Université des Sciences Humaines (Strasbourg II)

Internet and phone bills!!! AND DON'T GET AN OVERDRAFT!! decouvertes (as they are called) are evil evil things!! I'm still paying mine off. The french system is very different to the one in UK. They don't tend to tell you that you are over your limit and let you keep on spending (and trust me you will spend!)and then they will suddenly ask for your card back and bombard you with letters etc. I didn't get an Erasmus grant so I had to depend on myself, which was why i got an overdraft out. Seriously a bad idea if you are a spendthrift. Honestly though, you will be better off without. Plus, your grant should be sufficient. :)

just ask me.. I can't think of anything now.

I know it can be the easiest thing to do when you first get to a new country and in strange situations, to bind yourself to a group of people that speaks your language. From personal experience, It is always better to have a good mix of friends. Make an effort with the french students because (eventhough it might be a struggle at first) it will benefit you in the long run, as you won't find yourself always taking the easy way out and speak english whenever you have a problem communicating your views across. You will always learn something from the french students and it will help with your confidence and classes as well.

Personally, I didn't get a chance to live in halls because there wasn't any space for me. If you intend to apply for halls accomodation, I suggest you do it pronto! Because it's relatively cheap to live in halls, the places go pretty quickly. From what I've heard from friends, it is good to live in halls because you have to interact with the students living in your dorm thereby making you speak french which is always a good thing. Everyone is generally very helpful, but don't expect to be living in luxury because its not. There is one kitchen and you have to share showers and toilets between (approx.) 15 students per floor.. (or maybe more). Apart from that though, it is a good experience because if you're lucky, some of these people will become great friends throughout the year.

Great tarte flambees at les trois brasseurs (which has been renamed to just les brasseurs now I think). Most of the international students I knew congegrated there because of good cheap beer and lots of good deals during happy hour. Le trou on a monday night was a big hit but now I think it might have shut down. There are also salsa classes in cafe des anges. If you fancy a nice relaxing drink with a good crowd then I suggest Le gayot. A great pasta takeaway place I recommend is near le gayot, and there are also great kebab places in the city centre. Cinemas has to be the UGC which is the biggest one near the bridge at the Esplanade tramstop. Anything else just give me a shout... I can't think of anything right now. :)