5th article - The integration week

From 21.08. - 25.08. the integration week for Erasmus students took place here at the University of La Réunion. I (rather unknowingly) signed up for the group with B2 language level - native speakers, so I was always in the afternoon at the university.

Monday:

The organization of the university is known for not existing, and unfortunately I had to experience this. We were given the rooms for this integration week in advance, but the campus here is relatively large and above all confusing. Since we didn't have a map of the campus and also no description or anything, we had to search the entire campus for the room. When Yasmine and I finally arrived, the atmosphere was very relaxed and laid-back. The course of the week was explained and we got to know the other students. Many have already received their student ID, but mine was not yet ready. To be honest, that stressed me out a lot because you need it for almost everything here and I didn't know when and where I could pick it up..

During the campus tour, I broke away with three others and went to eat something, which may not have been particularly useful but definitely more fun :D

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Tuesday:

I was able to pick up my student ID!!

Today we mainly talked about everyday life on La Réunion and at the university. This included, for example, the medical facilities that we can visit, the emergency numbers, the sports facilities, the means of transportation, the shopping opportunities, the accommodation, etc.

Afterwards, at 4:00 p.m., I went to the city center of Saint-Denis with some others (see post 4)

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Wednesday:

The day was clearly marked by confusion. The French and Réunionese education system as well as the various types of courses offered by the university for us were mainly discussed. This quickly brought up the topic of 'personal timetable' and I can really say: I have never seen anything more complicated and confusing in my whole life. I would never have thought that I would say this one day, but: JOGUStIne is incredibly logical, intuitive, and structured :D

However, since I am by far not the only one who has absolutely no clue, I am not too worried. The topic will be discussed again on Thursday, so it will somehow work out. But: Deadline for the final Online Learning Agreement is September 15th!

After it was over at 4:00 p.m., we tried something fun: Fresh tacos from the vending machine (6€...). I took the taco créole and it was amazingly delicious (and above all very filling).

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Thursday:

Today is finally the day: The timetable is supposed to be created. Spoiler Alert: Mine is only 30% finished so far... :D

The problem is that as an Erasmus student, you don't just do a Bachelor's or a Master's or at least a field of study, but you choose from everything. That means I take (or plan to take ...) courses only for Erasmus students, courses from the Bachelor Lettres, courses from the Bachelor Allemand, courses from the Master Information et Communication, etc. That means I first have to individually check the times and admission requirements for all the courses and all the different degree programs. And the really funny thing about it is that the times for each individual course also change every week - that means I have to compare each course for about 12 weeks so that they don't overlap. In France, there is also a mandatory attendance requirement, which is a horror.

To make the whole thing a little more difficult, the fact that not all courses have been scheduled yet and that can take until October. Unfortunately, my timetable has to be finalized by September 15th and cannot be changed afterwards.

Oh yes, and of course I also have to clarify all the courses with my credit approval officer, because only the ECTS points that I can later have credited at my home university count. And if it's not a total of 15, I won't receive my scholarship.

So, all in all, I had almost a nervous breakdown today and there will probably be more to come until I have it all behind me. But Courage, it will be fine.

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Friday:

Finally, the last day is done. Before the course started, I went to the so-called restaurant with some other students, which is the university cafeteria. We ate enough for only 3.30€, so I was full all day. And it was really delicious :) The canteen is also really nice, even with a sea view!

In the course, we first talked about Réunionese culture. In the second half, 4 Réunionese students came who told us a few things about the university and we were allowed to bombard them with questions. That was pretty interesting and it was really nice to meet locals instead of just international students. From all this, a planned excursion actually emerged: On September 2nd, we want to go to Bassin Marie Louise, I'm looking forward to it!

To celebrate the end of the integration course, I went out for a drink in Saint-Denis with some others today.

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Tomorrow there is a small hike planned with some friends and in the afternoon there will be a picnic with the Erasmus students and some Réunionese students by the sea :)