Far From Home

Si les SciencesPistes sont parfois nostalgiques de leur mobilité, nous ne nous mélangeons pas forcément aux Erasmus présents sur notre campus bordelais. L’InsPo a décidé de donner la parole à celles et ceux que nous croisons tous les jours dans les couloirs et qui vivent une expérience dont vous êtes tous et toutes familières. Enjoy your reading !

Leaving to spend a part of a school year abroad always generates a range of emotions. Changing countries and testing oneself with a different language, culture, and customs can cause anxiety and, in extreme cases, fear. Despite this, exchange programs between universities are becoming increasingly common.

Erasmus, a program that continues to grow

Created in 1987, the Erasmus+ program encourages the creation of meeting points between different cultures. Over more than thirty years, it is estimated that around 13 million people have participated in these programs, 1.2 million in 2022 alone. These high numbers are promising for the creation of a Central European identity, one of the main goals of the initiative. Despite some valid criticisms, the number of participants continues to grow. Southern European countries are particularly popular for incoming students. France ranks third, having welcomed over 40,000 foreign students in 2021. A portion of these students is hosted annually by Sciences Po Bordeaux, increasing the international presence of our university. This year, over 200 international students are studying at Sciences Po Bordeaux. While most are Erasmus participants, some participate in bilateral exchanges (involving universities outside the European Union) and double degrees, where students receive degrees from both the host and home universities at the end of the academic year.

Who are these 200 Erasmus? 

Each of these students has their own story and has experienced the move to France in their way. We therefore carried out a survey in which we anonymously asked exchange students to share their experiences here. The survey recorded a majority of female respondents, accounting for 66.7%, and a minority of male respondents at 33.3%. 

Although the answers reflect purely personal inclinations, several common elements emerged.

Firstly is the application process. Choosing a destination for studying abroad is like facing a maze with hundreds of entrances. Each selected destination comes with different scenarios that will influence your life. Deciding to study in Germany rather than France will have significant implications for who you are and who you will become. Sometimes, you choose the path that feels most comfortable: a country where you speak the language or that isn’t too far away. Other times, you dive into the unknown. Perhaps a little out of folly, or because you’re sure that this path will open up many others, all new and different, but all enriching. The majority of students stated that they already knew the French language before boarding the plane to Bordeaux.

« This year, over 200 international students are studying at Sciences Po Bordeaux. »

This shows that mastery, or at least sufficient knowledge of the language, can give greater confidence before embarking on a new experience.

The student’s country of origin also led to significant findings: most responses indicated Spain as the primary place of origin. This highlights how geographical proximity can impact academic life choices. Is Bordeaux chosen as a destination for the ease of returning to one’s home country? Or is it the geographical closeness that facilitates language learning and increases confidence in moving to a neighboring country?

The answer is certainly not straightforward, although some respondents mentioned missing their loved ones the most. The experience of studying abroad allows for personal growth in various ways, one of which is increased independence, often necessitating some distance from close relationships. This separation provides an opportunity to reassess their relationships in a different light and to better appreciate them upon returning home. Some also miss the familiar landscapes, as is the case for many students from Northern Europe.

Happy Erasmus in Sciences Po Bordeaux?

Furthermore, many Erasmus students confirm that Sciences Po Bordeaux is a good choice. They have praised its academic courses as well as the university’s student life. The courses allow them to view their time abroad not only as a personally enriching experience but also as a formative one. In this regard, the two research centers for which the university is famous are undoubtedly important: le LAM, with a focus on African studies, and the Emile Durkheim Centre, which has a more generalist approach.

Student life allows students to meet new people and helps them avoid the loneliness that seems almost inevitable at first. It also allows students to practice their French, which often represents a major challenge. 

« It brings a sense of melancholy because what has always been is suddenly no longer the same. »

One certainty unites all the interviewed Erasmus students: the feeling of being welcomed by a city open to cultural and linguistic diversity, by a university that increasingly feels like their day-by-day. The exchange experience takes you away from everything: from your loved ones, from the laughter of friends, from habits that seem so immutable in our daily lives. It brings a sense of melancholy because what has always been is suddenly no longer the same.

However, the experience abroad is not just a subtraction; it is a multiplication of emotions, life opportunities that one could never have imagined, and the ability to adapt to the inconveniences that new experiences always bring. And when we return home, we’ll be proud to have had the courage to accept change, and we’ll thank those who gave us the chance to live this experience, for having had the courage to accept change.