Studying abroad in France has taught me a lot about myself and how I function in new environments and new situations. I am studying abroad in Amiens, France at the Université de Picardie Jules Verne so that I can challenge myself and my understandings about the world. I'm here to learn about different cultures outside of America.
While being abroad, I’ve discovered and explored the different way of life that French people follow. From different mealtimes to completely different school systems, it was difficult to get used to. This blog is to help you understand just how much can change and how much adaptation is required to study abroad.
All photos by Madison Knapp
Author, Madison Knapp
First and foremost, while abroad, I’m a student. This means that I, believe it or not, have schoolwork and classes to attend, just like at UM. However, the French school system and cultural behaviors are much different than those in America. For example, grades are out of 20 and come from tests rather than homework or participation.
In France, courses are divided into CMs (Cours Magistral) and TDs (Travail Dirige). The CMs are lecture-like classes, and TDs are more standard, seminar classes. In TDs, you have the opportunity to work one-on-one with the professor. They are typically an hour long each and add up to 24 hours of each class by the end of the 12-week semester.
Technicalities aside, there are also some big cultural differences in French schools. On the first day of classes, I went to class about 15 minutes early, like normal. I’m used to classes not being scheduled right before my class, and that is not the case in France, which led to me interrupting a couple of classes on that first day.
Before studying abroad, I wasn’t much of a traveler. I never thought that I would like it as much as I do now. Before studying in France, I hadn’t met many people from outside the US or Canada. Meeting people from places like Latvia, Moracco and Turkey really expanded my worldview and made me excited to see more.
I’ve traveled a bit while abroad. We had a week-long break in February, and I took advantage of it and went on a solo trip to Denmark and Sweden. I’ve also been to Paris a couple of times since I’m only an hour-long train ride away. These trips have helped me understand more about traveling, and I’ve become a more confident traveler overall.
Along with traveling, I’ve heard some languages that I’ve never been exposed to, like Arabic and Swedish, for example. I’ve realized, through both interactions with other international students and my French classes, that speaking English as a first language is a privilege. English has become a global language, which has allowed me to speak in Denmark and Sweden because of its prevalence.
Being in France, studying French, and having most of my classes taught in French has significantly improved my skills. I’ve found that my listening comprehension, in particular, has gotten better. Being surrounded by French all the time and having to communicate in French to order food or tell the cashier you’re paying with cash, reinforces this skill.
It’s no surprise that being far away from home is hard. However, I had never experienced true homesickness until I went abroad. Being an out-of-state student, I’ve gotten used to being away from my family and my hometown friends. Something about being 9 hours ahead and on a different continent has made this feeling much stronger for me.
To combat feeling homesick, I’ve made sure to keep in touch. I’ve been writing letters to some friends, sending postcards and calling my friends and family on a regular basis. Regardless, homesickness is still a hard thing I’m learning how to deal with. It’s difficult to have such an amazing opportunity like being abroad but missing your home the whole time.
Another way to deal with homesickness is to make friends abroad! Luckily, most study abroad programs have lots of events for international students like me. At the beginning, before these events, I was lonely. But now I have friends in classes that are international students and we go to these events together and learn more about each other and Amiens too.
One of the main, weekly events I attend is the Café des Langues event held by the Erasmus Student Network (Erasmus is an exchange program with other European countries). The Café des Langues event usually is at a local bar and is held on Wednesday nights (I know, a bar, on Wednesday!) where we chat, play games, and have fun together!
There are certain aspects of French culinary culture that threw me off when I first arrived in Amiens. One of the main differences is that restaurants close during midday, from about 2pm to 6pm. Most places are also closed on Sundays. Even certain grocery stores will close around midday on Sunday because Sunday and Monday are considered the weekend for businesses.
Another big change is that there is no tipping culture in France. Like other places in Europe, you don’t have to tip people in restaurants and it can even be considered rude. Of course, this depends on the business, but it is never an expectation like it is in the United States.
There are also certain cuisines that can’t be found in smaller French towns like Amiens, such as Mexican food or even ice cream places. France has these ‘tacos’ but they’re not what you would think a taco is. It’s a tortilla that is folded and pressed like a panini and inside there are French fries and a meat and sauce of your choice.
Even with my previous year and a half of living in an apartment and buying groceries, there are specific details about being in a new town outside the US that emphasizes living independently. For example, when I first got here, I had to buy things like a pillow and blankets and, of course, food.
One of the bigger adjustments I’ve made while being in France is understanding how much money I’m spending and altering that amount to make sense for my purchases. I get a food stipend from the University each month and I need to budget that and make sure I have the basic cost of food taken care of.
When going abroad, a big part of what I had to figure out was how to use my phone. An ESIM is a way to buy data through an app on your phone, so you can use Google Maps if you get lost or need to go somewhere.
Additionally, I went online to my personal phone company and allowed international calling and texting. There are many different ways to deal with staying in contact with people at home, even ones that don’t involve your phone like sending letters or postcards! I would recommend these strategies as they were easy, straightforward and reasonably priced.
There are some things that you might not even think about to be different, such as how Europe has a different wall plug system than that in the US. Before I left the states, I bought a wall adapter for my laptop and phone charger so that I could have charged devices right when I arrived.
One tip that I got from someone who had already been abroad was to get the “Carte Avantage Jeune” associated with the train system in France (SNCF). This is a card that gives me discounts on train tickets since I’m under the age of 26. This made travelling within France via train cheaper than it already is.
Before coming to France, I hadn’t had much experience with train stations. For example, I realized that looking at the board of departures in the train station will tell you what gate your train leaves from. This proved to me that you can’t entirely rely on your ticket/app information on your phone.
With travelling, I recommend being observant of the people around you and your environment. Then you can easily understand what’s going on around you and what you need to do. For me, it’s helpful to have a game plan for traveling, and this step of waiting to see what gate you need to go to is a ‘calm before the storm’ moment.
There are some tips for money management while abroad. The main one being that you should never have all your money on you, especially in bigger cities or the airport, just in case you get robbed. My tip for this is to keep little amounts dispersed throughout your luggage but still in secure places.
I would also recommend getting something like a money belt where you can keep your passport and cash/cards on you. This way all your valuables are in a secure location around your waist. It’s also important to get one with RFID blocking so that someone can’t just scan your card through the belt.
There is also always the question of how to use your money while abroad. There are many options: using your card for everyday purchases, using exclusively cash and withdrawing from and ATM, or getting a local bank account. You can really do all of the above.