Waking up and taking action

A cloudy morning

Opening your eyes in a new, to you, city and country as a whole, can be exceptionally scary if you do not know what in the world is going on there. In the case of Rouen, and the region of Normandy (Northern France) in general, this feeling can get exaggerated because of the... weather. Yes, the weather is indeed a huge factor for the everyday life of a city and its people; it even imprints a set of characteristics on them, such as the degree to which they express themselves, their mood etc. And what I had to deal with was, well, an immense amount of rain.

Actually, when I first got to Normandy there was a bit of snow too, but the problem was the cloudy sky looming over the city. As a student there, you will come to find out that this is the type of sight you will get for the most part of the year, and it can be really unsettling. Nevertheless, do not let it get to you and make the most out of your days there. Me, coming from the Mediterranean, I was not used to such a situation and until spring came upon Rouen, had to settle. But hey, the beauty of the city is enough to get you going so dress up warm and go out there, the same way I did!

Where to start

The first thing you have to do is to establish some links, connections if I may say so. If you are like me (with no place to stay or with a very small knowledge of the town/city you are into), you should first head to the office of tourism of Rouen, contact your local Erasmus student network (or any student group really), make sure to get into any online social network of the area possible (such as Facebook groups etc. )and then, of course, go to your university!

I know the first one sounds ridiculous, but I have to say that it helped me greatly in realising what my student housing options were and gave me a better understanding of the city. Of course, you should absolutely search online as well, on sites with announcements or flat sharing platforms, or even go around and pick a bunch of local newspapers to help your search.

The office of tourism across the Cathedral

I obtained a set of two catalogues, or fully functional guides as I see them, that contained information on everything that could be of interest to a newcomer such as myself; a proper map with all the main points of the city (sites, squares, the station etc), contact info of the public and private student dorms, suggestions of places to eat and drink, as well as information on the public transport. The employees also told me that there is a free newspaper one can find distributed in various random places in the city, one being right outside the office of tourism itself. So, I grabbed my newfound treasures and headed somewhere quiet to start calling numbers up; my home.

Student dormitories and bureaucracy

As my budget was not the greatest, I opted for the cheapest solution first; the public dorms of Rouen. Before coming to the city, I hadn't really understood whether I was entitled to stay in one of those, as my university belonged to a separate system than that of the university of Rouen, so after posing questions at the office of tourism, I thought I could give it a try. Unfortunately, I was not able to reach them for quite a while, and a friend (who was also an Erasmus student there) suggested I look elsewhere, as the paperwork needed for these dorms was... a bit of a hustle. She herself, had some trouble when moving there, and I needed an immediate solution, so I abandoned that idea. If you wish to stay there, make sure to contact the people responsible at least one or two months prior to your arrival and try to do so...in French.

I then continued with the private student residences. I managed to somehow arrange an appointment with two organisations, even though I was not certain whether I actually wanted to go for such an option. One thing was for sure; I knew I would have to deal with much less paperwork, plus what I spotted was near the city centre. What is more, it was actually not too far from my university when using the public transport, which is a factor you should definitely take into account when making your final choice.

The flat option

Of course, I would not stop there and so, started booking appointments with various flat owners and/or potential flat mates. To be honest, I feel like flat sharing is your best choice, especially if you manage to get yourself a nice cosy room in one of those cute old houses, or an exuberant flat mate to keep you company, at least in the beginning. There are, however, many implications, such as the individual bail, the electricity expenses, even the quality of the place (an old house might be cute, but can also be full of problems, say, mould). At any rate, do not panic, there are always some options left, even for late-starters like me, so you are going to be alright!

Typical houses of the Old town, you can see most are still inhabited

Pinpointing my University and its relation to the rest of the campus(es)

After I ran out of options (at that point), I decided to go and see what my university was like. I would study in the school of Architecture of Normandy (known as ENSAN amongst the locals), which was located in the area of Darnetal, an eastern, kind of rural, suburb of Rouen. If you are an architecture student like me, I am terribly sorry, but our university is actually located off the main campus and is separated from any other department of studies in the city. You might think "Just my luck! " but it's actually a cool place, you will see! However, most of the students are actually gathered in a region known as Mont-Saint-Aignan. Now, in French "Mont" means "mountain", right? You'd think it is just a wordplay but nope, the students do indeed live up a small mountain.

