Exchange trip to France

The e-mails came from the NASPA International Exchange Coordinator; would you like to go on the NASPA French Exchange trip in April? Three of us from different parts of the country; North Dakota, New Jersey and Massachusetts unknown to each other, each said yes. Passports were checked, airfares purchased and the itinerary was received with our first assignment: Meet in Strasbourg, France on the evening of Sunday, April 12th. The visit will start bright and early Monday, April 13th.

After e-mails back and forth introducing ourselves, two of us realized we would be on the same connecting flight from Amsterdam to Strasbourg France. The third delegate in our party would be arriving in Strasbourg by train via London and Paris. 

Sunday night arrived and we met at the hotel which was located directly across the piazza from the breathtaking Strasbourg Cathedral de Notre Dame. We enjoyed dinner at a nearby restaurant where we tried a Strasbourg specialty called Tarte Flambe.

After the leisurely dinner we retired for the evening to catch up on jet lag and to get ready for our busy week. Though none of us spoke French and we did not know what to expect, we experienced five days of incredible learning, touring, fabulous French food, wine and laughter. At the end of our journey, we realized we were new colleagues and friends for life.

The first two days of our tour were spent in Strasbourg. Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament and a mere ten kilometers from the Germany border. The University of Strasbourg has almost 44,000 students of which 20 percent are from countries other than France. The University is proud of its history and the fact that 17 Nobel Prize winners have taught at the University over time. 

We learned about the CROUS system in France, which are the government run centers responsible for providing housing, food, financial aid and cultural programs for university students who study in France. The staff of the CROUS de Strasbourg were our hosts.

During the visit, we had the opportunity to meet with student leaders from the university and learned that many of their concerns were similar to those of student leaders in the United States. Specifically, they were concerned about affordability and access. These students were very passionate about representing their peers and viewed their involvement as elected student leaders as crucial to helping administrators understand the needs of students. While meeting with CROUS administrators and student leaders, we had the opportunity to visit several residence halls as well as their dining facilities, which are considered restaurants. We also visited the University de Strasbourg and learned that the university owns major collection of Egyptian art. 

As part of our trip, the CROUS staff went to great lengths to ensure that we would get to know the  city of Strasbourg. In doing so, they arranged a number of activities for us including a boat cruise on the Ill river, a walking tour of Strasbourg, and a private wine tasting (you should try Gewurztraminer). We were also treated to two fabulous dinners in traditional Alsace restaurants and ate spaetzle, choucroute, and an array of sausages and meat. We were fascinated by the Kougelhopf (a type of brioche) that is made in a bundt like looking pan. The Cathedral tour was a highlight of our visit as we had a guide who was extremely knowledgeable (and spoke English). Because of our proximity to Germany, the director of the student services (Sudierendenwerk) office in Karsruhe, Germany joined us for dinner on Tuesday night to further educate us about how student affairs is managed in Germany. After a wonderful dinner with our new CROUS friends, we said goodbye and got ready to start the next part of our journey. 

After a day of travel mid-week, we arrived in Montpellier, France. Located in the south of France, Montpellier is 70 miles west of Marseille and is the eighth largest city in the country. One third of the population are university students. 

Our host, Christophe picked us up and took us to our hotel. Barely unpacked we were immediately directed through the central square and off to Le Pavillon Populaire (an exhibition hall) to get a personal tour of “Le vie en Kodak” a brilliant exhibit of 80 original photographs published by Kodak and displayed in Grand Central Station in NY from the 1950’s -1970’s to promote the new Kodak cameras. What a treat to see our own history in another country. 

Thursday and Friday were spent meeting members of CROUS Montpellier who provide student support to students who attend the three universities in Montpellier; Universite Paul Valery, Universite Sciences et Techniques and Universite de Montpellier with a combined student enrollment in excess of 40,000 students. 

We were treated to a very rare tour of the Moulages Museum followed by lunch in a university restaurant. The Moulages Museum specializes in developing replicas of some of the world’s greatest sculptures from the Renaissance period to be used for study by Anthropology students. 

The day was far from over as we had two more rare tours ahead of us. The first was a guided tour of the medieval streets of Montpellier. Seeing structures from the 15^th and 16^th centuries preserved and occupied today was awe inspiring and a reminder of how young the United States is in comparison to other areas of the world. 

After the walking tour we were taken to the Montpellier College of Medicine. The College began in 1181 and is the oldest operating medical school in the world and home to the Museum of Anatomy. One of the finest of its kind in the world, the Museum of Anatomy contains both real and created anatomical specimens. While some of the exhibit was difficult to see, the collection provides a valuable resource for students studying Medicine.

We learned about international student support services at the CROUS Montpellier and visited several residence halls. Boy were they clean! The rooms were small but compact; all had their own bathrooms, a twin bed, underbed storage and a desk. We visited a studio apartment (with small kitchen). We also learned about the restaurants run by the CROUS and toured the kitchen on the Universite Paul Valery campus. While our hosts prepared elaborate and traditional three-course meals at lunch for us, we noticed that students ate differently. When asked the CROUS staff said that the most popular lunch meal for students was hamburger and French fries. 

The culmination of our trip was a walking tour and dinner at La Grande Motte a planned city from the 1970’s. Dinner at the Yacht Club overlooking the Mediterranean Sea ended our visit. 

After five amazing days, our trip came to a close and we flew back to our respective campuses. As we look back at our time in France, it is easier to see our professional similarities rather than differences. Like us, they are concerned about the wellbeing of their students and are committed to providing them with a quality experience. Further, we learned that they are as interested in us as we are in them. The opportunities for future collaborations are many and would be welcomed.

We are indebted to all of our hosts for their graciousness, informative presentations (in English), patience with our non-French (though we tried) and amazing hospitality.

U.S. Delegation to France:

Cara Halgren, associate vice president and dean of students, University of North Dakota
Shannon Gary, associate dean of students, Montclair State University, NJ
Barbara Fienman, interim consultant, adjunct faculty, Suffolk University, MA 

In Strasbourg:

Christian Chazal, CROUS Director (Strasbourg – France)
Michael Postert, Studierendenwerk (Karlsruhe – Germany)
Nicolas Gsell, student’s life manager
Lydie Klein, manager of Esplanade Hall residences 
Marie-Odile Brette, social department manager 
Sarah Boss, communication and culture manager 
Sarah Fourar, international service department 
Guillaume Poillerat-Garcia, student representative CROUS
Rebecca Bowen, interpreter

In Montpellier:

Philippe Prost, CROUS director (Montpellier- France)
Catherine Racine, CROUS associate director 
Claude Rouxelin, CROUS accountant 
Christophe Abric, executive assistant and secretarial manager
Renaud Seretta, CLOUS director (Perpignan, France)
Myriam Faure, CROUS director nimes satellite (Nimes, France)

Universite Paul Valery (Montpellier)
Nicolas Dubourg, director of university cultural center
Theirry Mazarand, managing director of international relations
Rosa Plana, curator of moulages museum
Judith White, interpreter