It’s pretty cliché to write about the differences between your host country and the United States, but that’s pretty much the point of going abroad: to be somewhere different. So, despite your protests, I’m going to write some more about cultural differences. I’m going to compare the college experience of a Dickinson student and a French student. Obviously I am not trying to speak for all Dickinson students or all French students, as my current expertise is rooted only in a month and a half of studies. But, it’ll give you a rough estimate.

First of all, I study at l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques (IEP), which is the political science college here in Toulouse. I take three classes; two of the classes have about 150 students, and the third has 30. The professor walks into the amphitheater, turns on the microphone and proceeds to lecture nonstop for two and a half hours. She doesn’t pause, doesn’t ask for questions and doesn’t ask if what she’s saying is clear. She just goes, and when the clock runs out she walks back out of the class and we all leave. As you can see, this is not Dickinson College.

Also on the academic side, I barely have any homework. I have to keep up with current events and read a pertinent document every now and then, but other than that I have no homework. There is one final exam at the end of the semester, and that is my only grade. Unlike Dickinson, I don’t have to read chapters of a textbook (oh, and no textbooks) and there are no projects or biweekly essays. This is a perk if you ask me, but it is important to remember that my grade is based on one exam and one exam only.

Interestingly, French students traditionally go to school in their hometown or close to it; it is rare to travel great distances to go to college, as we do in the United States. Thus, none of the students live on campus. In fact, there is no “campus” per se. No academic quad, no Morgan Field. Just the building, the parking lot and the sidewalk. And this isn’t just at IEP; this is most of the schools in the area.

Sciences-Po, as the school is nicknamed, is a single building on an unassuming street. It shares a library and a cafeteria with a neighboring university. There is no gym, no bookstore, no social hall and no varsity sports teams. And this is what seems to be the defining feature of the universities in Toulouse: they are very barebones. You go to college to get an education, and that’s it. You can play casually for a club sports team, or use a community-based gym, but other than that the school doesn’t have much to offer. Some student associations will put on events from time to time, but it pales in comparison to the offerings from MOB or the Event Advisory Board, for example.

Of course, we all know that Dickinson is recognized for its small class sizes, its plethora of student groups and organizations and the beautiful school grounds. It’s almost the exact opposite of Sciences-Po. But that doesn’t mean I dislike my French school. On the contrary, I feel lucky to be going here because it has shown me a different system against which I can compare my own academic experiences. Yes, it’s been very different than Dickinson, but it has provided me with a new perspective on education on general, and being here has forced me to develop skills I haven’t exercised before, like sitting through a 150-minute lecture.