Since I was a kid I've always loved travelling to new places, discovering their traditions, language and habits. That´s why I wanted to participate in an Erasmus project, to experience the life of a student like me, but in another country. Moreover, this experience has also helped me improve my French and English level, which was the main objective.
During my stay in France, I´ve noticed many cultural differences compared with Spain, such as schedules, lifestyle and behaviours, which at first shocked me, but then I started to get used to them, and I even liked them!
The schedules in France are so different from Spain, they wake up so early to take the bus to go to school (around 6-6:30), since most of them live in villages far from Bazas. Despite waking up so early, they also finish really late ( around 5pm ) . Nevertheless, they also have lunch and dinner way earlier than us.
Another thing that I noticed was how different French people´s behaviour is. In Spain people are known for being noisy, outgoing and most of them prefer to hang out outside. However in France, people are so quiet, well-mannered and respectful, and they spend most of their time at home.
In addition, at first for me it was a bit hard to get accustomed to my lifestyle in France. Every morning my host French student and I woke up at 6 o’clock in the morning, and after getting dressed and doing all that stuff at 6:50 we headed to the bus station in order to take the bus for school. The bus route was 45 minutes long, but had to stop at some stops to get some students from other villages, and when we arrived we went to the school’s exit to catch up with the rest of French and Spanish students.
In class, something that really surprised me was that, at the beginning of the class all the students had to keep quiet and stand up in their seats in front of the teacher as a sign of respect, and when the teacher allowed them, they sat. This was something which I had never seen before in Spain. Besides, in Spain, most of the students talk familiarly with their teachers and have confidence with them, but in France students must talk very politely using expressions such as “madame” or "monsieur". All the classes were in French, so it was kind of hard to follow, but I did my best. For me Spanish class was the best, we participated a lot (much more than in other classes), and the teacher taught us some French to improve our knowledge. And I even proposed to do a presentation about Bilbao for the students to learn some culture and traditions from there. When school was over, each Spanish student had to accompany their host French student to her extracurricular activities, which I loved to do. By going to this activities like sport or playing instruments, I was able to see how French teenagers around my age spend their free time.
Furthermore, I had a wonderful experience with my host family. They were so kind to me and I had so much fun, they even took me on a trip to visit some small villages and castles on the weekend.
And all the girls from the school were really nice to us, we got along very well 𖹭.
In conclusion, this program has been an amazing experience for me, I learnt so much about French traditions and their lifestyle and how to be more independent on my own. Apart from that, I met many new friends which I’m really thankful to have met . And I even improved my French level, as well as my English level. This is an experience that if you are keen on travelling as I am, you will absolutely love. I would love to be able to repeat a similar program like this in a future, cause it has been a unforgettable adventure that I will never forget 𖹭𖹭𖹭.
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