During the nearly five month exchange trip from 2022.8-2023.1, I not only felt the learning atmosphere of European business schools, but also experienced different food, scenery and culture.
Let's talk about learning first. The school's curriculum is divided into two types: intensive, as the name implies, a very compact class, and one course is completed in a week (it can be said that the primary school period of Beijing Jiaotong has been moved to the formal semester). It is probably designed for international exchange students, so the students in the class come from all corners of the world. This type of class needs to concentrate in a short time and pay attention to listening in class, so that we can achieve good results; Extensive runs through the whole semester, and there are also French local students in the class. This type of class is usually relatively loose, sometimes only once every other week, usually don't fall behind too much, just review well before the final exam. IESEG is a school with a high degree of internationalization. Most of its professors come from European countries, while its students come from all over the world. Lille is also a big city. You can get along with local young people here, or chat with old women and old men over afternoon tea. In a word, learning here is relatively easy. Of course, it also needs some self-discipline.
In life, it will be richer. Let's start from eating, drinking and having fun. In eating, because I rent a house, I will study cooking on the spur of the moment, but finally I succumb to the 3.3 euro dining hall for students. Sometimes the taste is as good as the French food of 30 euro in foreign restaurants. Drink it. The coffee outside here is cheaper than water. Blessed are the students who love coffee. The mineral content of French domestic water is high, and those who are not used to drinking it still need to stock up some drinking water with low mineral content (for brands, search for keywords in red books).
You can also feel the party culture here. There are welcome parties waiting for you every day in the so-called New Year's Week. Walking in the wet and artistic streets after being slightly drunk in the early autumn night and after the noise, you may feel like being in the movies.
Of course, I would also like to thank my good Chinese brothers in Lille (because of the scholars who came to Europe to study together from home), who not only let me enjoy the good Chinese wine and Chinese food such as Maotai and Fenjiu in foreign countries, but also drove together to travel around Europe and taste many local wines.
As for the life and entertainment outside of study, if I talk about it in detail, I think I can happily say that the space is limited for one night, so I will start with sports, outings, travel, art and culture. There is a strong football atmosphere in France, where I will play football with local people or international exchange students every week whenever I have time. It is the first time that I have experienced the World Cup almost without jet lag. How happy it is!
The suburb of Lille is very good. When my bike was not stolen, I would like to ride the fast road car from the second-hand market to race against the soft wind in fine weather.
There is no way to travel around Europe. Lille is like a transportation hub city, with Belgium and Amsterdam in the north, Paris in the south within an hour, London across the sea in the west, Germany, Switzerland and Italy in the east... Even people like me who used to dislike traveling cannot bear such a convenient geographical location. I have the impression that there will be a week-long holiday in the semester, and the last month at the end of the semester is also a good time to travel.
France is quite artistic, ranging from graffiti art and street layout to well-known museums. There are all kinds of art exhibitions and galleries, and even some literary and artistic films that cannot be shown in China can be enjoyed in foreign countries. I think some good works really need a more inclusive environment.
The above are just some of my personal experiences for reference only. After all, the real experience is my own experience. When everyone goes to another place 10000 kilometers away alone, they will meet different people, have different feelings, and have different lives. I believe that it is better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books. While taking care of learning, you should also feel life well. The exchange trip provided such an opportunity, and I am very grateful to the school and teachers for giving me such an opportunity, which has left a strong mark in my memory!
