Exchange Report NEOMA Business School, Rouen Adi Roy Choudhury, Marketing Note: Due to the formatting requirements of this report, there s a lot of information I don t have space to share here. Feel free to get in contact with me by asking for the SBM for my email.
1. Monthly Activity Log: January: Checked into my accommodation at Ango, sorted out arrival procedures such as opening a French bank account and getting a cell phone plan. I recommend banking with BNP Paribas as they have a relationship with the school, and the Free Mobile store on Rue Jean D arc has good deals with data roaming. Made some friends, travelled to Paris and Milan with them. Visited my friend from HKUST in Spain. Milan, Italy February & March: Continued classes, continued to travel. Visited Brussels and Bruges, and decided it was worth missing a few classes to take a long trip from Lisbon to Madrid to Barcelona by train.
Explored Rouen and Paris, as well as nearby smaller towns such as Etretat. Took a trip to Amsterdam with other exchange students and the Culture Co. organization. Abandoned building in Spuistraat Amsterdam, The Netherlands Lisbon, Portugal April: Headed to Rome and Florence for a more relaxed, cultural trip. I seriously regret not taking a guided tour there s so much amazing history in Rome and we missed a lot of backstory. DS1 finished here, meaning my classes changed. Exams were significantly less tough than at UST.
May: Headed east to spend time in Vienna, Prague, and Budapest. These cities are fairly cheap compared to France, and all have incredible history, gorgeous scenery and amazing beer. Highlights included Skydiving in Prague and the vibrant nightlife in Budapest. Kickin it on the beautiful Danube River, Budapest Etretat, Normandy Coast
June: In early June we decided it was warm enough to visit the coast of South France, and took a bus to Nice, Cannes, and Marseille. Returned to finish my exams, and then went almost immediately to Berlin. My last trip was probably the most memorable flew to Stockholm to visit my friend Gustav who came here for exchange in 2015, and spent the Swedish Midsommar festival at his place in the Baltic Archipelago. Back in May, I made a booking with an incredible tattoo artist in Stockholm for this week, so I stayed around the city alone for a couple of days while I waited for the appointment, and just wandered around and explored. Returned to Rouen 36 hours before my flight to HK, quickly packed my bags and shut my bank account, went out for a goodbye dinner with my closest exchange friends, and then headed home. Top 2 Photos: Midsommar in Sweden Bottom: Last night in Rouen
2. General Exchange Info My #1 piece of advice to anyone reading this is learn a little bit of French before you go. You don t need to know a lot, and you don t need to pronounce everything perfectly, but speaking a tiny bit of French will make your life SO much easier. A lot of people in Rouen don t speak English, including people you ll need to interact with like cashiers and bus drivers. Settling in to Rouen: You ll have to deal with CROUS to check in, they re the organization that manages the student housing. They re not very friendly or patient in my experience, and don t speak all that much English but just hold your ground and you ll be fine. I stayed in the Ango 9m 2 accommodation in Rouen, and this is the one I d recommend to all students, there s always stuff to do. Public transport is pretty decent in Rouen, but doesn t run very late, so make sure you can figure out when the last bus is on a given day. There s a small grocery store in Place Colbert near the school, and bigger ones called Super U and Carrefour are just a short bus ride away. ALMOST ALL STORES ARE CLOSED ON SUNDAYS. Keep this in mind especially if you re returning from a trip on a Sunday and need some supplies. The school will help you set up a bank account with BNP Paribas, and should help you get settled in. Be patient, things move slower in France. If you need any help talk to your exchange coordinator in NEOMA. Travelling To get to most destinations, you ll have to transit through Paris regardless if you re taking a bus or a plane. Flixbus operates a bus directly to CDG airport, but most cheap flights are from ORLY or BEAUVAIS. ORLY is an old airport located in the suburbs of Paris, and is connected to the metro system but takes a while to get to. BEAUVAIS is probably the worst airport in the western world, and even though it says Paris, it s actually quite far away from the city (but the flights are super cheap). Blablacar is a fantastic ridesharing / carpooling resource to get around, and is
the only feasible way to get to Beauvais airport (drivers usually only speak French though). 3. Food, Safety, Best Practices I never once felt seriously in danger in Europe, but I realize that might be because I m a large guy. There s definitely more crime in Europe than in HK, so watch out for pickpockets and generally pay attention. It s also worth noting that my Chinese-Canadian friend that I travelled a lot with was subjected to a few instances of racism, with drunk people calling out insults to him in the rougher parts of the city. Just stay calm and stay confident and everything should be fine. France is having trouble with recent terrorist attacks, but there isn t really anything specific you can do about this to stay safe, so best to just not worry. I noticed a lot more security towards the end of my exchange, and there are soldiers and gendarmes guarding most tourist destinations. Food is great quality in France, but they don t use as much spices as I m used to living in Asia. You ll have to cook at least one meal a day most days, as there isn t really anything open in the night near the school. 4. What to Bring: I d suggest packing light as the housing is pretty small. Travel Adapter Clothes for warm and cold weather Documents birth certificate, passport, Student ID, HKID, some passport sized photographs and copies of your passport / ID will make your life easier. Camera Bedding Laptop
5. Contacts: Know the number of your embassy, your exchange coordinator. Write down the address of your hostel in the language of the country you re in so you can get home if you re lost or out of battery.