GETTING THERE:<\/p>\n
Rather than flying to Chamb\u00e9ry (or to Geneva or Lyon airport and then catching the coach or train to Chamb\u00e9ry); Chamb\u00e9ry’s own airport doesn’t open until late November or early December for the ski season), I chose to catch the Eurostar train from London St Pancras, changing at Paris Gare du Nord, and then getting the SNCF direct train from Gare du Lyon down to\u00a0Chamb\u00e9ry. Some may say that this is the more expensive and slower option, yet it meant that I didn’t have to worry about the baggage weight and content restrictions at the airport. I was fortunate to travel with three fellow Cardiff friends who are also studying at Universit\u00e9 de Savoie with me. We booked into a hotel for the first night, which allowed us to have a little wander around the small city before dragging our suitcases to our halls of residence. We had made an arrangement to meet the receptionist of our halls for the first morning, enabling us to collect our keys, be shown our rooms and settle in with much ease.<\/p>\n
ACCOMMODATION:<\/p>\n
A dilemma which is put to Erasmus students fairly late on, and requiring a quick response, is the decision between flat sharing with (hopefully) other students from your host country, or opting for University Halls. In my opinion, there are many pros and cons of each option, yet I believe the choice mainly depends upon your own character. I ended up choosing halls of residence so that I could avoid having to search alone for a flat to live in, as well as having Skype interviews with the other “colocs” (flatmates), whilst revising for my end of year exams in the summer. Fortunately, I have been put into a great hall of residence with fellow Cardiff students and friends, and the majority of the other Erasmus students. This has allowed us to fully embrace the social side of the year abroad and quickly settle and make friends of every nationality.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, the evident advantage of flat sharing is how much more your language will improve. There may have to be that extra effort to meet the other Erasmus students if living separately, but living with native students from your host language can be great fun and immensely rewarding. This website has proved very helpful for people searching for accommodation in France;\u00a0http:\/\/www.appartager.com\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n It is evident that the Year Abroad is the most incredible opportunity for students, both educationally and personally, yet simultaneously there will be those more lonely moments when you are away from your family and friends. However, don’t let this stop you from enjoying you’re time abroad; an experience which everyone will want to repeat once it is over. The more you embrace this experience, the more enjoyment there will be and the time will fly by!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I am a French and Spanish third year student at Cardiff University, currently in south-east France in the small Alpine city of Chamb\u00e9ry. For the first semester of my Year […]","protected":false},"author":608,"featured_media":304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[268],"tags":[42,249,20,75,13,55,90,19],"class_list":["post-303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","tag-erasmus","tag-europe","tag-finding-accommodation","tag-france","tag-predeparture","tag-student-residences","tag-studying","tag-uponarrival"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4QQbz-4T","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":324,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/first-semester-abroad-in-chambery\/","url_meta":{"origin":303,"position":0},"title":"First semester abroad in Chamb\u00e9ry","author":"Lucy Pierce","date":"January 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I chose languages as my joint honours degree, partly because I love the culture and history of foreign countries and learning the language is the best way of immersing yourself. However, like any normal person, it\u2019s very daunting knowing your going away for the whole year, but, if you never\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "European Placements"","block_context":{"text":"European Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2015\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-11-26-at-13.33.10.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2015\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-11-26-at-13.33.10.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2015\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-11-26-at-13.33.10.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2015\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-11-26-at-13.33.10.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3767,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/pre-chambery-preparations\/","url_meta":{"origin":303,"position":1},"title":"Pre-Chamb\u00e9ry Preparations","author":"Luchia Pontone","date":"August 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi :) An excitedly anxious 3rd year student-to-be here. with my 'Voyage' soon approaching, people around me have started to spit out a good old 'Bon voyage ma LuLu'. I am excited, honest! I remember my ecstatic high school teacher stating that \"This will be the best year of your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "European Placements"","block_context":{"text":"European Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2019\/08\/revolut.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3379,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/lingomap-national-holidays-and-local-area-of-interest-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":303,"position":2},"title":"Lingomap: National Holidays and local area of interest","author":"Katy Stone","date":"June 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Salut\u00a0et bienvenue\u00a0! Today's blog will cover the topic of National Holidays and local area of interest. Un jour f\u00e9ri\u00e9 national est un jour nationalement reconnu o\u00f9 la plupart des entreprises et d'autres institutions sont ferm\u00e9es. La France compte 11 jours f\u00e9ri\u00e9s fran\u00e7ais chaque ann\u00e9e. Cependant, deux r\u00e9gions; L'Alsace et la\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "European Placements"","block_context":{"text":"European Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2018\/06\/Bastille-Day-Paris-02-450x250.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2922,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/adventures-in-chambery\/","url_meta":{"origin":303,"position":3},"title":"Adventures In Chamb\u00e9ry.","author":"Hannah Qunibi","date":"January 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Bonjour tout le monde! Bienvenue \u00e0 mon blog! Je viens de passer le premier semestre de mon ann\u00e9e \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9tranger \u00e0 Chamb\u00e9ry qui est une toute petite ville au sud de la France. J\u2019ai \u00e9tudi\u00e9 \u00e0 l\u2019universit\u00e9 Savoie Mont Blanc et je suis pass\u00e9e beaucoup de bons moments l\u00e0-bas, je\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "European Placements"","block_context":{"text":"European Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2018\/01\/IMG_10021-e1516555695888-338x450.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2886,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/lingomap-health-and-fitness\/","url_meta":{"origin":303,"position":4},"title":"Lingomap: Health and fitness","author":"Emily James","date":"January 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent the first semester of my year abroad in a town called Chambery, in the Rh\u00f4ne-alpes region of France (South East). 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<\/a>