Lists, timetables and musings

Good morning :)

It's eight days to go now and I'm getting rather excited/nervous now. Counting down the days is probably something I shouldn't have done too much. Hey, that's hindsight for you!

Over the course of the summer I've been an intern for a small start-up company in Bristol, writing articles and learning some marketing techniques. Hopefully when I get to Grenoble I'll be able to apply this to my course. Slight shame I didn't pick any marketing modules...!

I am lead to believe that internships not only serve as valuable experience for studies, but have also served as a great way of funding my year away.

Anyway, ramble over. I've got something useful for you all. A list.

Yawn, I hear you say. Well, fear not. I took a look at what colleges are asking for to enrol and what accommodation blocks need..

• Firstly, you'll need your passport. A lot of people have an ID card, but be on the safe side and dig out the passport if you have it. If you're in doubt and you've got them, bring both!
• Your birth certificate. You will also need a translation if it is not written in English, French, German or Spanish. (I think Italian is on the list too, but I'll check!)
• This one seems simple but believe me, from my experience in Lincoln it's so easy to overlook... Take your accommodation address with you so you know where you're going!
• A big obvious one... Your certificate of study.  This'll actually prove that you're a student.
• Another email-searching process - find the confirmation of your allocation for wherever you're living.  This'll save you lots of time when you get there.
• Passport photos - some nicely-cut photos will be needed so that you can register with your college.  IUT2, for example, wants two.  I suggest a couple more for good measure.
• If you're an EU student, bring that EHIC card with you.  This'll be so important for you should you become ill or have an accident.
• Your home university should send you any erasmus forms that you need to complete throughout the year - I know there's one for when you register at your college.
• If you require a visa, bring all of your documentation along with you.

With all of this, I highly recommend bringing originals of everything.  Photocopies are a grey area in Europe at times so having the actual documents is far easier and less risky.

Meanwhile, at UJF, I think there has been some success over the start dates and registration.  If you head over to this website, you will find everything you need to know about enrolling and course details.  Thanks to Sassytatio Lupus for finding this :)

A small philosophical musing

I started this blog 17 days ago, thinking my audience would be my family and the occasional Erasmus student. 

What I didn't expect was nearly 800 hits and for it to spread across Europe. With so many people reading the blog in different communities, I guess it's only fair that I say I great big 'Merci!' to you all.  I have students in many countries reading what I write, family, friends and even the Centaurs have got in on it.

I think part of the initial success has been down the fact that this isn't just a story. That was the early intention, just a small record. 

Then of course I found a useful couple of things on mobile phone and bank accounts and thought 'hang on, there's a piece in that...'

And here we are now. Where next? Well, there's no question that I'm not changing anything. Keep writing I say.

After all, the distance between genius and insanity is only ever measured by success.


8 days now... In the grand scheme of things, it feels like tomorrow.

Mike