Study Abroad, Toulouse, France

The year (or more accurately, 9 months) I spent abroad in Toulouse were amazing – There is a reason that the phrase “Joi de Vivre” is French, and I was introduced to those reasons throughout my stay in “la Ville Rose”.

When I arrived in Toulouse, I did my touristic duty and visited the main sights – for those who haven’t been, I can’t recommend enough the Saint Sernin Cathedral, Saint Etienne Cathedral, The Jacobite convent, and the chapel of the Carmelites. The Abattoir, while a famous art museum, was slightly too modern and Avant Garde for my taste  – there were lots of photos of fairly disturbing subjects – a woman licking broken glass (not sure about the artistic vision behind that) and one exhibit where it was just a neon light which turned on if you made enough noise. That being said, I’m sure those who are in tune with the complexities of modern art would enjoy it immensely. The Capitol building is also incredible – I had only seen it from the outside until my last week in Toulouse, where I decided to go in and see what the fuss was about, and discovered that there is some truly gorgeous impressionist art inside, in a Versailles-esque setting (complete with a hall of mirrors!)

My first few months were spent acclimatising to the environ – I ate an entire baguette a day for about 2 months. This happened at the same time as getting various spots on my face after not having any for about two years – the spots mysteriously disappeared when I went home and didn’t eat any baguettes, so I sadly had to cut down on my intake. The food was incredible (as is the stereotype), except for French tacos. There are hits and misses in French cuisine, and French tacos are definitely one of the misses.  it’s essentially a white bread “taco shell”, which is actually more of a grilled burrito wrap, filled with fried chicken strips, chips, cheese, and garlic mayonnaise. I quite like all those components separately, or even on the same plate, and it sounds great on paper, but in a taco, it tends to go a bit soggy and greasy. There were about 6 French taco shops on my street however, so maybe it’s an acquired taste? Regardless, the traditional dishes such as Cassoulet (duck, sausage, and butterbeans) were delicious.

Around that time, I joined a boxing club in Toulouse. I had been boxing for a few years in Southampton, so I was keen to continue. When I arrived at my first session (and I promise this is true!) there was an ambulance outside, and a guy about my age was unconscious in the ring – I had to help put him on the stretcher. This was slightly sobering, but aside from that I was amazed by the overall level of the athletes there. There were about 5 or 6 professionals, and about 40 amateur boxers – I learnt a lot, and increased my fitness by a huge amount in a very short time, simply due to the fact that I didn’t want to seem bad in front of the 100 people there who were better than me. I made friends easily there, and the community was incredibly welcoming. 

One thing that surprised me about Toulouse was the quantity of English pubs – they were almost perfect facsimiles – down to the wood panelling, patterned carpets, and English beer, complete with names such as “the London town” or, as my local was called, “The George and Dragon”. I don’t consider myself a particularly English person – my father is French, and I grew up in Portugal, only moving to the UK when I was 16, but I must admit that the English do casual drinking establishments better than anyone else (although in terms of clubs, Portugal takes the biscuit in my opinion). There were even board games like trivial pursuit and monopoly. That is more of a French influence, and quite an endearing one at that – they love their “Jeux de Societe”, and it’s a common sight to see young people playing card games outside bars.

I also had the opportunity to visit some other places in France – Albi, home to the largest brick-only structure in the world, Arles, which sports an impressive roman amphitheatre, and was the home of Van Gogh until he was exiled, Carcassonne – a picture perfect medieval town which looks like something straight out of a Disney film, Cluny, home to what used to be the largest ecclesiastical structure outside of the Vatican (called “the second Rome” in its heyday) until it was used as a quarry post-revolution, and Lyon, probably one of my favourite French towns I’ve visited outside of Toulouse, due to the amazing food, the gorgeous architecture which reminded me of Lisbon, and the roman museum which you could spend a week in and still not see everything.

If you are reading this and wondering if you should do a year abroad – I can promise you that’s its worth it. I had a lot of doubts and worries before I left, and by the time my year abroad was finished I wished that I had the opportunity to stay longer. It will open your eyes to new foods, experiences, cultures, and ways of seeing the world, that you might not be able to experience had you stayed in the UK for university. You’ll meet great friends from all walks of life, and if you’re dedicated enough, you might even learn a new language. While it might be a daunting prospect to move away from your home country, when you’re there, in the thick of it, it’s not nearly as scary as it seems.  You have the opportunity to visit places for much cheaper, by taking advantage of interrail, and you will be able to visit the smaller towns that would never make the itinerary on a regular holiday.  

To finish this blog, I think it’s fitting to use a quote by the French author, Gustave Flaubert; “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world”.