“Since you’ve been studying in mainland France, you’ve been stressed all the time! »

The first time I set foot in metropolitan France, I was 17 years old. It was in 2018, and until then, I had never left Reunion Island. I had just obtained my baccalaureate, and I was going to join a first year of a license in French-English law at the University of Bordeaux. I thought I had covered everything I had to see in Reunion – which has the same proportions as a mainland French department – ​​and I wanted to see new horizons, enrich myself with new experiences. And then, this type of course was not offered on the island.

As soon as I was accepted on Parcoursup, in May, we started looking for accommodation with my parents. As we were not there, our file was refused each time. Finally, we went through a friend of the family who had an acquaintance within a real estate agency. I landed in a student residence in Pessac, a few steps from the university campus. In the photos, everything looked new and ideal. When I arrived, I found that the studio was on the ground floor of the residence, on the road side.

This first year in France, I experienced it as a disappointment. I had a lot of trouble acclimatizing. I was alone, far from home. I had a hard time getting used to the cold and the rain, I who had only known a stable thermometer all year round, and temperatures that rarely drop below 22°C.

“It’s not easy to make friends”

It was not easy to make friends. I was challenged by the questions I was asked, between ignorance and sometimes unwelcome “humor”. “Do you have Wi-Fi on your island? But then, you live in cabins? Did you “come to France” so as not to end up a farmer at home? » In the neighborhood of Pessac where I lived, I did not feel safe. I was also the victim of a burglary a few weeks after my arrival. Certain accusations of rape on campus fueled an anxiety-provoking climate. Even with little financial means at the time, I always took an Uber when I came home from a party, just so I wouldn’t have to walk alone, even if my walk was only about ten minutes. I never reasoned like that in Reunion.

As soon as the confinement was announced in 2020, I returned to Reunion. I was thus able to study the entire second year of my BTS in an equivalent course

In terms of studies, on the other hand, I managed to find my way. During my first year, I discovered an appetite for real estate, a field in which my mother also works. I moved to Toulouse the following year to follow a BTS in real estate professions. In terms of climate, I preferred Toulouse to Bordeaux. But as soon as the confinement was announced in 2020, I returned to Reunion. I was thus able to study the entire second year of my BTS in an equivalent course, on the Saint-Denis campus. Back home, at first I had trouble disconnecting from the metropolis. I felt more “hard” in my way of being, but also sadder. “You have changed mentallyrepeated my relatives. Since your time in France, you’ve been stressed all the time, you look like a Parisian! »

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