Hi, I’m Emily. I am a third year English and French student, and have just finished my year abroad in Grenoble, France. Before leaving for this year abroad I felt so weighted down by worries and anxiety that I found it genuinely impossible to look forward to it; however, in hindsight, it has been propbably the best opportunity of my life so far.
When I was applying to Southampton University I was filled with dread by the fact that my course included a compulsory year abroad. Only a few months before applying I had signed up to a two week intensive language course in France, and had panicked so hard when my parents dropped me off that my dad had to phone in sick from work and stay with me for an extra few days. Although I was fine when he eventually left, the thought of being alone in a foreign country had initially terrified me. Despite the fact that this intensive course turned out to be great fun, this fear of being alone in another country lingered, and to get myself to actually send in my application for Southampton I had to keep telling myself, “The year abroad is a problem for later. Do not worry about it now.” But the problem did eventually roll around and, before I knew it, I was packing my bags to move to France.
From the start, Grenoble was better than I ever could have imagined. The mountains surrounding the city were insanely beautiful, the streets looked perfectly French, and it had that small city vibe that I love so much about Southampton. My worries were immediately calmed, and I realised I may actually survive the year.
I moved into an apartment in the city centre with a friend from Southampton, and we were later joined by three others from the US, Italy and Mexico. We all got along very well (for the most part) and the apartment very soon began to feel like a home.
The mix of backgrounds and cultures both in our apartment and at university once the semester started became one of my favourite elements of the year abroad. Our American housemate had lived in France for seven years already, and loved talking about American culture while also introducing us to a vast array of French cheeses and wines. In turn, we made sure he knew all about M&S Foodhall, and aquired a Colin the Caterpillar for him to try. The Italian truly lived up to cultural stereotypes and made the most fantastic pasta whenever we were hosting friends. We also made a friend from the Netherlands very early on, who came back to England with us for Halloween, and of course we made sure she saw all of the sights: Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Portswood Highstreet. Beyond being just fascinating, this mix of cultures was incredibly reassuring. We were introduced to so many people in the same situation as us, who were moving abroad without their families, and trying to adapt to the new customs and culture of their new country.
Adapting to wider French society felt a little more challenging. As we started University it became clear it did not run like schools do back home. The whole process for siging up to classes was a lot more manual, and a lot more complex. The year abroad supervisers at Greboble Uni seemed to understand this, and were very supportive when we had questions, but it still felt like a lot to begin with. What’s more, sitting in introductionary classes being run in a language you do not feel entirely confident in is a challenge, as it feels in the moment like you are missing a lot of information. However, I think that this excess of stress in the first few weeks was actually very beneficial in the long run, because I feel it helped me adapt to the French way of doing things, and become more accustomed to and comfortable with confronting admin tasks and conversations in French.
Going out to do even the most general tasks also felt a little daunting at first. Simple things like going to the coffee shop didn’t feel simple for a while, and I actually put off trying it for quite some time. I was so worried that I would forget all of my French on the spot, or that I would end up sounding so obviously foreign because I wouldn’t place my order in the exact way a French person would. However, once I actually went and did it one day when I was feeling a little more confident, I got through the order fine, nobody laughed at my accent, and I left the coffee shop with a coffee. Breaking down these little barriers that felt so big but were really incredibly small showed me that the people aren’t as judgy as I imagine them in my head, and that I had landed in a city of truly lovely and helpful people. This felt like the final confidence boost I needed to be able to start to feel at home in Grenoble.
So overall, I would say that the year abroad is one of the biggest blessings I have had in my life. It has proved to me that I am capable of adapting to a new culture and living far from family, it has introduced me to some truly wonderful people from across the globe that I know I will be in contact with for years to come, and it has given me a city I now feel is my second home, and that I miss more and more every day.