I'll try to update this as many as possible, but I'm not making any promises ;)
How it started
My original plan was Amsterdam, but because I did not get an answer from the internship (and because of the persuasiveness of Mrs. Vanbillemont), I chose Montpellier anyway. I was very enthusiastic to start. Forgetting for a moment that my French is disastrous, but in the process one learns. So I saw this as an opportunity to learn, both on my internship and the language. Also the experience appealed to me, being independent and living abroad. And so my adventure began.
Preparations
First things first: making contact with the traineeship in Montpellier and starting the request of an erasmus grant. Being somewhat chaotic in terms of deadlines and papers, this wasn't easy for me. Luckily I often received mail and notifications about the deadlines...
Next: transport. Train or plane? Easy choise actually, the train has a lot of benefits. Better for the environment, more luggage for less money, arrival in the center of Montpellier... Finding the best (and cheapest) tickets wasn't that hard either. Departure at a sunday morning is the best time. Also taking the TGV in Tourcoing instead of Lille was a lot cheaper.
Then the luggage: a bit more difficult. First of all, I only had one small suitcase. So I had to look for more and bigger suitcases, within the budget of a student of course. Ideal solution: vakantieveiling.be. Three suitcases (large, medium and small) for only €75.
But the biggest problem of all: finding a room (I still don't have one, and my departure is in two and a half weeks...). For some reason, a lot of landlords said I could rent the room but didn't respond if I asked for further details. And after a week, when I kept sending mails, they answered that the room was already rented. So here I am, still looking for a place to stay...
There were some other small things that I did: I made list of all the things I had to pack, compiled a first aid kit, printed some photos, made a notebook with all sorts of recipes...
After this I was ready for departure, exciting!
Update on 28/01: I HAVE FOUND A PLACE TO STAY! I can finally sleep in peace now...
LAST DAY HOME
So today is my last day home... This week was very busy: packing my stuff, saying goodbye to my friends and family, spending some quality time with my Mathieu...
Like you can see in the photos below, I have a lot of luggage. Packing clothes for four months, collecting all my toiletries... It wasn't easy, but I ended with 45 kilograms (I may have packed a bit too much). I also finished my notebook with recipes, which will come in handy during my independent student life.
My only wish left: un bon voyage! (like my luggage tag says :p)
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