The end of the French experience

I went to Grenoble - France thinking about staying 8 months, but I ended up staying one year and a half.
Although I didnt like to live in Grenoble for the first months, later on I got its pace of life and at the end I really liked to live there. This is who we could blame the change on perception:

My beloved Métro-Vélo (city bicyle)

The first part of my staying there was the time of the University. I went to Grenoble Graduate School of Business to undertake a master degree on Innovation, Strategy and Entrepreneurship. I have to admit that I was not very pleased at the beginning with some things about the program. But later I realized that it all went good, there were great challenges and I got to know and to work with amazing people. I am glad I can say I also made some good friends besides getting a different view of the world through the things learnt.

Some of the mates at the end of the program

When you think your time is over and you still meet AMAZING people! <3 these girls

My beloved Colombian crew <3

Getting a bike was a complete change on my staying there (actually I got two different bikes). The new bike came together with a change of circumstances: After I finished classes I started my internship right away at the beginning of the summer.

I wont deny my nerd tendencies, so when I am in school I become kind of a freak for the studies, it doesnt happen the same with internships though. I got more time for myself, no more homeworks, no more stress for group work and all that stuff... In simple words the quality of my life increased dramatically. I had a fixed schedule for work, I went to some French classes and I hada pair of bikes to move around pretty easily and to enjoy the beauty of the Alps during the weekends:

A lake 25km away from Grenoble

Le Neron. a mountain in front of Grenoble

I got pretty addicted to my bicycle, and thanks to that I accomplished one of the things I am most proud of: I ascended the Alpe D'Huez, on the the most mythic ascending in the world of the cycling.

At the top of the Alpe D'Huez

Other things I did in France: Snowboarding (I broke a rib btw), I went to the celebration of the 14th of July, I traveled to Italy, UK, Ireland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, India, Israel, Palestine, Turkey and Romania. I went to Cirque du Soleil, I went to a football match of the Champions League ( PSG vs Porto) and another one of the Italian Calcio in Milan (Inter of Milan vs Juventus of Turin).

The matters of personal growth are tough to measure and thus tough to talk about them. Nevertheless I feel the time in France was as enriching as the one in Hungary. I lived first sharing a flat (which I think is one of the best things that make you grow personally) and later I lived just by myself in a little flat (which I LOVED!). I met two amazing girls and got the beautiful change to stay with them at two very different stages of my staying in France (the beginning and the end). The internship I found was also a perfect fit for my profile at that point (A consultancy firm in marketing of innovation and hi-tech, and I worked on a project related with electronics) I had a great boss and colleague.

I would say that 2012 was a year in which I learned the most about myself than in a lot of time before. I got (or I put to myself) a lot of pressure and accomplished interesting things.

All in all, I would say that the only negative thing about my time in France is that I didn't learn French fluently enough, besides that, everything was great and again, better that expected. I just have to say:

Merci La France!

et MERCI GRENOBLE!!!