“I wanted to eat cheese!”

My favourite class was American civilisations. I really liked the professor. The classes helped me a lot to progress in French. And conversations with my friends too. The most important piece of advice which I would give to exchange students: you should not spend a lot of time with your compatriots as you will not improve your language level a lot!

My biggest fear before arriving in France was the language as I had never really spoken French. Nevertheless, after a few weeks I already spoke fairly well. And when I encountered difficulties, I smiled and said Je ne comprends pas (I don’t understand). Sometimes the professors spoke quickly and I had difficulty understanding but today I progressed well in French and am proud of myself.

In terms of exams in Dijon I found they were easier than in Romania. When I am revising for an exam in my country it is as if I am finding out lots of new information for the first time. But in Dijon, by the end of the semester, I do not know how, but I already had everything in my head without having to revise a lot.

It was difficult getting used to cooking for myself. At home it is my mother who does everything, I only do the washing up. We do not realise, but it was difficult for me to plan out meals.

During my free time I went out into town, visited museums, spent time with my Erasmus friends and learned to cook. I also liked running in the city centre to discover the small hidden streets of Dijon.

Living in a Crous residence, I paid 204 euros per month in rent. My total monthly expenses were around 400 euros. During my stay in France I was able to visit Paris, Nice, Antibes, Lyon and Brittany.

I think French people are chauvinistic but sociable. I like the fact that for French people meals are very important. And social life too – you do not work as much as English or Romanian people for instance.

In terms of cuisine, I absolutely love French cheeses! And the traditional gastronomic meal of the French. I took part in a meal with a local family – they did not prepare French specialties but I enjoyed all parts of the meal.

I want to become an interpreter. And I would very much like to come back to France and live in the south where it is hot.

One year after my stay in Dijon, I have finished my studies and work in a multinational company. My working language is French and my stay in France has turned out to be very useful in starting my career!