Content Monthly Activity Log ──── General Exchange Information ──── To-Bring list CHAN YAT EDHEC YEAR 3 BBA BUSINESS (MARKETING & SCHOOL MANAGEMENT) (LILLE) SPRING 2018 Monthly Activity Log December (Mannheim, Heidelberg, Berlin, Paris) My first stop in Europe was Germany. I went there to reach my friend, an exchange student studying in Mannheim in the last semester. We spent some time partying in Mannheim and travelled to Heidelberg and Berlin for Christmas. The Christmas markets in Germany are spectacular and definitely worth visiting for some mulled wine and sausages. I kept a wine mug at 2 Euros as a little souvenir. Berliner Dom Pork Knuckles at Hofbräu, Berlin Then, we went Paris for the New Year. The atmosphere at the countdown at Champ-Elysees Street (near Arc de Triomphe) was wonderful. The street was crowded with people and snack trucks. However, we (I blame my friend for that actually) decided to switch to Tower Eiffel at the last minute and it was a terrible idea. Turned out there were few people and almost no celebration…So keep this in mind in case anyone will make the same mistake. Arc De Triomphe at Countdown January (Brussels, Amsterdam) We arrived at Lille at early January and settled in my dormitory. There were almost no lessons until the end of January. I spent a few days dealing with stuffs like sim card and bank accounts. In the meantime, I went Brussels, but it turned out to be quite boring. We also visited Amsterdam. The city is notorious of prostitution and marijuana. You can smell cannabis every other street. Despite that, the streets are actually very safe and we didn’t encounter any crime activities. It was a beautiful city and the food in Saturday market is amazing. Poffertjes, Mini Pancakes that taste like heaven Amsterdam February (Manchester, London) February is a bit busy comparing to January, but the workload is still close to nothing comparing to HKUST. I assume no one is interested in my courses anyway. I visited the Old Trafford (stadium of Manchester United) to watch Manchester United playing against Chelsea. Despite I am not a great football fan, it was a wonderful experience. I watched the match in the VIP box and had my lunch there. The food was fine and unlimited alcohol was served. The service was very good. Inner view of the VIP Box, Old Trafford After Manchester, I went London for a short visit. It somehow looks like Hong Kong. The Chinese food in London China Town is among the bests in Europe, I recommend the restaurant ‘Four Seasons’ in China town for authentic Cantonese food. March (Bruges) School started to get busier in March. I still managed to take a short trip to Bruges, Belgium during the free time. It was quite a beautiful small town. We spent one day there and it was pretty enough to see everything. Bruges April (Barcelona, Madrid, Venice, Florence, Rome, London, Paris) From late March to early April there was a two-week Easter holiday before the exams. I visited Barcelona and Madrid. This was one of the best trips I had in Europe. The seafood and the food market are amazing. There are also many wonderful architectures that worth a visit. The only concern is that the additional tourist taxes and entry fees of attractions made the trip quite costly. Toledo, Spain Paella, Barcelona San Miguel Market, Madrid In late April my sister came to Europe. Fortunately, my dormitory had enough space and an extra bed for a visitor to stay. I skipped a few lessons and had a long trip with her. We visited Italy and went all the way from Venice to Florence and then Rome. Italy was beautiful but a bit below my expectation. Streets were dirty and under-developed, a bit similar to China in the past decade. The Burano Island near Venice has those colorful little houses, a perfect place for stunning photos. Burano, Venice The food in Italy is reasonably priced and generally tasty. I didn’t have any particularly bad experiences about food in Italy. Venice, Italy Then, we went up to London. One of the most remarkable experiences we had is watching the musical ‘Phantom of the Opera’. We spent around 90 Pound per person for front seats and it was definitely worth it. From the front seat we could see the live orchestra playing the instrumental music under the stage, Her Majesty's Theatre, London which was much more delicate than digital version. We also had amazing steaks at Maze by Gordon Ramsay, a nice and classy British High Tea at Fortnum & Mason, and a delicious meal at the Borough market. We also went up the Shard, the tallest building in London, to have a drink under the view of the whole London. Afternoon High Tea, Fortnum & Mason, London Fishworks, London The Shard, London Tower bridge, London (Credit to IPhone 8) London Eye, London Paris was our final stop, we did some shopping and tried some nice