Les Vacances

Hey guys!!

So now that we've got a week of holidays from courses, Ive come back to Ireland for a few days, got nice cheap flights with Ryanair !! Had to get connecting flights and I was in Stansted for 6 hours last night, sleeping on the floor was not good. I got back yesterday morning though and went out last night for 'a few', it's great seeing everyone again and the dinner I had this evening was the best .
Had one exam last week, comptabilite analytique went terribly 100 % sure i didnt get the pass on that one unfortunately. Only got myself to blame though, my preparation wasn't the best seen as I was in Barcelona with the two lads for the weekend beforehand. We had a class time though and Razmatazz is the coolest club ive ever been in so anyone planning a trip to Barca give it a gander!!
Not much other news really..my sister's school is doing there annual play this week, 'Little Shop of Horrors' and she's got a main part so Ill check that out tomorrow.
Anyways Ill be back soon to see ye all
You stay classy Montpee

 

Hi  Everyone,
                      I don't think myself to be capable of giving advice to other but I can suggest some ways to
adjust in the new place.First of all  try to speak French from the beginning otherwise your condition will be
like me.......only to guess what one can ask me and reply in 'oui' or 'non'.To find a residence you can take
help of Crous  and when you get your residence apply for CAF as soon as possible because they are very
slow to reply.There are many super markets when you can get everything but there is also open market from
where you can get fresh vegetables and fruits.It is in Place Roger Salengro.You are in South of France so
you got  opportunity to enjoy the beauty of some places very close to Montpellier like Sete, Nimes ,Arles
and also Barcelona.After spending  sometimes in Montpellier you will be able  to acquire knowledge about
Montpellier and you will be able to advise the new students.

Thomas from Tiny point in the Indian Ocean

Some tips for those arriving:

When you leave home for Montpellier, during summer, you'll  have to be prepare for these very hot temperatures and dry climate.Thankfully, here beaches are so close.
If you wanna see flamingos, you should go to the pond of Palavas, reachable by tram(L3 Pérols) and take a short walk , you'll enjoy it for sure.

For the sports people, you'll have a lot of sports that you can practice thanks to SUAPS from boxing to swimming, and even Mountain bike in the forest, the range of choice is huge, you just have to pay 15 euros for the whole year at the SUAPS office (building 5 of UM2) then you'll be able to keep fit or improve your athletic body.

Once again don't forget to benefit from CAF, significant source of money for students and contact the CROUS if you wanna have a room in one of the several campus (Triolet, La colombière, Vert-Bois,...), a lot of rooms are set aside for international and Erasmus students.

And finally before leaving home, take a breath and get ready for the amazing experience, Montpellier the best city of France.

Thomas.

Hello everyone!!!
I am also a new student in Montpellier because i'am here only 40 days! But i can give some useful advice to the new students arriving in Montpellier!
First of all, you must be armed with patience because some people are strange and sometimes they demote you! Then you must think positively because sometimes it will be difficult for yoy!Also you must remember that you need time to get used to the new way of life and to thw new language!
Then ,you must know that you have thw opportunity to take some money from caf and also remember to buy " la carte de reduction jeune" for traveling around France by train.
You must be yourself and you must live this experience!Montpellier is a beautiful city, you can do a lot of things,you will discover a lot of places and a lot of surprises! You must always beware!! I hope everything will be OK!!!

Good luck!! :-))))

Welcome new students!

First of all, I find it quite hard to say whats good advive you can give new students comming to Montpellier, because everybody has to make their own experiences and different people have different opinions. But I personally tryed to travel as much as possible when I came here. Montpellier is beautiful, but there are so many nice places in the south of France. So whenever you find the time - discover more!
Here in Montpellier I am living in a nice appartement in the city centre, I found via CouchSurfing. As I prefer to live in the centre, where you can easily get somewhere else. I also met quite a lot of people thanks to the website CouchSurfing, but also on our erasmus facebook page you´ll always find people to hang out with and to do something nice.

To all the new people: hello !!

I still remember I came here as a new student in the beginning and everything was pretty the same, but still very different: Another language, another school system, new people, a different way of living, ... But the weather makes it all good =) For new people in Montpellier I would advice to go out a lot, and visit as much as possible during the first weeks that you don't have school, or in the weekends. 

Visits

Myself, I visited Nimes, Avignon, Sète, Beziers, Narbonne and some other smaller villages, and it's really worth doing it. The trains aren't so expensive and the cities are perfect to visit in 1 day, without having to stay 3 days at a hotel. I really liked Narbonne and the Cathedral of Beziers, because these cities are really relaxing: Sitting in the sun, visiting the cathedral, drinking a beer, walking a bit around, ... And before you even know it, you've spent the whole day in the city. 