In fact, the campus of Mont-Saint-Aignan is a rather large place for the size of the city of Rouen, and it is kind of independent too. Up there, you will find most of the University departments (mainly having to do with financial studies), their respective libraries and cafeterias, as well as the majority of the student dormitories. What is more, the city also reaches up the mountain, so the campus is not isolated per se. I would go visit my friends there in the future, but when I arrived in Rouen, the area was almost off-limits because of the thin layer of snow that made the trip there dangerous.

From the office of tourism, I also came to find out that another place of academic interest was the region of Technopole, which was in the far south of Rouen. Before arriving to the city and when house-searching, I had seen what was going on with that area and well, after my whole Erasmus experience I can confidently say, nothing much. In fact, I met a great deal of technopole students that preferred to take the forty-minute metro trip to technopole every day, preferring to rent a place in the city centre despite the cost and the time lost. However, the unis of technopole (which mostly have to do with engineering) are actually alright, and a lot of opportunities are given to the students there, so if you are heading there, no worries!

And then we got my university, which is a separate deal, drifting on its own in the east. Not thinking much, I hopped on a bus to get there, feeling really anxious all of a sudden. You know, seeing a place in Google is really not the same as seeing it standing in front of you, very much existing and looming all over you. Of course, me being a bit of an idiot, I did not actually check whether my university was actually open, and so I was met with the sight of a big, bared, iron gate, which was greatly disappointing and funny at the same time.

Luckily, I at least got a peek from between the iron bars of the front gate, and I saw that my University was truly unique; an old red brick factory made into a school in the most eccentric and appropriate way! I couldn't wait to see the interior of the place I would come to spend most of my day in.

ENSAN photographed on another day, I hope you get the idea!

Back to the city and crossing the river

Anyhow, with little left to do that day, and with a bunch of problems left to solve, I went back to get something to eat and to pinpoint some more nodal points, such as the location of the Fine Arts Museum and places of the kind. In terms of house searching, I decided to cross the river Seine to take a look at the infamous "Rive gauche" meaning the left bank of the river, because a lot of the options I had were at that part of town.

Crossing Pont Corneille

You will hear from a lot of people, myself included, to stick to "Rive droite", where the centre is located. That being said, the left bank is not as bad as rumoured (always in comparison to the right bank), but it is the industrial part of town and so, technically, the most degraded. Nevertheless, it is still really animated and full of people (and cool places) so do not hesitate to explore and form your own opinions of the place and who knows, you might actually like it even more than the centre! What is more, the biggest part of Rouen is actually on the left bank, so keep that in mind for future reference.

As soon as one crosses Pont Corneille, one of the numerous bridges of Rouen, they will be greeted by the sight of the church Saint Sever in the distance. Next to the church there is a big mall with a cinema and other facilities, which gathers a great amount of people daily, and is pretty much a very busy point for the area. If this is your type of fun, go check it out sometime.

Saint-Sever

The end of that day

After some more wandering around, it was time I went back or maybe grabbed a well-earned glass of beer. At that time, I only knew a handful of people in Rouen so my options were limited, but I quickly came to make friends after a few days thanks to a very special weekly student meeting I will describe in my next entry. You see, as a newcomer, finding good friends will be one of the biggest worries you will have at the beginning but in Rouen, you will definitely manage to build something special with all the people you will meet, since the ambiance is so cosy and family-like, no worries!

A good place to start as any, is the pub 'Delirium' (with the logo of the cute pink elephant) which is infamous among international and French students and is located right next to the building of the Great Clock, you just can't miss it. So, go ahead and grab yourself a drink, have a laugh and enjoy your time, it will make the next day seem a lot easier!

Yep, it's right through that small door

Home

Flopping on my bed that day was not as bad. I felt a bit lighter and I knew I had started setting things straight, so I just slept like a log. I knew I would have a hard time finding a place to live but still, a clue or two had emerged, so I would just have to keep going. Plus, the next day was bound to be an adventure, nothing to fear there, right? However, of my following misadventures I will tell you in the next entry, this one seems to have gone on forever!

Have a good day and see you soon!

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