Université Toulouse II - Le Mirail

At first, I wasn't at all confident speaking french. I had learnt the language at school and university but didn't feel prepared for real, lengthy converstaions with real people! I made the effort to make french friends and to not spend too much time with other anglophone students and also starting going out with a french man so little by little my confidnce increased and my spoken french greatly improved. At the university, I found it difficult to concentrate in lectures when I couldn't understand all of what was being said but it was a case of tuning my ear to french and persevering and now I can sit for two or three hours and get the jist of what is being said. The french students here have often been very helpful and friendly which has made university life more interesting and fruitful.

I was surprised at the cost of phone calls with France Telecom. I later found out from french friends that it is notoriously expensive so it is probably better to make international calls with phone cards. It is always worth taking trips to the out of town supermarkets if possible, they are cheaper and much larger than the ones in the town centre (Carrefour and Géant ware my favourites). Laundrettes are surprisingly expensive here but if you don't have a washing machine there is no way of getting around it! I would advise to always shop around with everything, prices for all goods and services differ alot so take time to look around.

As well as the benefits of the university itself, Toulouse is one of the most fun, diverse and beautiful cities I have ever seen. As well as being large and full of things to do, it is a place where you instantly feel at home. It is well situatued both for the mountains and the sea and there is some lovely scenery in the surrounding areas. My number one travel tip is to invest in the travel card called 'carte 12-25' which gives major discounts on train journeys. Apart from that just to get involved in as many activities as possible. It makes a huge difference in terms of being busy and meeting french people.

I couldn't comment on the housing at Toulouse Le Mirail because I haven't seen it (if it exists!) I live in the centre of town as do alot of the students because Mirail is a fifteen minute metro ride from the heart of the city which is where most things go on.

I enjoyed a bar called Eirich Coffee which had great live music and a good atmosphere. The Ragtime was good for dancing. A daily haunt was Café Des Couleurs at 18.00 for coffee and chats, it is really relaxed and the bar staff are friendly. An excursion to the mountains is a great day out and offered by the university during the winter months and any of the cafés or parks by the river are beautiful on a sunny day. There are countless churches and cathedrals to look round, not to mention all the art galleries. My favourite was Les Abattoires in St Cyprien which put on a brilliant modern art exhibition in March.