Housing

To find the right accommodation (for the right price), is something that isn't too easy.... Like in most of the student cities, prices are quite high, especially if you look for a room alone. There are several 'big buildings' (for example Triolet), where the rooms aren't too big and you have to share a kitchen. Therefore, I think it's better to look for a shared accommodation  so you'll have more comfort for the same price. Ok, you can have some bad luck with your roommates, but I think that most of the time, these people will be really friendly, and it's a good way to get to know new people. I also share my apartment  and I haven't regret it a second so far... Finding an apartment or a roommate can be done on the facebook page: Asso Erasmus, or perhaps there are still some other ways to find one (Sorry but i'm not the appartment-expert)

Have a good time!!

Michiel

Some advices proudly provided by Kenji

Hi all ! :)

Here are some advices for your new life in Montpellier :

- If you're not gonna live in the cités universitaires, try to find an appartment the nearest as possible to the tram. If you live far to it, you're gonna have a bad time !

- When you arrive in France, don't forget to apply for APL (Aide Pour le Logement). The French State provides it to help you paying your rent. In Montpellier, you can apply for this at la CAF in Port Marianne. BTW, make sure you have ALL the necessary documents, and that EVERYTHING is clean, because since August I'm still waiting for my money...

- Monday night is Australian night !

-  In France most of the meals in the Restaurants Universitaires (RU) are €3.10. Yes, It's cheap, so don't hesitate to eat there. You can even pay less if you follow Robert's advices one or two posts after.

- In the street, if you need help, ask the Frenchies "Parlez-vous anglais ?", rather than "Do you speak English". They will be less afraid, and more able to help you in English ! Or you can simply speak French... You're in France, putain !


I don't know what else I can add... But I'm pretty sure that everyone will provide even more advices... So I hope your stay in Montpellier will be more easy after that :)

- A little video that could be helpful -

Montperfect!

Finally getting to do my 1st blog!! So I'm Adam and I am here on Erasmus with 2 other Irish guys, Jack and Michael. We've been here since September and are nicely settled in and enjoying life in this amazing city! Last semester we lived in the Cite U Voie Domitienne but this semester we've moved out and live in a really nice apartment with a great location just beside La Comedie. Everyone will have to come to our house warming party :) The past few weeks have been spent moving in and getting set up as Michael said in his last post which was quite eventful! We're nice and settled now and are loving living in town.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend as I'm heading to Barcelona for a few days. I have been there twice before and am really looking forward to going back and exploring the beautiful city some more! should be a great few days :)

It has been really good getting back into college the last few weeks. Its been great to meet new people and to see some of the 'old faces' from last semester. I can already tell that there will be a real good bond in the Erasmus group this semester and I'm sure there will be a few 'soirees'!! For any new students this semester I would definitely advise going to any aperos, soirees etc and meet as many new people as possible! Make as many friends as you can and get involved with loads of different activities cause last semester went so fast and you have to enjoy it while it lasts!! Also the Asso Erasmus Group organised some really great trips last semester so try and get on any of their trips this semester if you can.

I have to go now but I look forward to reading everyone else's blogs and seeing you guys in college!

My first entry...atttt last :)

Hey Guys,
I've finally become a part of this blog I've been hearing so much about. Excited is not the word :) So this week's been pretty basic really. We've had business game courses which means college from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. monday to wednesday. Sounds bad, but actually it's been pretty fun, and our team is winning in market share as we speak. Yup outta me rob jack and adam ;)
Also, BIG PLANS for this weekend : I'm part of the Montpellier Firesharks Australian football team, and we're travelling to Marseille for friday and saturday to play in the South of France Championship, against teams like Toulouse, Marseille and Nice. Cant wait for that.

As some of you know, last week myself and the other two irish guys moved into our new apartment last week. Its a big change from the cité universitaire we were in before (mainly because we have an oven and actual hobs that work). Living in town is a great change too and at the moment we're loving it and we'll be having a 'cremaillure' soon too so we'll let all you guys know about it!!
Hope everything's good with y'all wish me luck on the weekend ;)

WEEK 2

It's not week 2, it's week 3. Anyway:
Advices for students who eat University restaurant in Montpellier:
1. You are allowed to get one big plate and 2 small plates. On the big plate is a one of few meals which are on the daily menu. You can also take 2 small plates with salad, veggies, cheese or salami. As we have a lot of genius people in our class, we decided to break the rules because we are smarter than system. Sometimes I take small plate with piece of cheese, and then I hide it by covering it with slices of tomato. There is also one brilliant strategy originally from Ireland. You can get more than 2 small plates and eat them while you are waiting in a line. When you get to a cash register you have just 2 of them left.
2. If you're in a tram without any ticket and you have smartphone with internet access (thumbs up for the people who can afford smartphone and mobile internet, but not tram ticket for 1.50€) you can visit Facebook page called Info Controleurs Montpellier and check it. This page is used by all the people who saw the TOM controllers and they warn other people by leaving the post on page where they write which tram stop and which direction.

