Candice and Arthur, engineering students at UniLaSalle Rouen, tell us about their GoLaSalle exchange semester in León, in the heart of Mexico. A fascinating cross between anecdotes, advice and feedback!
For this first stop on our world tour of exchange semesters, let's go to the Mexican region of Bajío, home to the large city of León. Candice spent six months there during her GoLaSalle (international university exchange semester at the start of her third year of study). On her return, she talked about it with Arthur, just before he left too. We caught up with Arthur on his return, to discuss his experience and look back at some of the unexpected advice Candice gave him!
A semester in León, and in the Universidad DeLaSalle Bajío.
GoLaSalle is a great opportunity for students to practice their language skills! So if Candice chose Mexico, it wasn't just for the sun and the change of scenery, but also to be able to speak Spanish with native speakers: “What I was really looking for was a Spanish-speaking country, far enough away to be able to travel a lot, like in Latin America”. A sentiment shared by Arthur, for whom language was a major asset!
When it comes to courses, Candice describes a very practical university: “The theory is super simple, but they put everything into practice. On the school's 7 ranches, you can apply everything you learn in class”. Indeed, for Arthur, who had chosen courses focusing on plant production, it was also a real change of gear in terms of teaching! It was both “challenging to do everything in Spanish” and “exciting to be able to spend two days a week on the school's farms”. Similarly, group work is valued, so making new friends was a natural fit: “We met a lot of people, especially a lot of Mexicans”.
Experimenting with ways of doing things other than those of UniLaSalle was the opportunity at the start of their third year. Arthur tells us: “It was very interesting to see how different their farming techniques are, and therefore to see what we could bring to the table! It's a unique experience that opens up their horizons as they prepare to choose their Master's degree, and may well lead them to consider returning abroad during their engineering studies."
GoLaSalle: an opportunity for cultural discovery
A change of scenery, different courses, encounters - the whole GoLaSalle experience revolves around cultural discovery and integration. On her arrival, Candice, like Arthur, was immediately welcomed by a foreign student integration association, who were able to give her all the advice she needed to have a magical semester. With them, she was able to visit the city, meet other international students and discover the region's nightlife.
The curiosities don't stop with arrival during this semester. Our two students describe Mexican students who are keen to have them try and discover lots of different things during their exchange; whether it's beaches, neighboring towns or Dia de Los Muertos. The most exotic for Candice was to taste a Habanero pepper... and nothing else! “Everyone ended up in tears, with their throats on fire, plus I had the good idea of rubbing my eyes afterwards...” she tells us, still laughing. An experience that Arthur didn't repeat on hearing this! As for Arthur, he traveled a lot, especially with the other Lasallian students he went with: “Experiences like that really bring you closer together, you really get to know each other."
And last but not least: “Don't forget to pack a good k-way! It rains almost more than in Normandy over there”, recommended Candice.
The GoLaSalle is an opportunity for UniLaSalle students to discover each other, network and build strong friendships, all the while acquiring new knowledge through teaching that is very often different from their initial engineering training.
For our next stop, bundle up, we're heading back to Europe under the Swedish northern lights!
Find out more about our training courses in Rouen
An article written by Zoé Lopeze and Jules Houplon, engineering students at UniLaSalle Rouen.
