And just like that... school's out for summer! This past Wednesday, our exchange group wrote our last exam together, and now we are free to either return back to Canada or stay in Nice to travel around for a bit more before we head back to reality. All in all, it was a great year at our faculty, even though we had some bumps along the way. It was an entirely new experience, and we had no idea what to expect coming into it all. I can say that I've learned that the marking system is much different than it is in Canada (an 8/20 is a pass), there is a lot more expected of you individually in all of your classes, and because tuition prices are much lower than they are in Canada, the French students have a more relaxed mentality when it comes to school. I can also say that my French has greatly improved, and that I feel far more comfortable conversing in my day to day life en français. Part of me wishes I could stay here for longer to further immerse myself, but I am also ready to go back home for the summer. One piece of advice for anyone thinking of going on exchange: keep an open mind and be perspective - not perceptive. What I mean by that is to empathize with others. Allow yourself to come to understand their culture. Even though it may be different than your own, and you may think some of the things they do are crazy, bizarre, weird, etc, just remember that they probably think us Canadians are just as weird for some of the things we do. That has been a huge take home for me. Of course, after all of our exams were wrapped up, and we could officially call it the end of the school year, our prof invited us over to his place with his wife for a final soirée - just like we did at Christmas and the beginning of the school year! It was a lovely evening of celebrating over some food and wine. I have been so fortunate to have spent such an incredible eight months abroad with such an inspiring group of young minds. I am so happy to have met each and every single one of them, and also for our professor and his wife for being so welcoming and opening up their home to us. I think it's safe to say that I am going to miss seeing all of these beautiful faces every day at school... Best of luck to everyone as we move forward in the future, whether near or far from one another! Ma Famille me rende visite - Le 18 avril au 22 avril 2018 After my exams were all finished, my family came to visit me in Nice for a few days. My parents had been on a bus tour of Italy and Paris since the beginning of April, and then made their way down to the sunny south. I think it's safe to say that we all stayed out of trouble, but we sure had a lot of fun together. Dad showed up in his Hawaiian t-shirt, they bought an obnoxious florescent pink shirt for me in Capri, and we all had matching Canadian gear for a family photo along the sea. Wouldn't have it any other way though! They also bought me some new sunglasses from Italy, because apparently I have a tendency to lose mine... We spent Thursday walking along Jean Médecin and doing some "light" shopping, and then we picked up my cousin at the train station later that afternoon! She had been traveling around France since the beginning of April, so of course it made sense for us to all meet up and do some traveling together. Best part is, she has the same return flight to Canada as me - so she's stuck with me for quite some time now ;) The second day we went on a choo-choo train ride around Nice, as mom called it. Basically, it consisted of these small trains that drove us around the main areas in Nice: Masséna, Old Town, the Port, and the Château where we stopped for 15 minutes for pictures. For lunch, we went to Old Town for some Niçois food, which then meant that Dad needed some gelato once he saw that was an option! We spent the afternoon relaxing, and then had supper at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was my family's first time there, so buying souvenirs was a must! Our train ride tickets had coupons for free ice cream at the Hard Rock on the back, which was really the main reason we decided to go there in the first place. That, and everyone was craving burgers! On our last day together, we spent some time at the beach soaking up the sun and relaxing in the (chilly but refreshing) water. We also had a final supper together at one of our favourite go-to restaurants here in Nice, La Pizza Cresci. We all had our fair share of pasta (and wine!). It was a really lovely way to end off our past few days together. I am so happy and fortunate to have spent this time with my family while on exchange :) L'Université de NiceWe also spent one evening visiting my University, Campus Carlone Faculté des Lettres. It was a short visit, as the campus is quite small, but it was a great chance for me to get a few final pics in my uni swag! Hard to believe that evening was likely the last time I will have visited the faculty... L'AppartementShowing my family around Nice these past few days also made me realize that I hadn't shared any photos of my apartment yet, so... Bienvenue chez moi et ma coloc! It's a simple two bedroom apartment, with a kitchen and living room and a balcony. My roommate found it by accident on Appartager, but we are both so happy that she stumbled across it! La Vue We live right on La Promenade des Anglais, which is the main road here in Nice right along the water. So, we are quite lucky that we get to wake up to this view from our balcony every morning! It's a great place to enjoy breakfast while you mentally prepare yourself for the day ahead. So that wraps up my time spent with my family here in Nice! Just like these past eight months, my time with them has flown by. The last thing we have planned before I return back to Canada is our two and a half week trip to the Adriatic Sea, where we are passing through five countries on our way down to Greece. We just confirmed our travel plans, and I cannot wait to embark on this last adventure tonight!
Bon voyage à nous!
2 Comments
Anomonous
5/1/2018 04:38:06 am
That is a pretty sic Hawaiian shirt that your Dad is wearing !!
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Morgan
5/2/2018 11:58:03 pm
Lol he loves his Hawaiian shirts!
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