If you need more advices, like the Facebook page: "Advices about student life in Montpellier by Robert Reljic" or follow me on the Twitter!

Bon journee!

What advice would you give to a new student arriving in Montpellier?

You can post any advice, about practical things, student life, making friends ......

:)

For all our ERASMUS friends ! I found this picture pretty funny ! Then, I share it with you there ! 

ENJOY your stay in  Mtp, ENJOY your life, and be HAPPY :)

ANONYMOUS CORALYNE

Bonjour Bonjour!!!

Just hacked the julian account to post this wonderful video about magnificient french people!
Maybe you will recognize us in it. Doin't laught too much , i'm sure there is the same kind of video on youtube for your home country XD.

Just for fun, enjoy the video and your stay

FRENCH CLICHES :)

Studying in English

Even though I was born in France and always lived here, I always knew since my early ages that I would go and live in an english speaking country. After my baccalauréat, I chose to enter a LLCE license in Paul Valery (Lettres, Langues et Civilisations Etrangères), where the classes where taught in english. As you may know, and this is not a cliché, french people are really bad at foreign languages, and don't really care to even make an effort to say a few words when needed. Don't ask me why but I have always been passionated about the english language, and felt so sad that no one around me would speak english correctly. Choosing an english degree after high school, and now being back at school learning Management courses in english, felt like natural choices for me. Plus, meeting foreign students is amazing, for all the sharing of experiences, knowledge, and their open-mindedness !!
The only regret is that I would have loved to have more native-english teachers.

Hi everyone!

I´m Petra and I come from Croatia. I arrived here 5 months ago and so far I love it! The city is very charming and full of young people every night ( or at least until the last tram). Despite all the rumours about   French people they are actually  really friendly and nice, especially professors at the university, which was a big shock to me (positive of course).

My student life here is not so different as one that I have in Croatia. I think it´s pretty much the same in every country- classes, parties and studying. But the thing that makes it different are the people! Amazing people from all over the world sitting next to you in a classroom. They are sharing their experiances , language and culture with you , and every day is an opportunity to learn something new and different.

Another thing i love about Montpellier is the weather. A lot of sunny and warm days which gives us opportunity to do sports outside, picnics or just sitting on Comedie drinking coffee and enjoying :)

So far i haven´t found any negative things about student life in Montpellier but only thing i can´t get used to is kissing people when you meet them on the street, but i still have 4 more months here so i hope i will fix that too :)

Studying in Montpellier

Hello everyone.
For me it's actually quite normal to study in English since all my classes in Berlin are in English as well. It also gave me the feeling of security when I first started University, because my English is definetly better than my French.

A year in the "merde"

Actually this title comes from a book by Stephen Clarke I just started to read - a foreigner living in France for one year - on almost every page I recognize myself. This is already my second semester in Montpellier, so meanwhile I am used to speak three languages everyday, German as my mother tongue with friends or family at home, English at uni and French in my daily life. I am inured to lovely French wine, to pubs that close already at 1 o´clock, and to lovely sunshine. Well, during my first semester I used to travel quite a lot, which was simply great! I went out very often, met interesting people and I´ve seen lots of things! I only got the feeling, I do not know the city where I am living, Montpellier, very well. As soon as I´ll be back in Germany after the 2nd semester in France, people will ask me "how I liked Montpellier" and I will say "a lot" - but why!? So this semester I am going to see more of the place, where I am actually doing my erasmus, from museums to different markets - time to discover Montpellier!

Life in Montpellier

Hello everyone !

I’m Paulina, I’m from Poland.

When I came to Montpellier I was really surprised! There are so many people from all over the world living here. I knew that Montpellier is a city full of foreign students, but I didn't expect it to be such a multicultural city J

I could go to another country or city in France, but I am here why ? The reasons I gave to my parents, friends, university at the very beginning were of course weather and language !

I’ve been living in Montpellier since September 2012. What can I say ? The longer you stay here the more you will like it ! My life in Poland was a little bit different. Here everything seems to be such a leisurely and people seem to be stress-free. The south of France is way better than the north J I can’t say anything more, I love the sea, that’s why in Poland I live in the north coast. But the weather in Montpellier is awesome…and I think that most of you appreciate it like I do !

What gave me the bad, unpleasant feeling...homeless people living in the streets...I was really surprised, because they are not invisible of course, but in Poland you can meet them from time to time, not all the time, whenever and wherever you go. They always ask for money. 

