Doing a semester abroad in Strasbourg
As I am a student at the University of Luxembourg, I had to do a term abroad. We could make 3 choices, and the University distributes the places. My choice was really easy, I choose Strasbourg. So I went from September 2012 until January 2013 to Strasbourg.
Why Strasbourg?
As you perhaps know, Strasbourg is an important city for the EU besides Luxembourg and Bruxelles. So it was obvious for me that I chose a city with has something to do with law or the EU. I have to add, that I also opt for Strasbourg, or generally a city in France, because I can speak French fluently and so all the northers or southern countries fell away because of the language. Further more, I chose Strasbourg because it is not that far away from Luxembourg. It is a 2 hour car drive away from Luxembourg and so I could return every weekend to see my family and friends, which was really important for me. Finally, Strasbourg is a really nice and charming city with a lot of different people, especially students.
Feelings?
My time in Strasbourg had positive, but also negative aspects. Let’s start with the negative ones. First, as I mentioned above, I felt really uncomfortable by being alone in my apartment. At home, I’m not used to be alone, so this was a big change for me. The first week was really awful for me. I can’t describe how lonely, sad and empty I felt. It was so hard for me to leave Luxembourg every Monday morning. I know that most of the people don’t have a problem with this, or at least not so badly as me. With the time, I got used to it, but I didn’t felt really comfortable to be alone the whole week.
On the other side, my term abroad had also positive sides. I think the most exciting is that by being on my own, I realized that I want to travel and discover the world. I had a world map on my wall, and every time I looked at it, I said to myself that there is so much more outside to discover. I realized that life is not only about studying or working. Our world offers so much beauty in its nature and different continents.
Where to stay for only 6 months?
If you also want to do a term abroad, and you search a place to stay, I can highly recommend the apartment where I stayed. It’s only 2 minutes by foot away from my university (which was the University of Strasbourg III, also called the Robert Schuman University. This university is basically specialized in law, politics and international relations. If you want to study something else, you have to check where this university is, because Strasbourg has tree of them. The name of my apartment was Studéa Winston 2. In France, you really have to pay attention with which agency for apartment rending you enter in contract. I heard often that they ask incredibly prices for the provisions etc. So I can recommend the agency Nexity Studéa.
