Hello, my name is Nadine, and I am currently studying business management and French at University of Southampton. For my third year, I studied in Aix-en-Provence at Aix-Marseille university. It is a city that is just north of the well-known Marseille, and although Aix is humbly sized in comparison to a quintessential city, it reaps the benefits of urban living, such as an array of shops and travel options, while minimizing its downsides, whilst maintaining a picturesque aesthetic. For this reason, Aix is ostensibly a utopia for many, who benefit from its charm and its closeness to the sunny south coast.
I arrived at Aix-en-Provence after a grueling 12-hour car journey with my dad and sister from Calais amid an Indian summer. What I remember most from that journey was thinking that each hour that passed was an objective reminder of my distance from home. Although the first two years of university refined my autonomy skills, this felt completely different. It was a completely unfamiliar territory, which meant not only a different language, but unfamiliar customs, behaviors, and rules, which instantaneously felt so impossible for me to grasp. That road trip made me feel as though I had opened pandora’s box, and that I had bitten off more than I could chew.
What put my mind at ease was finally arriving at my accommodation because it was probably the best possible outcome that I could have gotten. I was fortunate enough to have been given accommodation by CROUS. This organization is known for providing inexpensive student lodging as it is subsidized by the government. I got a studio apartment where I was surrounded by people my age and who faced similar situations. Finally, being there and appreciating that everyone is facing the same quarrels put my mind at ease. This is what made me alter my perspective. There was so much opportunity because of the shared openness between the students here, which is what I reminded myself of throughout the year. Furthermore, many of the students living at my accommodation that I had met were also international, which felt counterintuitive at first, however turned out to be more productive than anything, as we had all come to France with the same goal, and it was much easier to meet French people together due to that understanding. In this way, my approach to meeting French people felt much more flexible and pleasant due to this not properly established networking system that the international students had founded.
For much of my time here, my days and schedules were consistent. During the day, I would walk from my accommodation to campus, go to lectures, then either stay on campus a little while longer, or go to the city center, to get lunch with friends. During my days off, I dedicated that to any university work from Southampton, or anything I needed to go over from the host university and due to the scheduling of lectures I could maintain a good rhythm. The end of the week and weekends would entail going out and meeting friends for drinks and dinners. What I will say about Aix is that it is small enough so that it is almost impossible not to run into friends just by wandering the streets and stopping at any bar to say hello and catch up. It allowed an interaction that felt very effortless and natural, which I had appreciated. The bars also helped with the initial anxiety of meeting new people as it did not feel so formal and controlled. It was common to find bars with minimal seating, leaving most people standing and able to weave and mingle through different circles. At the right time, the streets of the old town were so animated and saturated with people laughing, chatting, and interacting with one another.
Something I appreciated about this year was my decision to step out of my comfort zone. I had learnt a lot about myself by meeting several types of people, and using my interests, such as roller skating, to find connections with others, and discover different communities that I was unaware of, but were in fact extremely populated and thriving. I had a lot of anxiety about being unable to find a place, but this is a rigid and constricted ethos. This year abroad has been a transformative experience, because I have found enjoyment by exploring different things, whether it be through location, social group, or hobbies. For example, being able to experience both Marseille and Aix together was an incomparable experience. Both regions are so distinct despite their proximity. For instance, taking trips to the museums gave so much insight into their uniqueness, and encountering the different communities was extremely eye opening. Whilst being here I had explored and learnt a lot about north African cultures, from first-hand and a lot of what I had been exposed to such as cuisine and music is something I will take back with me to England.
My advice would be to remind yourself as much as possible why you chose to go abroad, which will likely be in the frame of some form of discovery. An important part of this is, to get something you have never had you must do something you have never done. This experience is only temporary, and happens faster than you will expect. Putting in effort and reminding yourself consistently to do so can make you much more appreciative of the experience and so savor it that much more!