James Brown: “I cant understand you, its like you're speaking a different language or something”

Pardon in advance for the terrible English. I am not certain when it started to go downhill but it has and I am sorry. I would also like to apologize for my French, it has improved but lets just say I speak in French and the French respond in English, with a confused smile.

So my semester in Bordeaux is over and I am enjoying my last week in the sunny, amazing city I’ve called home for the past 3 and a half months. It is a strange period to be in, everyday what I consider to be a good friend leaves for different places for different reasons all around the world. Yesterday I said goodbye to two Germans and a Frenchie who showed me, with a level of hospitality I did not know existed, his homeland in Basque country. If you don’t know what that is Google it and go there, as thus far has been my favourite place in France excluding Bordeaux.

 

half of Basque country

 

These new friends depart for places like Hong Kong, Bali, Amsterdam and Brussels not for vacation but for internships. This makes me both amazed and nervous. I am Amazed at some of the opportunities available around the world and nervous because, to this point I do not have nearly as much international experience as my peers. This is one of the things I have learned and will strive to gain international work experience.

I have also learned that first of all I have a travel addiction and in order to satisfy my travel addiction I will need to seek out international work experiences. Secondly, I've learned that I am very open to the idea of not working in Vancouver or North America which up to this semester abroad was never an option I considered seriously. This semester has opened my eyes to how big the world really is and as much as I love Vancouver it has changed my outlook on where I will be in five years.

But anyways, back to this period I am currently in where the weather is beautiful and there’s nothing to do but prepare for the 3 months of backpacking ahead of me and reflect on the previous 3 months. Of course this period is sad when I think about all the good times ive had here and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this semester has been one of the best times in my life, so the point of this blog is, whether you’re on the fence of studying abroad or are currently abroad, go nuts cause it goes by fast but when it’s all over don’t be sad cause there is so much more opportunity available to us because of these experiences each of us has had.  

 

Ps-Inseec is absolutely insane, there’s parties every Tuesday, Thursday and weekends are just as crazy.

pps- Monday, Wednesday and Friday are also intense


James is a third year Bachelor of Business Administration student studying abroad at INSEEC in Bordeaux, France.