No matter how much I wanted to go back in time and change what I had done, I had to face the consequences of the bad choice I made. I chose to live 45 kilometres away from Sorbonne University during my stay in Paris – an arrangement that added layers of stress to an already demanding time abroad.

My three-hour daily commute affected not only my social life, but also how I dealt with my college workload in Paris, and I wish a better option had arisen when I started searching for a home in the Summer of 2022. Before this search, however, I already had to go through the bureaucracy of transferring colleges temporarily.

The first steps were filling in both my Grant and Learning Agreement. The latter underwent changes in accordance with the subjects Sorbonne made available, i.e. I completed it with the subjects I wanted to study, but only had a final draft by the first week of September. A piece of advice for students wishing to attend the Sorbonne: you will only be certain of the subjects you’ll study once you arrive in Paris.

I waited for the Sorbonne to confirm my acceptance until the end of Hillary term last year. Then, I received an email requesting that I send documents to process my application. They asked for confirmation of B2 level of fluency in French, which you can request from Trinity, proof of identity and health insurance and my T-Card. As well as a copy of a form I filled in on their website. Bureaucracy.

Nevertheless, the official registration only happened in person on September 8th 2022 – they gave me a student card and a certificate of study with my name misspelt. I was told that it could be corrected in the international relations office, which was open twice a week for three hours. I went in and addressed the problem the same week. I was told that they were overloaded with registrations and that my problem was not a priority at that time. I opted for my name to remain misspelt on my card throughout the semester as I needed the card to access both the library and the campus at large, and waiting for a new one would be a nuisance.

A week following my general registration, I signed up for the classes that I wanted to study that semester. As a French & Art History student, I needed to be attached to at least one of my departments and this had to be to Art History as I was going on Erasmus through that department in Trinity. Nevertheless, I was mistakenly attached to the Sorbonne’s Sociology Department and had to contact them to change it immediately. Once the change was made, it was time to register for the classes I had chosen on my Learning Agreement.

Registration for classes in the French and Comparative Literature department happened in a classroom at an allocated time in the morning. There was a pamphlet listing the modules available on the door, and once you knew which modules you wanted, you filled them in on a piece of paper and handed it to one of the professors in the classroom. Ditto for the Art History modules, whose department centre was situated 10 minutes away from the main campus. Both registration processes were analogue and I only knew I had to be there, because I had asked someone else. There was no email stressing our need to be there. All modules were offered on a first come, first served basis.

With regard to contact with my subjects, I had over 20 hours of classes every week and I took all of them in French. 30-minute oral presentations were an essential part of the curriculum. As well as 3-hour exams driven by essays – either a commentary or a structured argument. Your grades were usually divided by a devoir maison, an assignment to be completed at home, and a devoir sur table, a test held during class hours.

Another aspect worth noting is that the Sorbonne costs less than €200 per year for those without a fee exemption, thus leading to a possibility of underfunding – evident in the infrastructure. Heating wasn’t always present in the buildings and there were many uncomfortable old wooden chairs and tables, as well as projectors that didn’t work. Further, it was common for professors to skip classes and reschedule them.

The Sorbonne also didn’t offer clubs and societies like the ones we know in Trinity. The closest I could find in my stay were sports clubs offered in the Pierre et Marie Curie campus. Your greatest shot at meeting new people in the city was by attending a Parismus event. This was a club at the Sorbonne that hosted weekly events, as well as scheduled day trips and tours of Paris.  However, since I was living in a town 45 kilometres away, there were many events I couldn’t attend due to my commute.

Since I wasn’t present in many social events, I relied on my own curriculum to immerse myself in French. In particular, a class I joined through the French as a Second Language School. I took creative writing classes with an emphasis on literary styles and periods in France since medieval times. These classes helped deepen my knowledge in French culture and history as well as it helped me tackle the essay structures they have in place. I would consider these classes to be a highlight in my experience and would recommend it to any student who wishes to attend the Sorbonne.

In general, I felt there was more independent study at Trinity – you are expected to sit in the library and write essays with academic references so that you can submit them to Blackboard in your own time. Whereas at the Sorbonne, a lot of your assignments are handwritten and your essays must be read as direct analyses of the subjects you address – in person sit down exams were also more frequent. 

I’m glad to have immersed myself in a different system, and I felt confident in my language skills once I came back. I forced myself into many situations outside my comfort zone in which I had no alternative but to communicate my thoughts as clearly as possible. However nightmarish it may seem, it is crucial that you find yourself in these conditions, especially if you’re learning a new language. Finally, keep in mind that you’ll live to see another day and you’ll be glad to have experienced what you did.