Student life

I have chosen to study biology on the campus of Bordeaux two years ago, after my baccalauréat. I wanted to become an engineer in food science but before entering the engineering school we have to validate 2 years of study after graduating. So I spent the last two years in a « prépa intégré» , which means that I applied for the engineering school after the high school, and then they accepted me. The only qualifications needed to join the ENSCBP were to have good marks during the 2 years in prepa. And now I am a first year at the ENCBP and I will get my engineer diploma in 3 years. Finally, I have to do 5 years after the baccalauréat. The school system in the United State is totally different and I don’t really understand how does it work but Rachel told me that after graduating you have to do 4 years at the university; then you can stop or continue for more 4 years.

            The life in school is really great at the ENSCBP : we can do party at the foyer, there are a lot of associations so we can do sports, dance, music, cooking,… many activities out of class. Personally, I choose to be part of the dance club. It is all the Thursday afternoon and we are preparing for a show for the gala of the school (on November 29^th ). The student life in France is different from America because there isn’t housing on the campus. Everybody has their own flat in Bordeaux, but not necessarily near the school. Moreover sorority and fraternity doesn’t exist in our country. Maybe the student days are different in USA : here we have class from 8 am to 6 pm and sometime it is tiring.

        
           I also noticed that many students in America have to work in order to earn money during they study because it is expensive. Rachel coaches a gymnastics team, I think it is a great job because gymnastic is her passion. In France there are public schools which are free so everybody can study without paying for it. Here in France some people work in the week-end or the evening but that’s rare. In contrast, teenagers used to work during the summer holidays in France to earn a bit of money during 2 months but when we go back to school we only study, not work. Personally I worked 3 summers : the first one I had a job in a food industry where I had to sort apricots marching on a conveyor belt. It was really hard because I spent 8 hours per day without moving, I had to stay in one place because it was a job chain and I started at 4 in the morning. And for the two last summer I had a job at a bank at the reception desk and I had to make phone calls and answer to the costumers demand, it was cool I liked this job a lot.