Coming to Lille for my international exchange program

Hello, there. My name is Adriana. I came all the way from Colombia to Lille to study languages in the University of Lille. I came as an exchange student for the 2022-2023 year -hopefully for the summer semester as well. I have always loved France not only because of its history and culture, but also for its geography. I've seen that there are wonderful places to visit.

I'm glad that my home university has a partnership with ULille. It'd let me come here to finish my undergraduate degree so I can become an English teacher in my country. I also wanted to know what winter is like since in Colombia there are no seasons and Lille is perfect for that. So far, I've loved it.

My trip to France

It was the first time I traveled such a long distance by plane. It was a whole day traveling including the stopovers. In the air it was a total of 13 hours! It was exciting and scary at the same time. Luckily I was not alone. I came with a friend from the same university. We made it! Besides, the change in the time schedule has been shocking, but I've managed it so good I'm even surprised.

First days in Lille

I arrived in Lille at midnight! I had to take the subway -so grateful that I could still take it at that time. Imagine me carrying the baggage all the way. It was very dark in my station (my friend lives in a different residence) I couldn't see any building very clearly but luckily a kind stranger told me how to get to my new home. There, in the reception I had to use French on a one-to-one conversation for the first time. I was pretty nervous because I thought I didn't know much, but I could handle it.  

The next day, my friend and I went to the city center. There was a huge event called La Braderie There was a lot of typical food, drinks, stores and restaurants with special offers. I walked in those streets and I couldn't believe my eyes. I -we- were amazed and so happy. The weather was starting to be cold but it was very sunny, so I loved it.

I love the place where I am staying. I have privacy and everything I need. Sometimes, I go to the university by subway or when I feel like walking and having some fresh air I go by foot. It's not that far. On the other hand, I can prepare my own food but I have also been to some nice restaurants. I love fries so I couldn't be happier here.

I have my classes at the university in the mornings, mainly. I think I can get easily lost because the buildings are huge, but I know with time I will get to the classrooms as any other student. There are coffee machins everywhere which is great because I can have my coffee at any time. It is like magic to me. On the other hand, the classrooms are very nice, they are all well equipped and warm (I can't stop thinking about the winter time). People are nice, they are all stylish. I love this campus.

Seriously, I'm living my dream. This city is amazing and I keep learning every day.

Thank you for reading, and I hope to share more information about my stay in Lille! Feel free to like and share my piece of writing if you liked it!

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