Week 12: The Final Week Before Christmas

The last week of Erasmus (before exams) comes around super quickly and before you know it, you'll be prepping for your Christmas homecoming and the exam period. In the last few weeks you have, it's important to remember to have fun and not let the pressures of revising get on top of you. 

A lot of students make the mistake of trying to just cram and read as much as possible, but with Erasmus, it's important that you engage with people and immerse yourself in both the culture and and the language as this is what will really help you get to grips with the language and allow you to perform with spontaneity and ease when it comes to your oral exams and written tests. 

In the final weeks, I got revising but with other students so I could communicate back and forwards and not get stuck in a rut where the information just wasn't going in. It also helps to have a French buddy (your Erasmus ESN group might provide you with someone) who you can go through the motions of exams and handing in essays with. It always helps to have someone who's acquainted with the university system and someone who is confident on how to do well in tests and written work. 

In the evenings and weekends, it's a good idea to cool off or you can end up burning out - the last thing you need before having to meet up with your friends, family and loved ones back at home, and before the exam period is in full swing). Hit up your local cafés to get a change of scenery or to let off steam and take your mind off all the studying.

Most Erasmus students also have parties around this time (let's be honest, who's going to complain about some noise if you're only there for a few more weeks?) so it's the best time to cool off and forget about your studies for a while. 

When it comes to heading home, it's best to fly home on the last night of term, or that weekend. You'll notice that the student atmosphere drastically decreases and most French students head home to their families so there won't be so much of a buzz in Toulouse as there is when all of the uni students are there. Book your flights early too as the prices can go up with students from the three universities all booking to head home.