During my stay in Nantes, France I did not have the opportunity to work besides studying, I only focused on my studies in Corporate Finance: Mergers & Acquisitions at the Audencia Business School. Nevertheless, the time at Audencia Business School and the mandatory presence gave me some insights into how people interact in French universities and how French studying culture looks like and what’s the difference to German speaking universities. I mostly became aware of the cultural differences through interactions with my fellow students and the associated in classroom interactions. At the beginning of the semester, we had a course about intercultural awareness and respecting different cultures, because the Audencia Business School is very international and people come from all over the world. This course helped me and the other students to become aware of other cultures and how to deal with them in case of conflicts. Of course, I did not only come in contact with French people through the Business School. There were many conversations while going out, shopping or doing tourist activities.
For me, the most reshaping experience was about the work-life balance. In France, the students value their time during the semester a lot and keep their work-life balance in mind. During the semester they are open for activities at the weekend and even in exam week, a lot of students went out to have fun and enjoy the semester, they do take care of their performance in the business school, but they also value their free time. At first glance, I thought that my French fellow students were unfocussed or even a bit lazy, but time by time I realized that keeping their work-life balance on a constant level throughout the semester helped them to get through the semester more smoothly. If I compare this experience to my bachelor studies in Münster (Germany), where work-life balance was quite poor, the French way of studying would have been helpful to solve the terrible exam months in January and August. Furthermore, I believe that caring more about work-life balance leads to increased productivity and leads to more student’s satisfaction.
The second thing I would like to write about is closely related to the first topic. There is a phrase in German which basically says that Germans take their BMW to drive to the next McDonald’s, while French people take their old Citroen and drive to a fancy restaurant – which is actually true for quite a large number of people. In France, good food is valued so much more compared to Germany or Switzerland. In the first weeks in Nantes and my first trip to Bordeaux, me and my mates were desperately looking for a place to eat, but there were huge crowds of people lining up in front of the restaurant. No dinner without waiting for more than one or two hours. At first, I was shocked and asked myself: what is wrong with the French people, how can you wait so long for dining? Now after being back in Liechtenstein and having queued in line for more than one hour quite often, I do understand the French people and learned to value good food and dining with friends and family – I can not wait to queue in line again (in France).
In conclusion, my studies abroad and the experience of France was a valuable opportunity for me to gain a deep understanding of French students culture works and the key takeaways that come with a better work and life balance or more passion for food. I was able to broaden my knowledge and gain a more global view of how studying and living works in other European countries.