Transportation

May 23, 2017

Public transportation in France is really convenient and straightforward. From our short time in Paris, it was easy to notice that most people use the metro to get around. Usually, the trains arrive at a particular stop every 3 minutes or so and you do not have to wait long at all to get on a train. The one con about public transportation in Paris is that during rush hour the trains get extremely full, and you may have to wait for several trains to go by before finding any space to get on one. This can be especially annoying if you are in a rush to get somewhere.

In Annecy, I use the bus to get to and from class every morning. Most of us use the Annecy train station as a reference point because there is a bus stop right next to it. From there, it is about a four-minute walk to the school. One frustrating thing about public transportation in Annecy is that the main buses usually don’t run on Sundays. This is a bit inconvenient because the weekends are great for exploring the city and shopping due to the significant free time we have. Other than this little inconvenience, the public transportation in Annecy is great!

Ultimately, using public transportation is an awesome experience because you get to experience how people get around everyday (which might be different from what you are used to). You also get to mingle with the locals and practice speaking the native language.

** MY TIP FOR GETTING AROUND IN A FOREGIN COUNTRY: Use public transportation or walk!
You’ll be surprised at how much and how quickly you learn about your surroundings and the people. You’ll fit in quicker than you could ever imagine!

Written By

Richard Nzekwu

Hello! My name is Richard Nzekwu and I am from Nigeria. I am going into my fourth year at Northeastern, with a major in International Affairs and a minor in French. I am especially excited at the prospect of studying French culture through movie comedy. As an avid film lover, I consider this a very interesting way to study the culture, and I am confident that the experience will impact me profoundly. I also would like to practice my spoken French in order to achieve significant fluency by the end of the program. My goals for studying abroad are to learn and appreciate the differences between my culture and others, and to gain autonomy and confidence in a different culture. One fun fact about myself is that although I am an International Affairs major (and HATE math), my dream job is to work for NASA and become an astronaut. I am extremely interested in traveling, nature, trying new foods, taking pictures, and meeting people from different backgrounds and nationalities! I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoyed making it!