Hi, my name is Lily, and I’m currently in my third year studying a BA in French. For my year abroad, I chose to study at Université Grenoble Alpes, and I couldn’t have imagined a better place to experience life in France. Overall, my experience was incredibly enriching. However, it wasn’t the most traditional university experience. Rather than living in CROUS accommodation, which is the French equivalent of halls, surrounded by other students, another student from Southampton and I took a bit of a gamble and decided to live in the city centre. Looking back, it was probably the best risk I’ve ever taken. We ended up sharing a flat with three incredible people, one from the United States, one from Italy and one from Mexico. We were all completely different, from different countries and at different stages of our lives. One of my flatmates was seven years older than me and working as an engineer, while another was three years younger and just starting university. The friendships I made were completely unexpected, but they became some of the most important relationships I made during the year. I genuinely couldn’t have asked for better people to share the experience with, and I know I’ll stay in contact with them for years to come.
It’s easy to look back on your year abroad and tell everyone about the amazing parts, but that isn’t always realistic. There were visits to A&E and stressful situations involving rude people. There were times when we felt unsafe, especially because we were living close to the infamous Saint Bruno area. These moments made France seem so far away from home and made me wish I could just navigate everything in English. But I couldn’t just teleport home, so I had to learn how to deal with things when they went wrong, rather than relying on the familiarity and comfort of home. This was the ultimate test of being outside of my comfort zone. Although these things seemed scary at the time, looking back, I feel like I can deal with so much more now.
Despite these difficult moments, I still had an amazing time. Our street was beautiful and lined with amazing restaurants, and being in the city centre meant that there was always something happening around us. We were right next to a tram stop, which became one of my favourite things about living in Grenoble. The city’s transport links made it so easy to explore. We could get on the tram and be somewhere completely different without having to think twice. Some of my favourite memories aren’t necessarily the big ones. I spent a lot of time sitting by the river, watching the Téléphérique go past. I sat in Victor Hugo Square. Sometimes I was with friends, and sometimes I was completely on my own.
I also discovered one of the best cocktail bars I’ve ever been to, found restaurants that became favourites and slowly built up a collection of places that made Grenoble feel familiar. And then there were the mountains. Wherever you were, you could see one, as they surround the whole city. We often took the tram to Sassenage to climb the mountain and see the waterfalls. Being able to go from the middle of the city to somewhere surrounded by nature so easily was something I never took for granted. No matter how many times I saw them, the mountains never got old. One of the best things about the year abroad is the fact that you actually have a lot of free time. We spent a lot of our time travelling around France, visiting amazing cities such as Lyon and Annecy. Being able to do a day trip to Annecy was a real highlight, as we were so close to a city that looked like it had come straight out of a fairytale. One of my flatmates could drive, meaning that we could explore the mountains and hills surrounding Grenoble. We swam in some amazing lakes with the clearest water I’ve ever seen.
Living in the city centre meant that my year abroad wasn’t the typical student experience. I wasn’t surrounded by international students in university accommodation. Instead, I was living with people from different countries, some of whom weren’t students at all. At first, I wondered whether I was missing out on the traditional university experience. However, I realised that I was actually living in Grenoble rather than simply living in student accommodation in Grenoble. I had to figure out renting in France, dealing with French landlords and completing all of the paperwork in another language. I had to learn the city, navigate its neighbourhoods and figure out the tram system. This pushed me to my limits at times, but most importantly, it helped to build my confidence and made me feel that I could live completely independently.
Looking back, I think the biggest thing I have taken from the year is how much more capable I feel of dealing with things on my own. I arrived in Grenoble expecting to improve my French and experience living abroad, but I ended up learning a lot about the practical side of living independently too. I’ll obviously remember the big trips, the mountains, the lakes and the places we visited, but a lot of my favourite memories are actually the ordinary parts of living there. Sitting by the river, going for food on our road, getting the tram into town or coming back to our little flat after a long day. Those were the things that made Grenoble feel less like somewhere I was staying for a year and more like somewhere I actually lived. I’m really grateful for the people I met, the places I got to see, and the French I got to practise every day. Grenoble definitely wasn’t perfect, but I think that’s part of why I enjoyed it so much. It was a real year of living somewhere new rather than simply being a student abroad, and I wouldn’t change the way I experienced it.
