Anya Raymond - Trent Study Abroad Program

Student Profile

Name: Anya Raymond

Major: Sociology - Specialization in Criminology and Socio-Legal Studies

Exchange University: Université Catholique de l'Ouest [UCO], France

Advice: “I wish I had packed better, and known more about what kind of weather I'd have. I would have liked to have known how much it rained in France to know what shoes to bring. Also, I would rather have been more prepared with courses or have known that I would be starting later.”

Questions

Why did you decide to travel abroad?: I have wanted to study abroad since high school. I have always wanted to travel and experience new languages and cultures and living experiences. I have never wanted my study abroad to impact my moving forward in my education, doing a semester abroad where I could learn in a new and different institution across an ocean seemed like the perfect opportunity. I think that third year burnout was starting to hit me, and I was looking for something new and exciting that would add to my academic career. I was very motivated to go and experience something new.

Why did you choose to study at UCO, Angers? How did you learn about it?

I chose this institution because it was a catholic university and I wanted to experience a catholic education. As well as this, I chose it because it was in a good location and not too big, but not too small! I originally wanted to take courses in multiple faculties, so I needed permission from my host university to have this freedom and UCO allowed me to do this. It was hard but they helped me make it work!

I chose to do a semester abroad because it was the most flexible option with my degree, and I was able to take all my elective courses abroad. This was the least stressful option especially because the credit system and course equivalencies are different from Trent’s.

I chose to study in France because I am bilingual, and I thought that picking a university in a city where I already could speak the language would help me adjust more easily. It also helped me gain a lot more confidence in my French speaking abilities and allowed me to make international and French friends!

What was your experience like? What are some of the differences & similarities with Trent?

UCO as a Catholic and private institution was quite different from Trent. I found that courses were more participation based and there was more group work or more necessity to study and work with your academic community. In my faculty, there was a lot less individual work, a lot more studying and understanding course content rather than writing papers and handing in weekly assignments like there is at Trent in my streams. I found that professors in theology were very open to debate or disagreements, and they really cared about their students understanding. I have found that my professors at Trent have been less willing to go out of them to help you understand than my profs abroad. There was a lot of pressure to perform and study well in France because it is a private (paid by students) institution whereas there are free university (public institution) options. I found because of that my professors were of a very high quality and expected a lot of their students. I found it easier to do well at Trent than at UCO. I found I had to work 2-3 times harder for those same grades.

I was physically in classes 27 hours a week. I was taking 15 courses. My workload was very heavy because I was studying in another language, and I was in a very academically demanding faculty/courses. Many of these courses only included attending classes during the week (attendance was very mandatory) and some had very little additional work. Some courses only had a final exam worth 100%, others had 1 or 2 additional projects/assignments/papers, some only had schoolwork every week and no final exam.

What did you find was the most challenging/difficult while abroad?: The most challenging part about being abroad was balancing school, traveling, and spending time with friends. I think because I picked courses that meant a more demanding academic semester, I found this to be difficult. I wanted to do the best that I could, while enjoying myself and traveling within France and spending meaningful time building friendships. I also found it difficult to make friends with French students. They were quite distant, and I needed to constantly insert myself into conversations and invite them out if I wanted to hang out. It took a few months, but eventually they all opened a lot, and it was lovely in the end. Just took more time than I expected which was hard and getting used to a new country.

Were you able to travel?: I was able to travel within France on weekends, the ERASMUS program at UCO organized trips and we just paid and joined which was good. I went to La Rochelle, Paris, Étretat, Mont St Michel, etc. Outside of France I went to Ireland and Italy on my two (1 week) winter breaks. After exams, when my semester was over, I took about a month to travel to Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Iceland. My favorite spots were Ireland and Iceland, and I did cool hikes in Greece and Bulgaria! Some advice or things to note would be not to take the trains in Bulgaria (so awful) and note that in Eastern Europe people tend to be a lot colder to tourists.

In your opinion, what would you say are the benefits of studying abroad?

Benefits include:

I learned so much in a new academic setting (different profs, expectations, and abilities)
Allows you travel more than you could easily in Canada.
Pushes you outside your comfort zone
Make lifelong international friends
Teaches you how to be adaptable and grow in hard/unexpected situations
Teaches you resilience

Did you live in residence or off-campus, and how was that experience?: I lived by myself on a campus residence called Bourgonnier with a shared kitchen with 40 other people. I loved my neighbours, but the residence itself had a bunch of random people some students and others weren’t so it was weird. I didn’t like it, but it was cheap and easy, so it was just fine.

What advice would you offer a student who is thinking about studying at your host institution and country?

Advice:

Make sure you communicate with written traces of everything
Enjoy your courses, it is 5 months of your life so might as well like it
Prioritize your physical health, take time to make good friends, don’t just study
Tell your professors and reach out when you don’t understand especially at the beginning
Try and only take courses in 1 faculty, it's easier with their weekly changing class schedules

What was one of your favourite memories from your time abroad? 

Favourite memories

Trying to master the French accent
Daily mass at the chapel at school with professors and peers
Study dates with French friends
Sunday brunches in our communal kitchen
Trying different restaurants in town
Drinking in our rooms and going out for ice cream with my neighbor Sara

If someone told you they were thinking about studying abroad but weren’t convinced they should, what would you tell them?: I would tell them that it is the greatest and craziest adventure and if that’s something that they want, to go for it. If they don’t think they are adaptable, then not to go because it is hard, but you meet and find people who are going through and want people to lean on through the hard you are all experiencing together.