that to me, but rather assumed that I would be used to this system, which obviously I was not. At any rate, I finally got in (and then got lost once inside and took forever to find my room) and felt rather stupid but quite amused by the whole situation.
That is all for today – I hope I will be able to update soon!
In the meantime, feel free to check out my photos:
