DICTAabroad
Destination France
France is by far the most popular third-year destination amongst those offered to Bristol
Law students. Five of the ten students across the channel, including Dicta’s very own
Senior Editor Turan Hursit, tell us about beautiful architecture, food fit for a king, and
ceaseless battles with French bureaucracy.
Rebecca Huddart in Poitiers, France
From an Unknown Corner of France
T
he first question most people ask me upon discovering my location
for the year is “where is Poitiers?” My response is usually: “about an
hour-and-a-half away from anywhere decent - Paris, Bordeaux, La Rochelle…” My sleepy host city, home to a mere 91,000 inhabitants, is right
in the middle of western France. It was uncannily quiet when I arrived in
August, most shops being fermés pour les vacances (closed for the holidays).
This was of course a surprise for somebody used to seeing Bristol heaving
with shoppers all year round.
Having survived the stressful process of finding an apartment (you
need a bank account to rent an apartment, but also a French address to
open a bank account – but this is not even the tip of the iceberg of French
bureaucracy), I started to feel more comfortable having my own little
space in this foreign city.
The university is situated outside of the main city, about a 30-minute walk or 10-inute bus ride away. It is no Wills Memorial Building, but
a modern complex that scatters a sparse area divided by only one road.
Whilst the lecture halls are decent, chipboard replaces wallpaper. Furthermore, we have acquired a favourite toilet for the simple fact that it is the
only one with a toilet seat. In a country in which university funds are limited (by a lack of education fees), money has to be cut from somewhere!
Students quickly forget any problems they might have experienced
with the SWAP office – incredibly efficient in hindsight – upon their arrival in France. It took about three weeks and a million forms just to register.
These forms had to be taken to every existing office within a 10-mile
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radius. Helpfully, most of them were usually closed.
After the paperwork had finally been taken care of, the real Poitiers
experience could begin. In France, university is much like school: there
is no independent reading and the lecturer’s opinion is unquestionably
right. The hours could be better. I have 8AM lectures three times a week,
making any 9AM-starts next year a god-send. I have a weekly tutorial in
French civil law. Outside of preparation for this, there is very little to do.
The French perception of ‘university’ consists of taking notes in lectures
and regurgitating these same notes in exams. Though I know that I will
eventually regret saying this, I cannot wait to start reading articles again!
I have found that the French way is best understood after a glass (or
two) of wine or beer – a worthwhile investment of one’s Erasmus grant.
The slow pace and bad organisational skills of the French also seem at
least bearable when the delights of a three-hour lunch break take over
(the French will not be rushed). I have welcomed being able to sit back
and relax with a cup of coffee, even whilst the thought of work is nagging
my mind. Despite my now-commonplace response of “c’est la France” to
most administration-related problems and the fact that nothing could possibly surprise me again about this wine-guzzling country, I will certainly
miss the French way of life when I leave.
Rebecca spends her time in France avoiding eating copious amounts of bread and
chasing the sun. »