France
Université de Bordeaux
L’Université de Bordeaux (UBx) is situated in a region recognized worldwide for its wine, forest, coastline, quality of life and high-level research. The university has one of the largest campuses in Europe and is composed of several sites that are located near to the city and that offer a broad range of services and amenities. The city, classified UNESCO World Heritage site, is described as “an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble.”
UBx is suitable for IGP students pursuing degrees in Science, or Business.
Map of France
Student Blogs
Ashley Crawford Accordion Closed
Blog 1
Bonjour à tous! My name is Ashley, and I am currently studying abroad in Strasbourg, France at the École de Management Strasbourg. I have been in France for about a month now (so hard to believe!). The time has truly flown by. At the university, I am taking two classes in English and two in French. While my English classes have already started, my French classes don’t start until September 28th.
Although I have been here for a few weeks, I haven’t had much experience, yet, speaking in French. Most of my French interactions have been at the grocery store, at restaurants, or out shopping. While these interactions have been simple, they have helped me become more comfortable as I adjust to my new home. With each new experience, no matter how brief or basic, I am slowly becoming more confident in my multilingual capabilities.
One of the reasons I haven’t spoken much French is that there are a lot of international students at my host university. Quite a few of the international students I have met don’t speak any French, so my conversations with them have been in English. I also have not met any native French students due to my English classes consisting entirely of international students. Another challenge that I have faced is the tendency of locals to switch to English once they detect that I am not a native speaker. However, most people have been supportive when I have explained to them that I am here to improve my French and would like to continue speaking in French.
Over the weekend, I went on a nature walk in Germany with several other students from my residence. Although there was a mix of nationalities, all the conversations were conducted in French. I was thrilled to get the chance to practice, but I was also a little intimidated. Even though I felt that my language skills weren’t as good as theirs, I was still able to have fun and communicate with them.
Something I noticed that was a bit of a shock is the speed at which people talk. Overhearing conversations on the bus and tram, I have realized that native French speakers shorten words, drop words, and use a lot of liaison and slang. Because this is very different from the classroom French I am used to, there has been a bit of a learning curve.
Despite some of my struggles, I am excited to start my French classes, and I am more determined to continue my efforts to become fluent. It is an incredible opportunity to have these language-learning experiences and to finally be in my host country. To all the IGP students reading this, just know that while language learning isn’t a clear, straightforward path, you are capable of more than you think! 🙂
Blog 2
Salut! It’s hard to believe that I have already spent nearly two months in France. Throughout my time here, I am gradually gaining a deeper understanding of French culture. One thing that stands out is the importance of food. Meals often last over an hour, and they are a time for friends and family to enjoy each other’s company. Fast food isn’t common, and it’s even illegal to eat lunch at your desk. Restaurants encourage people to stay for as long as they want without feeling any pressure to leave quickly.
Respect and manners are also vital aspects of French culture. French people tend to be quieter in public than Americans. They typically don’t attract attention to themselves or cause a scene. It is common to greet people with “Bonjour” (depending on the time of day) when entering a store, getting on a bus, or starting a conversation. These small, polite gestures can make a world of difference in how you are treated.
Unlike in the United States, French people may not seem as friendly since they don’t often smile at strangers. Additionally, it can be challenging to get a waiter’s attention when dining at a restaurant. Waiters usually don’t come to the table unless you’re ready to order or they’re bringing your food. This means it can take a while to get the check when you’re ready to pay and leave.
To help me develop my intercultural competence, I’m taking an intercultural management class. The class is made up of international students and incorporates group work and discussion. By interacting with people from different backgrounds and cultures, I’m gaining a better understanding and appreciation of our differences.
Blog 3
Salut encore! The beginning of December marks 94 days that I’ve been in France. It also means that my first semester studying abroad is coming to an end. Despite some instances where it seems like time is dragging on (for example, enduring a lengthy 4-hour long class, with just a fifteen-minute break), the days are quickly fleeting. Reflecting on the almost completion of the semester, it’s interesting to compare the educational methods of EM with those of NAU. At EM, I’m taking four classes. Three classes are three-hours long, with the fourth being four hours. Surprisingly, only one started the first week of the school year, with the rest beginning a week or more later. My entrepreneurship class was also every 2 weeks, but then switched to being every week after our fall break. Another difference I’ve noticed is that French professors seem to have more autonomy over their schedules and the curriculum they teach, creating more flexibility without strict deadlines. As finals approach, there is also a bit of variability by professor. One of my courses ended a few weeks before the others, with grades based on a group presentation and final paper. The entrepreneurship class has a final group presentation and a take-home assignment to work on after the class finishes. Most of the French classes have their final exam at the same date, time, and place. Because I am taking two French classes, I had to contact the administrative office to find a different time and location to take my other exam (although it would be nice if it were possible to take two exams at once haha). Another difference I’ve noticed is that syllabi are not very detailed or strictly followed. Rubrics are hardly given out for assignments, so it can be a bit confusing about what the professor expects.