food. Grilled Seafood Platter, Pedra Alta, Paris Foie Gras Ravioli, Le Comptoir Escargots with Parsley Garlic Confit de Canard, Paris De la Gastronomie, Paris Butter, L'escargot Montorgueil, Paris May (Geneva, Bern, Interlaken, Mountain Jungfrau, Grindelwald, Zurich) Exam period was in mid May. After exam I visited Switzerland, the most beautiful place I have ever been. We went all the way from Geneva, Bern, Interlaken, Mountain Jungfrau, Grindelwald up to Zurich. The view is stunning. Mountain Jungfrau was a must-go despite being a bit pricy. We spent a nice afternoon in a boat trip in Interlaken. I also tried paragliding in Grindelwald and it was really a fun, once in a life time experience. Jungfrau Joch, Switzerland Interlaken, Switzerland Switzerland’s currency is CHF, not Euro. However, credit card can be used almost everywhere to pay by Euro and I didn’t have to take too much CHF with me. Switzerland is wonderful but also expensive. I spent around 13K HKD in total (accommodation included) for 8 days. Jungfrau Joch, Switzerland Bern, Switzerland June (Guildford, Brighton, Bicester Village, London, Paris) My flight back to Hong Kong was from Gatwick Airport, London in late June. UK was the final stop of my exchange journey. I visited my friends in Guildford and went Brighton, Bicester Village, and London once again. All my friends from Hong Kong flied back before mid June. Tuna Tartare, Beef Wellington and Roasted Cod Heddon Street Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay, London General Exchange Information Visa Procedures To study in France, Hong Kong students would need to apply for a Study Visa. The application includes two parts, an academic interview at Campus France and the actual visa application in General Consulate of France. The academic interview is compulsory for the application. Student must book online for document submission for application and then send another email to Campus France to book for the interview. The Visa takes at least 2 weeks to prepare. It is recommended to prepare at least one month in advance. Orientation Activities Before the official start of the semester, the international student office in EDHEC would hold some orientation activities for international students to know one another. There will also be a presentation prepared by the office for an overview of the school in terms of academy, recreation, facilities, etc. In the following days, there will also be support for students concerning bank accounts and insurance. International Services & Activities For common exchange student problems, the International Student Office would be there to give advices. Also, a student association called Open Up would be holding a series of activities for exchange students, including a pub crawl, short trips, movie nights, and farewell parties. Accommodations There are a few choices of accommodations near EDHEC. EDHEC does not provide accommodation itself. For on-campus accommodation, students would need to contact Sergic Residence. Sergic also provides a few other options near EDHEC. For me, I lived in a off-campus residence, 15 minutes walk to EDHEC. There are two kinds of rooms, kot and studio. For a kot, students would have their own single bedrooms with private toilets, while the kitchen would be shared by 8 people. The rent was around 440 Euro per month. On the other hand, the studio would be slightly bigger than the kot room with an open kitchen and wardrobe. The rent was 490 Euro per month. I chose to live in a studio. Sharing kitchen could be troublesome since other foreign students might not wash their dishes and just leave them in the sink instead. From my observation, the public kitchens (of my friends’ kot) usually had a very bad hygiene condition with flies everywhere and the sink was usually blocked. Other residents might also use others’ plates and grab others’ food/seasoning. Courses Registration There is no add/drop period in EDHEC like HKUST. All the procedures would be finished while students are still in Hong Kong. Exchange students would receive the course list provided by EDHEC. Students would need to hand in your learning agreement to the school after the approval of UST exchange office one to two months before the exchange. EDHEC would then register the courses for the exchange students. Teaching & Assessment Methods Attendance is compulsory for all courses. After the first two absences, each absence would deduct 2 marks from overall grade (total 20 marks). Teaching notes can be found on BlackBoard, an online platform similar to Canvas. Usually no textbook is needed. One interesting thing is that the timetable varies every week and there are no fixed classrooms for particular courses. It is therefore important to check the schedule every week in order not to miss a lecture.