Post 1: School/Accommodation/Roommate:

I am studying abroad at the SKEMA Business School in Sophia Antipolis, France. This is located in the southern part of France in the French Rivera. If you like the beach and the mountains this is the perfect place for you. The school is located in the hills and a 30-45 min bus ride from where I live in Juan Les Pins. The classes are a lot different than at HPU. Each class is 3 hours long with a 15 min break in the middle, but you only meet one time a week. So, I have a pretty good schedule that allows me to have 4 day weekends every week and do weekend trips almost every weekend. 

If you are interested in going to school in France at SKEMA you are able to find accommodations on a platform called Studapart. Make sure to do this and I highly recommend to not live on campus. The rooms are very big, but don’t feel like home at all with only 1 light in the corner. I made the mistake of thinking it would be just fine to live on campus, but I later found out it was not enjoyable at all. It was convenient for only having to wake up 10 minuets to get to class, but that was about it. Especially if there are bus strikes going on you were just stranded on campus and you need the bus to go anywhere, even the grocery store! The bus strikes where extremely difficult to get around with at first, but after meeting more people, shared Ubers and locals are the way to go. When I first got here, they occurred more often, but they happen less and less now. 

Luckily on the first day of orientation I met who is now my new roommate and I was able to move into the open room in her apartment. We became friends instantly and have now gone to 4 different countries together and get along so well. She even lived on Oahu when she was younger right in Honolulu! Our apartment is steps away from the beach which makes it feel a little more like home. We are a 2 min walk from the train station which makes it extremely easy to go to Cannes, Nice, or Monaco! Train tickets are from 1.5 – 4.5 Euros, depending on where you want to go. These places are perfect for day trips when you have a free day. Check out my next post about my weekend trips and how easy it is to get around once you are in Europe!

 

Juan Les Pins, 1 block from my front door