Sergiu studies French and Spanish at Queen Mary and decided to spend their year abroad in Tours, with the support of Turing Scheme funding.

Why I chose Tours
As a student living in London, I wanted to spend my year abroad in a smaller city, somewhere calm that could feel like home. I found Tours to be the perfect destination as I needed to work on my French more than my Spanish. Even though I wasn’t confident with my level of French, I knew that I needed to challenge myself to reach my goal. When I arrived in Tours, I was very impressed. The city center was very lively and there were restaurants and shops everywhere, as well as people from all sorts of places. The riverside had a peaceful atmosphere and everything was very green. I knew that this would be the perfect city to spend my year abroad.

Meeting new people
Very soon after arriving I was able to meet other exchange students thanks to the events that were organised by the ESN team. There were walks around the city, parties and many more events that allowed me to meet people from all over the world. The Erasmus group chat was also very helpful as we could all ask each other questions or organise to meet up. This really helped me build a group of amazing friends who made it much easier to adapt to this new life in a country where I’ve never lived before. It was an opportunity to get to know different cultures and share them with each other as well as creating new friendships that I will remember for life.

University life
When I arrived in Tours, I was quickly able to put myself on the right track and understand where I would be studying. Soon enough, I was a student in a new university that mainly spoke in French. It might sound scary but I got used to it pretty quickly, especially because I participated in a few classes as part of the CUEFEE programme that is aimed at exchange students. These classes were very helpful and made me feel very comfortable as I was with other exchange students who were also on the same path. I have to say that some classes were challenging, especially because we were only allowed to speak in French. Having French teachers also meant that I was able to learn about the culture and get to know the city more, which was very interesting.

Life in Tours
Tours is an amazing city for anyone who is looking for a well developed city that still feels very traditional. I was amazed by the transport system as it allowed me to travel around the city for just 23 euros a month. There are many supermarkets and shops around the city, which allowed me to buy anything I needed; the closest one was around 3 minutes from my residence which was very convenient. I was also very impressed by the different types of restaurants in the center, as there were many cuisines that I had never tried before, of course I also wanted to eat traditional French food and for that, I found a very nice restaurant called ‘Le Bon Temps’. Tours is also a very lively city, with many events and things happening especially during the Christmas and summer period. It definitely exceeded my expectations of a smaller French city, and if you want to enjoy other places nearby, it is very easy to do so as there are trains daily to Paris and other neighbouring cities.

Final thoughts
Having the chance to study in Tours for a year was an amazing opportunity. It truly exceeded my expectations and I have to say that I would do it all over again. I managed to make many friends whilst experiencing life in France, which was a unique experience that will remain with me forever. I am also very thankful for the Turing grant as it offered me great financial support that allowed me to make the best of the experience. France is a very beautiful country that feels like no other, and Tours became a home-from-home for me.