IFI Rouen

Rouen offers a fairly good range of activities. There is a hockey rink located on an island in the middle of the Seine, where I attended minor league hockey games and games sponsored by the students at my university. There are hiking and biking trails near the school that are fun to explore. Favorite night spots include the Central Cafe, the Emporium Galorium and the Underground Pub. There are several cafes and restaurants to choose from also, including brasseries that serve gourmet French cuisine for a good price, and couscous restaurants are popular and abundant as well.

The housing accomodations assigned to me were convenient, fitting to my personal needs, and offered generous support on behalf of the landlords. However, it was expensive and I was not thoroughly informed of alternative means of finding apartments to live in, rather I was merely assigned to a certain apartment complex.

The exchange rate was not good for the U.S. dollar, which really adds up when you consider how much you are spending. I would suggest buying groceries as much as possible as opposed to dining out, and spend less money at the bar by indulging in French wine that can be cheaper than water.

I am thoroughly glad that I chose this program. The university itself is very focused on promoting student life and I met a wide variety of interesting and fun people. I would suggest saving money for week long vacations, as opposed to traveling to different places every weekend. It's important to really spend time in your host city.

My main goal in coming to this university was to improve my French language skills. I was able to accomplish this goal by benefiting from my french language courses, as well as interaction amongst the students and professors. The most improvement I gained resulted from comprehension in class and spending time with French people outside of school.