Back to the pleasant things : Moreover, those beautiful, small streets, buildings with amazing architecture J and students life in Montpellier is very nice. The trams are so gorgeous ! I’m really happy that I am already here, I should have done it earlier, but I realized that I could never meet you guys, so I’m glad that I am here, right now ! In October I’ve had an accident and I have a souvenir of a lifetime from Montpellier, scar J so I will remember this adventure to the end of my life.

Enjoy the second semester, have fun and study hard J

Paulina

           Hi Everyone

                               I am Bijoya from India and staying in Montpellier for last five months.This is the first time I am staying outside my country, that's why I was a little bit nervous regarding the new foreign country.Here in Montpellier I got a homely feeling.It is really beautiful and very much organised city.

                        Moreover the weather is really enjoyable.May be for this sunny weather the city is full of life and enjoyment.Before the winter I  was afraid of snow,low temperature and leafless trees and solitary  life  which I have hard from the friends living in different cities in France.But I experienced a different winter with a festive mood and looking  forward to experience the Mediterranean in summer.

                           One of most attracting factor  of Montpellier is that there are people from many foreign countries and gives opportunity to meet people with various cultures from different part of the world. I think you all will enjoy life in Montpellier .

Student Life in Montpellier!

Hi Everyone! My name is Jack and I'm from Ireland. I have been here for one semester already and I love live here in Montpellier! The nightlife is unreal and everyone is so friendly in our course. In the last few days, me and two other irish students, Michael and Adam, have moved into a new apartment in the centre of town, a minute walk from Comedie. So no more walking home for 40 minutes at 5am, even though some trips were quite funny. Michael wants you all to know that he didn't receive the invitation to this blog but is really looking forward to his first post as he is quite the aspiring blogger. Ok I gotta go because I'm pretty tired only got out of bed at 2pm. See ye all tomorrow folks. Bisous xoxo

Hi everyone! I'm Robert from Croatia. I arrived in Montpellier in september, which was my third time visiting  France. As a non-french speaker, I study in english. I really love travelling, but for me this is the first time living abroad and I really enjoy it. It's all up to me, and i have to act responsible. But still, I can organize everything in the way that I like, and I have to think about only two things which am I obliged to attend: courses and parties. We have party schedule from monday to sunday thanks to a lot of clubs, bars, pubs and discotheques. But we love living on the edge, so sometimes we just ignore our schedule and we organize house party, or we go in cinema or ice-skating. Today is one normal sunday for me, because i planned to clean my room and do laundry, and i didn't do it. Again. I sprained my ankle by playing basketball 3 days ago so I can use that as an excuse, better than just being lazy. Tonight we're going to the cinema to see "The Parade". It's a movie with serbian director and ex-yugoslavian actors. Some of them are from Croatia. Broadcasting almost croatian movie in cinema in Montpellier wasn't so big shock for me because my croatian friend have already seen it in cinema in Paris. 

Bonne journee
P.S. I finally became a blogger. Elise, thank you for making it possible.

Living in France and studying in english! Why not?

Hi, everyone!

     I don't know french at all, that's why I'm really happy for the opportunity to study in english. I have always loved france, but the language barrier was too big to come here for the studies! So hopefully, now I will improve my english skills and meanwhile learn some basic french just for simple communication! Cause as we know - french are not the best english speakers, so I think I have to adapt by learning some french! And I really want to learn some! 
    I love to study in english! I can really sense that my english skills are improving every day, and that's a good thing! I think that the English language is so vitally important because it is spoken in so many parts of the world. And even if one could survive without english, with nowadays globalised nature of the world and commerce, knowledge of English is quite essential! 
Knowing as many foreign languages as human can learn in a lifetime, could open you more professional doors! 

Have a great Sunday evening! :)Agnete

Living in Montpellier by Luis Gargallo

Hi there!

Well, to be honest, I am used to study in English since my degree in Spain is entirely given in English. However, the experience of studying in English while "living" in French is absolutely positive. Actually, I think it is the only way for people who speak two languages to keep improving both of them constantly.

Regarding Montpellier, it isn't neither the first time I live in France. I spent the summer a couple of years ago in Paris and I have to say Montpellier is like a little corner that has little to do with the rest of France: people is warmer (as well as the weather) and the city, as a whole, reminds me to Seville or Cadiz so I feel extremely comfortable here.

Hello everyone!!!!mmmm living in French and studying in English!!











Living in France, i must speak in french in my daily life and when i go to the university , i must speak and study in english. It's obvious than it's not easy because i usually confuse the words and i speak both french and english. hahaha... But i will soon get used to speaking...