Welcome back to part two of my blog post to break down the differences between my two programs. This time we are going to talk more about things during the program. Again for reference I was in Nantes, France with IES in the fall and in Geneva, Switzerland with SIT during the spring.
Program structure and classes
IES:
With IES in France, we were able to choose which classes we took from a list they provided. Additionally, we had the opportunity to take classes at the local university. So in this way, my program was structured very similarly to the way university works in the States. More so, in Nantes we had a large office basically in the city center where we took classes, made lunch, and just hung out. Due to having such a large office and lots of advisors/professors/other students in and out all day, it was a good place to hang out for the majority of the day. Most days, I could be found in the office library doing class work or in the kitchen making lunch and hanging out with my friends.
SIT:
In contrast, in Geneva, all of our classes and schedules were pre-set, so we didn’t get to choose when we took classes or what types of classes. In the same way, I spent much less time at the office. For one, the office was usually only open when we had classes, which was predominantly in the mornings. Further, we were given money to buy lunches, so the office was closed during lunchtime and did not re-open most afternoons. Due to this, most of the time I ended up finding a cafe to study and do work at. Neither way is better or worse, but it does depend on what you are looking for from a program. With IES, I always knew I had a reliable place (with good wifi) where I could go to and get work done or hang out with friends. With SIT, it gave me the opportunity to explore my city a bit more and find some hidden gems to study at, and also do other fun activities with friends.
Traveling during the program
IES:
With IES part of the tuition you pay includes a couple of field trips as a program. For us, I believe we spent 5 weekends during the semester traveling around France and seeing a ton of cool things. During these trips, everything is already set up and provided for you; you just have to show up. For us, we took tour buses booked solely for us and had one roommate when we spent nights in hotels. Breakfast and dinner during these trips were provided, but lunch was on us. Also during my time in France, we had a week-long break as a ‘fall break’ where I had the opportunity to travel to the UK (which was all paid for by me).
SIT:
In contrast, during my spring with SIT, there were no planned trips; unless you count our visits to organizations within the city of Geneva, but that was more for academic reasons. However, with that being said, as part of tuition, we were given a “Swiss pass,” which is just a card that allows you to travel on all Swiss transportation. Because of this, and Switzerland’s amazing public transport system, it was super easy to take day trips to other parts of the country (or even other countries). Additionally, because in the last month of the program we were only required to be in French class on Mondays and Wednesdays, I spent a lot of that time traveling.
Phone plans
IES:
In terms of phone plans, it can be difficult to decide how you want to go about it. There are a couple of different ways, and when I first arrived in France, I had no idea what to do, but I knew I wanted to get a French number and pay for data through a French carrier. To do that, I had to ‘unlock’ my phone before leaving the US. I think the process varies for each phone carrier, but for me I just had to go online and follow a couple of steps, and from there it allowed me to turn off my American phone number and turn on a French number. Now, when I got to the country, IES helped us to buy an eSIM, which is what gave me the French phone number. However, this phone plan was kind of expensive, especially since I was paying for it every month ($50 for 30 gigabytes for 30 days). This is one route you can go, but you can also use an international plan. This does not require you to unlock your phone; it simply starts working when you are in a new country (at least for me). With my provider, my phone recognized that I was in a new country and just started working, but the kicker is that if I were to use my phone’s data, it would charge me $12 for a 24-hour period. So, essentially, it would cost $12 a day, which gets expensive after a whole semester, which is why I decided to use the eSIM.
SIT:
With SIT, I got a bit smarter and did some research on different providers that I could use that would be cheaper, so I didn’t have to spend an arm and a leg to use my phone. This is how I came across “Airalo,” which is another provider that you can get data through for a MUCH cheaper price. I can not recommend this enough; it is super cheap and is offered in a number of different countries and regions. I was able to get 10 gigabytes of data for $16 for 30 days. I found that if I’m careful with what apps I use when I’m not on wifi, then I don’t need as many gigabytes. For example, when I’m using data, I try to only use it to send texts and use maps. So because of this, I spent a lot less on data, but it was still just as effective – even the regional plan which allowed my phone to work in almost all of the European countries.
Ok that’s all I have for this incredibly long blog post, but profite bien a tout!
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