活動名稱：108年學海飛颺計畫-法國交換
國外實習國家/學校：法國/奧爾良大學
國外實習國家/學校：法國/奧爾良大學
La vie en France
The beginning
Let’s talk about the background story and why I decided to be an exchange student. The relation of France went back to my childhood. I was highly obsessed with the world map. I always spent lots of time exploring the different places and renowned landmarks in the world. Particularly the buildings in France caught my attention. They look so elegant, noble and spectacular. At one time, the history in France was glorious and various. There were several revolutions happened in France. This kind of historic incident and French culture intrigued my curiosity and made me want to visit this place in the future.
When I was in college, I suddenly saw the news about sister school in France. It was a huge opportunity for me. Unfortunately, the time is not appropriate to me because I was about to graduate. If I went to France, that meant I was not able to graduate in time. At the same time, I also wanted to experience the academic environment in France. Sometimes there is no perfect condition. After lots of debate and discussion with my parents, my parents allowed me to apply for the exchange student qualification. Finally, I got the qualification to be an exchange student in Polytech Orléans. It was an extraordinary opportunity for me. I can experience a different culture, food culture and life experience in France, particularly the romantic and elegant language – French.
About the school
Therefore, I arrived in France after the long-haul flight. I had an opportunity to study at our sister school – Polytech Orléans. It is located at the campus of the University of Orléans. It is an academy which departments are almost engineering. Its system is not the same as the one in regular universities. The courses arrangement is more complex and specific.
The courses I took includes two main courses – vision and lighting, embedded systems and IOT. These two main courses also contain several sub-courses. Every sub-courses usually took roughly 1 month. At the end of the courses, we had to take exams or hand reports. The heavy school work made me realize the exchanged life was not easy at all. Among the courses, there was a project that cost nearly the whole semester. At the end of the semester, we needed to briefly introduce our project to students and teachers. It was a really precious experience for me to train my oral speaking abilities. I was able to learn how to introduce technical parts in a brief way to make other people understand what we had done.
My journey to France
I had nearly 4 months staying in France, that means I had to take care of everything in my daily lives. Orléans is the one-hour economic circle city in Paris. So that I could spend my weekend in Paris and the train ticket is the cheapest among all places. The train ticket in France is quite exquisite. I applied for a discount card (Carte de réduction Jeune) so that I could get a discount when I bought a train ticket. The discount ranges from 25% to even 45%. Although the discount card costs 50 euros, it still worthy when it comes to further destinations such as Nice and Nantes.
Trams and buses are the main public transportation in Orléans. The route of one of the trams passes the university so that it was convenient for me to buy necessities or head to the train stations. If you are the student who usually goes out to play, the economical way is to get a monthly pass. You just need to recharge it in the ticket machine at every tram station.
About the residence, I chose Crous accommodation. The overall quality was not well but acceptable. There were public kitchens and bathrooms every floor. The basic equipment such as a small fridge, a sink, cabinets, and a heater was in a room.
The dining selection was relatively simple because the university location was in a suburban area. The near restaurants were Crous restaurants and some fast food restaurants. Most of the restaurants were in the town center. But it took roughly 25 minutes to get there. It was important to cook by myself. I would go shopping in my spare time or at the weekends. There were several stores near the university such as E.Leclerc, Auchan and Carrefour. I could buy anything I needed from them. If I want to buy rice or noodles, it is better to find the delicious one from Asian markets.
The climate in Orléans is humid and cold because it is situated in north-central France. I had already felt cool when I arrived in France in September. In December, it was cold and often rained a lot. It was difficult to endure the temperature because I had never experienced such low temperature in Taiwan. And it is my primary time to see the glanced street surface. About the clothes, it is highly recommended to wear gloves and a knitted hat. They can prevent you from getting cold, particularly in the subzero and humid weather.
When you come to a foreign country, the most important thing is to learn a foreign language because you may want to get some local information. Parisians have the highest English ability because Paris is one of the hottest destinations in the world and millions of tourists visit Paris every year. When it comes to every year. When it comes to Orléans, it is totally different.
Therefore, I have to learn French to cope with daily conversation in Orléans. Knowing French would help me understand more information such as activities in school and cities. It is also the direct way to get to
know French culture because a language reveals what people think. Nelson Mandela said: “If you talk to a man in language he understands, that goes to his head. "
The main learning approaches were French classes and daily practice. French classes divided into two parts – oral speaking and writing. The French teacher had the standard and clear pronunciation. The teacher would ask us to use French aspronunciation. The teacher would ask us to use French aspronunciation. The teacher would ask us to use French aspronunciation. The teacher would ask us to use French as much as possible because speaking related to our daily lives. But the method had limited effect. After all, Languages are dynamic.
The second method is a daily practice. During my daily practice, I would listen to French channels or short videos. At the same time, I would take notes to remember new words or useful phrases. The key point was I also tried to speak and imitate the way they spoke. It helped me correct my pronunciation. Except for the daily practice, I also found some opportunities to chat with French people with French and English. It helped me gained confidence. The motivation of learning French was a smile from clerks when I tried to use French to communicate with them. It is special and meaningful.
Travel in Europe
Except studying, there were a few vacations that I can seize the opportunity to travel to France even outside France. The abundant heritages in France really caught my attention. In December, there were Christmas markets took place all over France. You may see exquisite decorations, the paintings or some small stuff appropriate to collect. Although I hadn’t seen snow in Paris, the atmosphere was still wonderful. I also spent a whole day visiting Paris Disneyland. All of the decorations, shops, facilities in the amusement park are impressive.
The museums are also worth a visit. I could enter into the exhibitions in the Louvre Museum for free because I had a visa and I was under 26. Finally, I could see the marvelous paintings and enjoyed in the artistic atmosphere until closed. I also took trains to get to other places in France and even traveled to the United Kingdom and Spain to see many wonders. This countless experience was precious and indelible.
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