Bikes, Dolphins, Rain aaaand Bikes … Here I am Denmark ! - by Charline

Hej alle ! I am Charline, come from a little town deep in the Gers, and I've decided to spent my third year abroad in Aarhus in Denmark. It was kind of easy, the administration stuffs were quickly done and I was officially accepted in May and that was it, I've booked my flight and prepared my luggages for 10 months ! Bye bye France !

You usually know you're landing in Denmark when you see wind turbines everywhere. I arrived in Billund just near LEGOLAND (biggest pride of Danes I think) and then I took the bus to Aarhus, the capital of Jutland, 260 000 inhabitants with 44 300 students and also called by the Danes “The City of Smiles” (stuff I've red from a leaflet I received). When I arrived in Aarhus, my “Buddy”, kind of mentor from the University, welcomed me and gave me the keys of my room in Skjoldhøjkollegiet (biggest dorm of Denmark). Here I share kitchen and common room with 12 other peoples, an exchange student from Barcelona and 11 cool Danes.

Me after my first bike ride by Danish 

stormy weather ! But still happy to be here :)  

On Friday I went to the International Centre of the University to register, and they gave me lots of gifts ! Some maps, city guides, a pen, a sim card and... a (sexy) rain coat. Then I visited the Old Town (Den Gamle By) which is in fact an open museum which reconstitutes the Aarhus of the XIXth century (unfortunately closed when I went there because in Denmark, everything closes at 4 pm) but I was able to see some houses, the old mill and the Botanical garden.

The sexy rain coat !

On Sunday, I have finally fit into Danish way of life... I bought a bike ! I've found it on dba.dk which is in fact their “le bon coin” and I had it from a nice guy who loves fixing bikes. Here people are always on bikes, you can find bikes everywhere and often unlocked... (big change from Toulouse! ). And actually I think that big calves and strong legs is the sexiest thing that you can have to attract Danes... Because NO Denmark is not flat and you have to go through all the hills in Aarhus and in fact the University is on the top of a “mountain” (yes they say mountain for what we can call a bump) and if you don't believe me, let's just see my legs after 6 months living in Denmark I will attract every Danes with them.

Bikes, bikes everywhere !

The University is totally modern and new, there is basically WI-FI everywhere and everything is digitalized. The relationship student/professor is very different from France, here you call your professor by his/her first name and actually the course is based on debates among the students and everyone has to be active in class.

Maybe I forgot to tell you... but the seal of the University is two freaking dolphins and an anchor ! And the motto is Solidum petit in profundis

I have plenty of projects in mind to discover Denmark and the other Scandinavian countries during this year abroad and I hope you will find these northern countries as warm, welcoming and beautiful as I see them. Furthermore Danish people are truly the most helpful and smiling persons I have ever met, every time you ask someone your way in the street, they smile and help you in a perfect English. So NO there is not only the UK to study abroad in English and YES Denmark is awesome even if right now, when I'm writing this words it is still “hot” (by hot I mean 21°c) and that you know, winter is coming...

A First Glance at Durham (UK) by Fanny

Hello everybody !

My name is Fanny, I am from Bagnères-de-Bigorre, in the Pyrénées. I just finished my second year in the History in English BA in Toulouse,  I mainly chose this curriculum so that I can spend a year abroad in England. I am starting on the 29th of September at Durham University in the UK !

Me being all happy about the new year ahead !

Let's start with the basics, a little wikipedia-esque summary: Durham is in the north east of England. Is is a city of around 42 000 inhabitants, including more than 15 000 students, tha inhabitants are called the Durhamites. Its university is one of the oldest in England (it was founded in 1832). It is the little red dot on this map:

After a 3-hour train ride from London, my little brother and I arrived at the Durham station.  From the train, we already saw the famous cathedral and the castle, both registered on UNESCO's World Heritage List. 

The view from the viaduct, before entering the station, by DWaterson

My new landlord picked us up at the station, and drove around, giving us a quick view of Durham. Once at the house, we took some rest before exploring everything. My new roomates were all on holiday, so it was just the two of us in the house. When the day was starting to fall, I went out, wanting to see the important features of the town. I am about 5 minutes walking away from the heart of the old town. I just went down my street to reach the market place, from which I climbed up the hill to finally getting a closer look at the cathedral. It was getting darker and all the lights were on, it was very beautiful.

I even managed to see the History department of Durham University !

 The center is only made of very ancient buildings, which is something I personally love ! The next morning, I did the same kind of tour, to get to see things by day, and see the Durhamites (such a cute name though). All the ones I met were lovely, and every old woman called me "pet" or "love" when talking to me. The people speak here with a strong geordie accent, which can sometimes be tricky to understand. This is an extract from thz show Hebburn, set in a little town a few minutes away from Durham, and they've got pretty much the same accent.

 On my second and last night, I tasted the local beer, brewed in town, and it is amazing !

Though Durham's a small city (about 30 000 inhabitants, and 50% are students), it is full of restaurants and shops, much more than I was expecting.

 I'm coming back to Durham around the end of september to start my year at the university, but now that I've seen the buildings, my new home and the town, I'm even more excited to start !

View of my new home from the back garden

My home from the street
(my room is the window at the bottom right)

Introduction

There it is, the very first article of this blog !

We are the first promotion of the brand new BA of History in English from the University of Toulouse 2 in southern France. Our program includes two years of courses given both in French and in English and a third year to spend abroad in an English-speaking university.
In only a few weeks, we will start our year in new universities (in Canada, England, USA, Scotland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Norway) and we want to stay connected between us, to give news to our teachers back in Toulouse, and to share our experience with our younger colleagues who just finished thier first year and with prospective students.
We have a sister program, a BA of History in Spanish, they too are going abroad for next year in various parts of the world.

Tuesday the 20th of May, the Bureau Des Etudiants (or BDE) of the History in English and Spanish programs held our very first farewell party.

Teachers and students  from both the History in Spanish and in English programs (Year 1 & 2)

 The exams were over for everyone since Monday and we were all eager to celebrate the past two years that we spent together. The BDE booked a cute little tapas restaurant in the city centre and invited all the students from both Year 1 & 2 as well as all the teachers. Not all of them were able to come, but it was still a very enjoyable evening !

All the cute little faces who will spend their next academic year abroad (both History in Spanish and in English)

The new promotion should have already received their acceptance email by now. If any of you is facing difficulties with the enrolment in University, or with student life in Toulouse, you can ask your questions on our Facebook and Twitter pages !