Outgoing Exchange Students

My SEP Experience

Jeanne Lee
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
SEP to Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Grenoble, France

Ask a student who has gone on a Student Exchange Programme how his trip has been and the odds are a positive reply. You'll rarely get a response 'Oh, it was terrible!' or '‘I wished it was over when I was there'. Because it is so often true. Going on SEP gives us experiences we would never be able to have in Singapore. Singapore is so often to me a comfort zone, because it is familiar and I know I can count on my family and friends. But I was looking forward to going to France as I never traveled much and I saw it as a way to test my independence. Being away from my family and in a foreign land which I wanted to get to know more, where I was interested in the culture and language and could not wait to be immersed seemed an exciting prospect. The administration and application procedures might seem endless and a little tiring at times, and yet, dealing with all those stuff is also a reflection of what we will have to handle in the future. The little problems came and passed and so I personally felt that the exchange programme was beneficial to me because I got to learn from all these little experiences.

I had many memorable experiences in France during SEP and although they might not have been wildly exciting or fascinating, they were my personal experiences and hence meaningful to me. One of them was a weekend hike up the mountains to Lac Robert. I remember hesitating and wanting to stay in during that weekend when my roommate asked if I wanted to join her and her friends the next day. The following morning did not start off well because we missed the bus going up to the mountains and so, had to change destination. Therefore, new destination: Lac Robert. Just ten minutes into the hike, we were panting and exhausted. Climbing up the rocky mountains in fact, terrified me but I was with friends and could not back out. What a chicken! The view however, was amazing. We were all speechless at the beginning and perhaps words cannot justify and describe such beauty – I personally feel that it can only be felt.

The main plus point of going to France for SEP for me was the language. I wanted the chance to listen to French, to be able to use it in daily activities in the hope that I could improve my French. This opportunity to use more French could never happen in NUS since most of us do not speak it. I might not have understood what the person next to me was speaking and yet it sounded like music to me. For all I know, he could have been swearing at me. Ironically though, it was also being in a foreign land that I got to appreciate my languages too. I might have been excited and happy at hearing and using French but when I was tired, down or frustrated, the tool of communication and form of expression which was always the best was English or Mandarin. Being alone and trying to be independent was also something which I could never have experienced at NUS. Definitely, those who have the chance and resources to go for SEP should do so because firstly, you are in a foreign land! You get to travel and see and experience a culture, a way of life and people first-hand. The process of coping with the problems which might crop up during SEP is also a learning experience and all valuable. For those who learn French of German, going for SEP in France and Germany should be a ‘better' experience in the sense that you get to practice a language you are interested in and that because you are not adept at the language, you have less to lose and therefore, should go there with an open mindset at this prospect.