Coralie and Alex | 2 French students from Lycée Libergier (Reims) to Albeda College

6 months in The Netherlands - 2014

My name is Coralie, I’m 20 years old and I’m studying international trade in the Hugues Libergier highschool in Reims. During the first months of this formation, our teachers tell us that we have the opportunity to spend our second semester abroad, and after continue with our 2 months of internship. They told us about the exchange with Albeda College in Rotterdam, and I was very interested but, I have to admit it, a little bit afraid. I spoke with my parents, with the teachers and with Erwin, a second year student who already done this experience last year. With all those information and support, I took the decision to do it! And now I can say that I really don’t regret it … It was something incredible, and I learned a lot. It’s a chance which was given to us; I discovered another culture, language, way of thinking and working during 5 months… It was not very easy at the beginning, because a lot of things were different, but everyone was there to help us to succeed. And I already learned a lot about myself, how to work all by myself and to learn from it, and to conciliate the work for Albeda and for my school in Reims. It was 3 months of hard work, but I’m proud of what I’ve done and I think I gave my best. This experience also helped me to improve my English skills, my intellectual skills and showed me that I could be totally autonomous, even in a foreign country. It was an experience I will never forget, it allowed me to open my mind even more than it already was, and moreover gave me even more the envy to discover new things, new countries, new cultures as well as new people.