So as of now I'm 7 months into my year abroad in France and here is a little introspective of what changed.
1. I learned to speak up
Whenever there was a problem back home I would usually hide behind someone and ask them to speak up for me or not speak up at all.
Now, with all the 'issues' I had here, and not having someone to do the talking for me, I've grown some courage and started fixing my problems. Whether it's going to complain to somebody, ask for information and/or clarifying something.
2. I learned that life is tough
Now I know I don't have it as bad as others, my life is pretty cushioned as of now, but there are some things my parents sheltered me from. Like incoming problems. I feel like here in France there are always problems hiding around the corner, so I need to always be ready to start fixing them (lots of problems caused by the excessive bureaucracy) . I know I wouldn't have had the opportunity to do it back home to lean to not hide under a blanket or my dad and start fixing shit.
3. I've learned to do chores
I'm going to be honest, back home I did basically nothing. Other than vacuum my room, I would do nothing. Now, not only do I vacuum my room, I wash dishes (I still avoid doing it cause I hate it), do groceries, dust, clean the bathroom etc. These things taught me some well needed discipline that one should learn. I wish my parents could read English cause they screwed up teaching us how to have a balance. It's not all about staying in school Dad :p
4. I learned that family and friends are irreplaceable and hard to live without
Having my family and friends 1500 km away really is tough since I unsuccessfully managed to make a group of friends here. Granted, I made some decent friendships but I didn't make 50 Erasmus friends from all over the world that I will keep in touch in the future. False advertisement much?
Also, I and my family learned to appreciate each other. We still get on each other's nerves but we saw what's it like not having each other. Now, I will confess, going back from a 'one person living space' to 5 sounds pretty scary since I am now used to not share a bathroom... Ye...
But I miss my assh**** (I say this lovingly)
5. I learned how to stay on track with bills and budget
Money doesn't grow in trees and if you have a rent to pay and limited money, you better prioritise it.
6. I learned more about the French
Honestly, other than the young generation, I like French people. Always polite, mostly happy and generally helpful. I noticed this difference between Romanians and French. Romanians hate working, they always seem grumpy, they hate their general conditions of work and will do nothing to at least make their life better. The most obvious difference is in the cashiers. I go grocery shopping up to 3 times a week (spend around 6 euros every time, don't freak out) and whereas French cashiers are always smiling, greeting you and overall interact, Romanian cashiers make it a little obvious they don't like their jobs, they would rather be somewhere else and I get it. Their salaries are not the best but we have to make an effort to at least see the positive in things.
7. I've learned that nothing comes for free
I'm not talking money here, I'm talking about education and grades.
Whereas in Romania it was quite easy to stay in the top students, here nobody is giving you pity points. You want to pass, you have to work. They don't give attendance points, the don't give 'you tried' points, what you give is what you get. This made wake up and raise my studying game cause I want to pass and I want to go back home with a decent scholastic situation. So this was definitely a wake up call and a realisation that we Romanian students have it pretty easy. Now, I can't speak about all universities but as for mine, we do have it easy. First year was child's play compared to what I'm doing here. And this took me some time and emotional distress to get back up and willing to finish this God damn programm cause it is not for weak, lazy people. (btw I have around 3 more months to go)
SO yeah, here's another serious post. Guess the conclusion is that I've changed and I'm overall grateful. God bless, enjoy life, take risks,
Later
Alexandra
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