Although I’ve been in Europe for a couple weeks now, today marks the 3rd day of school here in Bordeaux. I’m attending Kedge Business school during my time here, and so far I am loving it. The school itself is brand new from remodeling (just reopened in January) and it really clean, modern, and everything I could have asked for in terms of atmosphere. Because we are only here for one sequence (one class) we have class this week every day from 8:30 AM to 5 PM, not exactly what I’m used to at U of L. Luckily next week we only have 3 half days and the following week only 4 half days. The course work seems fairly heavy too, considering we only have 3 weeks of class. I really shouldn’t complain though, our first day of class we went wine tasting :). Best field trip I’ve ever went on.
The city of Bordeaux is amazing as well. I’m living in an apartment style hotel in the middle of downtown so I can walk or take the tram to anywhere I would want to go in just a couple minutes. There are 5 other U of L students living in the same hotel as me too, so it’s been great having friends to hang out with!
Bordeaux is incomparable to any city I’ve been to in my life. It has a long, rich history yet it’s young and energetic. The streets are cobble stone and there is an abundance of trees, flowers, and gardens to give color to the city. The old buildings are all stone and up kept so well you’d think they were just built within the last year. In fact, the whole city is like that. I’m enjoying the whole atmosphere here. I already know I’m going to be sad to go in a couple of weeks when it’s time to head back to the states.
Before coming to Bordeaux, 3 other U of L students and I traveled around Germany and Italy for a jam-packed and adventurous 10 days. We explored Berlin’s rich historical sites and sat on the Berlin Wall, drank beer with the Germans in Munich, saw the Statue of David in Florence, hiked up a beautiful mountainside in Cinque Terre, saw the Pope in Rome, and climbed the largest sand dune in Europe outside of Bordeaux. The experiences I’ve had here have opened my eyes to new cultures and have been irreplaceable and incredibly valuable to me.
I need time to slow down so I can savor every day left here in Europe. This weekend we have plans to go to Paris, I can’t wait to see the Eiffel Tower in person!
Megan Nehus