Making friends with local students has proven to be a bit of a challenge for me. I feel like EM has a slight knack at keeping international students somewhat isolated from the native community. While bonding with international students who share similar experiences is enriching, forming connections with locals provides valuable tips and insights, as well as other types of support. My timid, reserved nature makes it difficult to approach strangers, but I’ve found that extracurriculars are a great way to meet people outside of school. Going to church here in Strasbourg has probably been one of the most beneficial things for me to meet new people and build my community abroad.
With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas approaching, the potential for holiday blues intensifies feelings of homesickness. Fortunately, my church community has displayed incredible kindness and generosity, extending invitations for Christmas gatherings, and ensuring that young adults don’t feel alone during the festive season. The Christmas markets are also very enjoyable to explore!
I’ve had to remind myself a few times not to compare my study abroad experience to others because each journey is unique. It’s okay to feel sad and lonely at times, but that’s when it’s important to pick yourself up and rely on the people who are there supporting you.
Blog 4
Bonjour! I hope y’all have had a great fall semester! My semester at EM Strasbourg has flown by. I have one last “homework” assignment, then I will be finished. I am so blessed to have had an easy courseload this semester since I was able to take summer classes and plan out my course progression early on. I’m staying in Europe for the winter break, which is so exciting because the Christmas markets truly are magical. Also, this will be such a nice time to get to travel and enjoy some rest time before I start my internships in the spring.
Because it can be difficult to find internships in Strasbourg, IGP partners with a company that helps students find internships abroad. This has been an incredible resource for me and has made my internship search significantly less stressful and difficult than I thought it would be. However, a lot of companies in France do not want to have an intern for the 540 hours that IGP requires. This is because businesses must pay interns if they are working for longer than two consecutive months. So, if you’re planning on coming to France, just be aware of the fact that you’ll most likely end up having to secure two internships.
One thing that I think has been pretty helpful for me in preparation for my internships was taking an FLE course focused on French business affairs. Throughout the course, we learned how to write a CV, and a cover letter. We also learned a lot of useful vocabulary about how to conduct business in France. All the best and Happy Holidays! 🙂
Lydia Muentz Accordion Closed
Blog 1
Bonjour! My name is Lydia and I am currently at l’Université de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, France. My post is a little late (sorry) but I just got out of class and am now sitting in the library on campus with some friends! I just spent my first month here and have already had many different experiences using French at school and in my daily life. For the first week I was here I only really used limited French when at stores/ taking Ubers and in my French course. Beyond that I was only really meeting exchange students who had either a similar or lower level of French than me so we defaulted to English. Once my chemistry courses began I started hearing much more French. I’m currently taking five chemistry classes and one class called “Arts et Sciences” all of which are taught fully in French and have almost exclusively French students or long term international students who are fluent in French. This means most days of the week I have at least 3 hours of lecture or instruction in French.
Unfortunately the class structure here doesn’t allow for me to practice speaking much (except for my Arts et Sciences class). So, I’ve had to put in the effort to speak to people near me on breaks. I’m doing L3 courses which are basically senior/400 level courses so people in my classes already have pretty set friend groups making it difficult to find an in. Very recently (pretty much just yesterday) I finally made a French student contact through an exchange student friend who is actually studying chemistry L3 so I now have one connection. He said he had seen me sitting alone in class the whole time and seems very open to speaking French with me which I appreciate even though I know it must be a little frustrating when he has to repeat questions many times before I understand. It’s much more difficult to understand my peers than it is to understand the lectures. I think this comes mostly from them a) speaking fast and b) using slang/familiar phrases that I don’t know. However, the students I have formed connections with (mostly in my Arts et Sciences class) have been very patient and encouraging. They have even told me that my French is good (even if it doesn’t feel true yet I appreciate it).
I won’t lie, it’s hard not to feel a little stupid when I struggle to communicate something. I’ve been studying French for around 9 years now all together so it feels like I should remember everything I’ve learned and be able to say what I want. In practice, it’s a lot harder than you might imagine. I feel confident is my abilities to understand written information which is great, but I struggle to ask basic questions sometimes because I can’t remember the one word I need. I imagine this will only get easier with time and practice, so I just have to not give up!
Beyond all the struggles and successes with language, I really am enjoying my time here and I have had lots of fun already. To any IGP students who plan to go to Bordeaux in the future: I can already tell you one month in that it’s worth it!
