Hey, finally I’ve managed to get around to posting again. Please excuse my long silence, but there has been a lot of work for me recently and so many other things were going on as well. I also now feel like you know my life in Paris pretty well, so it becomes harder to write about things that are (hopefully) interesting to you. Therefore I have decided to today write about living situations at years abroad. And in order to be of as much use for you as possible I will not only speak of my own experience. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Erasmus
Welcome back to Paris
Leave a comment StandardHey, I know you haven’t heard from me for a while, but I am still alive and on my year abroad in Paris. Or more specifically I am back again. Continue reading
Top 5 Moments in Salamanca
Leave a comment ImageAs my time in Salamanca comes to an end, it’s time to look back on the blissful highs and hilariously tragic lows of my first semester abroad in Spain. Exams, losing just a few of my personal belongings, frustration at Spanish bureaucracy, language barriers and homesickness aside, the innumerable highlights by far outweigh the lows. Since there were so many memories to choose from, I decided to pick moments and trips I hadn’t mentioned in previous posts! Continue reading
Have yourself a Feliz Navidad
Comment 1 StandardThe run-up to Christmas has been somewhat different this year. Needless to say there are no mince pies in sight, no Costa Coffee Christmas drinks to fuss over and no Cadbury chocolate advent calendars on sale. Christmas in Spain is, in general, quite different to in the UK as the festivities start a lot later, and the sun is still shining relentlessly…
My first semester: an interim report
Leave a comment StandardWouldn’t you think that four months in a city is enough time to explore it and do all the things you want to do? Well, it is not.
16 weeks in Paris and there are still so many places I haven’t been to despite wanting to go, museums that I have not yet visited and bars I haven’t tried yet.Luckily there are another four months in Paris waiting for me when I return in January. Continue reading
Studying at Sciences Po
Leave a comment StandardHere at Sciences Po we are already in week 9 of the fall semester and there is only one more month of classes until the Christmas holidays. As this blog is also meant for inspiring students to go on a year abroad I decided to dedicate this entry to what studying at Sciences Po is like and how it differs from studying at Durham. I hope that it will help some of you to evaluate whether or not a year abroad would be something for you, especially since around now is the time to start applying for one. I cannot emphasise how much I recommend doing one and so far I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t love their Erasmus experience.
So while this post might not be the most exciting, the next one will be more fun again, I promise.

Welcome to the Sciences Po
The Capitals Edition: From Lisbon to Madrid
Leave a comment ImageUntil a few weeks ago on a weekend getaway to Lisbon, I naively believed that Portugal and Spain were pretty similar. After all, two countries that were united for centuries must have a lot in common, right? Continue reading
ESPAÑA: Myth vs. Reality
Leave a comment ImageAfter a few weeks embracing the Erasmus life, it’s time to tackle five stereotypes of the Spanish culture in search of the quintessential Hispanic lifestyle…
- The siesta = REALITY
Before moving to Salamanca, I was under the impression that the siesta was a thing of the past, or at least reserved for lazy summer days. Within moments of my arrival, I realised I would drastically have to adjust my body clock to fit in with the Spaniards. Not only do the vast majority of shops (and all university offices- helpful!) close between 2pm and 5pm but the academic timetable also revolves around the siesta. This means I have scarcely any classes in the afternoon. What’s the catch? Lectures starting at 7pm three times a week… The fact that nights out here start at 11pm at the VERY earliest and can end at 7.30am also makes the need for siestas a lot more understandable. Continue reading
Settling in
Leave a comment StandardTime here in Paris is different to time elsewhere. Or so it seems to me. It goes by so incredibly quickly. Only 20 days have passed since my first blog post; but in that time so much has happened. Continue reading
The Golden City
Leave a comment StandardOnly a few days have passed since I first set foot on the cobbled streets of Salamanca and I’ve already fallen in love with la ciudad dorada. The city has a lively student vibe and a friendly cosmopolitan atmosphere thanks to all the Erasmus students. With nine thousand international students from all over the world and a host of events happening all the time, there’s yet to be a dull moment! Continue reading