Pre-departure:
I could not believe my luck or rather, heavenly mercies when the PGIO informed me that I had been accepted for the summer exchange programme. Initially, I had applied to go Australia but alas, I guess heaven had other plans and I ended up going to University Paris-Est Creteil (UPEC) Summer School.
I received a travel bursary from the University but still it was not enough to cover all the necessary expenses. Flight tickets tend to be expensive, so that is one cost to look out for. Securing a plane ticket was the first step I took. There after I made plans to get all the necessary information on how to get my Schengen Visa. Filling in forms can be a daunting task, looking at the requirement list alone just gave me a headache. Not that the requirement list is long but with exams and all, it was easy getting side tracked. I left out my visa application for after my last exam, which can be risky. My ADVICE: GET IT DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Getting all admin out of the way will leave you with less grey hair my friend!!! Having checked the requirement list, I set out to get my travel insurance, photos which I did through a travel agent (travel agents are a blessing). Then weeks later I set my visa appointment. The visa application was fairly easy, as long as one has the necessary documents then no hassles are experienced, so MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL DOCUMENTATION NEEDED. Two days after applying, my application was approved and I had my visa (the visa pic was cute too).
The exchange school provided accommodation and a transport card for the duration of the stay, so I didn’t need to worry about that. They as well provided breakfast and lunch, so the one thing I had to budget for were evening meals. Drawing up a budget was of great importance and help, especially after my parents had given me pocket money. The exchange rate wasn’t as friendly as I had hoped it’d be, so what seems like a lot of money this side, can be peanuts in Europe. MORE ADVICE: BUDGET! Draw up a budget even though it may be in rough ‘sketch’ prices, it makes life quite easy. With a budget at least one knows what to anticipate. Since my last trip to Europe had been in 2010, I googled some of the market prices to help me with my budgeting.
After all the nitty gritty had been sorted, all that was left was to pack up. MORE ADVICE: I found it wise buying all necessary toiletries while I was still at home, so you might want to do that as well. Clothes packed, more like rolled into my suitcase, passports in my handbag along with my plane ticket and all immediate things to produce at the airport I was all set to go. Since I was partnered with a fellow student, we met at the airport then boarded our super long flight.
Experience in Host University:
Touch down Paris, we were met by a UPEC student at the Airport called Tlangi to take us to our accommodation. We were given our transport cards which were loaded for a month and had access to the train, tram and bus, so basically one could go anywhere. We arrived on a Sunday morning and due to being jet legged and lacking sleep, my roommate, Rumbi and I set out to the mall until late evening. The following morning, we headed out for the school. We were accompanied by two UPEC students. The residence that was provided was in the Latin quarter, almost central Paris and the University is in Creteil, which is like an hour away.
First day of summer exchange was amazing!! Classes started at half past nine and we had the most amazing lecturer, Boris Najman who took us for the European business course. Eric Hertzel facilitated the French Economic business along with Michael Stamboli. The academic programme was about European and French economic business. So basically for two weeks we studied about recent world events that had an effect on European business, as well as new and upcoming trends that will and are already influencing worldwide economic markets. The course also included lessons on setting up a business in France. It is important to choose a course that makes your heart skip a beat and as for I, economics was just it! Compared to my coursework in Stellenbosch, I had much fewer assignments.
Usually after classes we would sightsee with other UPEC students as our guides. ADVICE: Making local friends is important. Locals, obviously know all the hip and happening spots, especially the nightlife scene. The nightlife is quite an experience. There are so many spots one can go to and one that was my favourite is the grand train. The best thing is Paris is practically safe and the transportation system is efficient so getting by at night is easy.
France is a beautiful country, Paris is an interesting, famous tourist destination. Stellenbosch is so serene and green, quite spacious too. Compared to Stellenbosch, Paris is a busy place. There are many activities one can do in Paris. So many places to visit, to see and the good thing is that most of the tourist attraction sites are free so one doesn’t have to spend a lot of money. As part of extracurricular activities we visited place like the Louvre, The Castle of Versailles, street art, went cycling. It was more than fun.
The best part of the trip was the fan parks set up for the EuroCup that was taking place. The excitement from fans just made the experience a whole lot more amazing. Streets were alive with excitement. It was such an interesting time to experience Paris.
Return to Stellenbosch:
The return to Stellenbosch was fairly easy, I knew that such a great experience would come to an end sooner than I would have wanted. The hardest part of the entire experience was saying goodbye to all the amazing people I had met .Although two weeks is not a lot of time to spend in Paris, making friends and meeting people was quite easy. The good thing is that technology makes staying in touch easy, so that is quite comforting.
Such an experience is mind opening. It gets one thinking and re-planning their future. After such an experience I’m more than happy to admit that I have been bitten by the travelling bug,I definitely would do it all over again and again and most probably again . Summer exchanged exposed me to so many different options in terms academics, job opportunities, travelling opportunities and so much more.
One thing I missed the most in my two weeks stay in Paris was home cooked meals, eating out does get tiring at some point.
Adjusting back to normal routine was also easy. Even though the styles of teaching are different from summer school, it didn’t have any impact at all on my studies.
I must say that this had been one of the best experiences of my life. I would highly recommend an exchange to anyone who is interested in changing their world view, wanting to travel, and learning a lot about other cultures. It’s amazing I tell you!!!