Blog 2
Bonjour everyone! I can’t believe we’re already so far into October. I’m already about to take my midterms :/. A lot of cultural differences have hit me in the past two months that I may have known about but still wasn’t prepared for in reality. The education system is very different with practically no homework (at least in chemistry). It has been difficult for me to make friends in class because most people already have a set group of friends by their third year. I will say that everyone I have spoken to has been kind though. French people have a bit of a reputation for being mean; we have been discussing stereotypes in my FLE class actually and my professor said that it’s true. In my experience though people aren’t mean, they just are not as open to talking to strangers.
I have also found that students here are expected to be more independent with their studying, but in other cases they are not. In my chemistry labs at NAU we are expected to do the whole experiment ourselves following the guidelines while here I have had multiple experiments where the professor explains everything step by step including theory as we are doing it. So I would say labs here (TPs) are less stressful than my labs back home.
Outside of school, a big cultural change to me was public transportation. Everyone seems to take the tram or bus to get everywhere. On the tram you will see everyone from school kids, to people with full bags of groceries, to people in professional attire. People rely much less on cars. This also means that you should respect everyone else on the transportation by not being too loud, not taking phone calls, and most people don’t eat or drink either. Many people were very surprised when I told them a big part of my culture shock was public transportation, but I really am used to having a car.
Overall as an exchange student it’s important to respect locals and their city. My goal is to avoid drawing negative attention by being to loud or obnoxious in public and to always stay respectful in my interactions so that people can say “I met a nice girl from America today” instead of “some American tourist was being annoying and rude”. I want to represent myself and my country the best I can, and that means adapting to the culture not rejecting it for being different.
Blog 3
Salut! It is now December which in my case means that most of my classes have come to an end and all I have left are final exams. I cannot speak for other disciplines, but in the chemistry department at the University of Bordeaux I have had no assignments at all. Instead the structure of courses is separated into three categories: Cours, TD, and TP. Cours is the regular lectures each week in a large amphitheater with all the L3 Chimie students. TD’s are smaller sections with only 1/3 of the class which also happen once a week. They are kind of a replacement for homework because this is where we work actual problems and application of what we learned in lecture, but unlike homework, it is entirely guided by the professor. This means you have to be a lot more independent in self studying topics you don’t understand because the professors will never really check your work until you take an exam. Finally TP’s are practicals, aka labs. I would have anywhere from 0-3 labs scheduled each week with my lab group of about 12-15 people. They do not have exams but instead you and your partner hand in a lab report or summary sheet of what you did similar to what you would write in a lab notebook or lab report at NAU.
The way courses are structured means it is important to keep up with the course on your own since you wont be tested except for at midterms (sometimes) and finals. I did this by making sure to not miss any courses when possible and when I did I made sure to have at least one contact who I could text and ask for notes on what was covered. Also, all course schedules are posted online and can change week to week (sometimes the time or place is different) so it is also good to have a contact to confirm course changes or correspondence from professors. It’s equally important to use your connections in administration. For example I have a coordinator who is in charge of all chemistry exchange students and he is a great resource. He was able to get me placed in the correct groups as he has contact with all chemistry faculty. He is also a great resource in my search for an internship currently. I know it may be more difficult to meet with your coordinator early on for other subjects though because in comparison there are very few chemistry exchange students here.
Lastly, my advice is to never be too scared to ask a question. I have asked my professors, classmates, coordinator, etc. questions regarding things that French students are already familiar with and that consequently don’t get explained, and they were always friendly and willing to help me out. So, even if you aren’t friends with someone they are generally kind if you approach with a question or problem.
Blog 4
Bonsoir! I am almost done with my courses and am looking forward to moving into my second semester here in Bordeaux focused more on professional endeavors. This week I had an interview for an internship I’m hoping to have at ICMCB (Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry of Bordeaux). I still have to get permission and fill out a lot of paperwork to work in the lab considering I am not French and France is on plan Vigipirate status “urgent attentat” meaning security is increased on all university campuses. I was very lucky to have my chemistry department coordinator here offer me a role with his colleagues that would be a five month internship since it is quite hard to find as an undergrad student here. Shoutout to M. Gaudon! It’s really essential to use your coordinator as a resource here if you have the chance as they may have connections or even opportunities themselves to offer.
In my case the interview was extremely casual and I didn’t need to prepare a cover letter or anything. I just showed up, answered a few basic questions about my background and they explained the research to me. I was honestly prepared for a much more formal traditional interview and was pleasantly surprised at the casual nature. You can never be too prepared for an interview so it definitely wasn’t a problem.
University of Bordeaux can be a little difficult in terms of getting in contact with people over email, especially the international office which can get very busy. My advice is to always reach out to the more specialized coordinators for anything that doesn’t require the administration of the international office, for example finding an internship in your field, first. However, some subject coordinators have more students to look after than others so I may have just gotten lucky being in chemistry.
I’m looking forward to spending the holidays here and I hope everyone else is looking forward to winter break as well!
Joyeuses fêtes!