Welcome ULIP blog readers of 2018-2019!

Kameni (SU President) and Charles (SU Vice-President) here to kick off this year’s blog by giving you a run-down of what’s occurring currently and of some exciting plans on the horizon.
We hope that you have all had splendid summer holidays and now that freshers’ is over, are ready to start the new academic year with a bang!

Announcements:

• This year, all students, (not just BA1s) will receive 5 euros on their printing cards. Unfortunately, free printing would not be feasible in the coming year, therefore 5 euros should contribute to printing out your lovely assignments.
• The SU have had a great time organising and holding Coffee Meet and Greet sessions with the Student Services and staff before freshers’ week we seemed to go down a treat.
• Spanish lessons will be continuing from last year, so if you want to get involved, make sure you speak to the SU to find out more.
• Our Annual General Meeting is on the 1st October so don’t forget to come along to that to hear about societies, officer roles and how we’re improving the Constitution. It’s another great chance for you to have your say.

Campaigns:
There are some campaigns lined up for you this year, the week of 22nd of October will be ‘Mind your head’ week, the week will be based around Mental health and where you can find resources online and in Paris. The SU has teamed up with Christopher Butler, our counsellor who will be doing a mental health talk and holding counselling sessions that week.
Continuing from last year’s successes of the Dites-Nous campaign, we will be holding this before the end of the first semester, so that the SU can work on implementing some positive changes over the Christmas holidays before and during your arrival in January.
Finally, during the Second semester we will hold a campaign on Diversity and Inclusion. In addition to this, we are introducing a Diversity and Inclusion officer this year, something the SU felt appropriate with the changing dynamics of ULIP with the BA International Politics course. This officer will be getting involved in the campaign week as well as promoting awareness around the university on this topic.

Opportunities:
We’re on the look-out for a new blog writer! If you feel like you’d enjoy writing about your experiences in Paris for a monthly blog post then please contact su.vicepresident@ulip.lon.ac.uk . If you scroll down you can see examples from last year.
There are also plenty of Officer roles up for grabs such as:
Social Space, Environmental and Ethics, Technology and Diversity and Inclusion.
More info about these will be revealed at the AGM and it’ll be made clear how to apply.
That’s all for now but stay tuned to what’s happening by following us on twitter (@ULIPSU) and facebook!
All the best,
Kameni and Charles

January 2018 marks one year since I moved to Paris and joined ULIP as part of my semester abroad. Until then I had been studying at King’s College London for a year and a half and at that point, I was definitely ready for the French adventure I had been anticipating for long before I started university. It was within the first two weeks here that I knew I preferred the ULIP life and not too long after this I decided to transfer as a full time student abroad. I still get asked from time to time what it was that made me leave behind the hustle and bustle of London and to be honest, the list of reasons is relatively exhaustive. The differences between student life in London and Paris are staggering, but also, of course, subjective. I decided to take some time to compile comparisons between the two from my personal experience, so bear this in mind as I take you through the some of my thoughts about student life in London versus student life in Paris.

1. There are just less than 9 million people in London and around 2 million in Paris-of course, Paris is smaller but nonetheless, I can tell the difference. Funnily enough, I didn’t realise how uncomfortable in crowds I felt until I moved over here and took a breath of the fresh Parisian smog. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve always been a city girl: growing up in the country put me off the smell of manure, shockingly. But the move from Bristol to London was jarring, more so than I ever thought it would be. Isn’t it ironic how being surrounded by so many people can make you feel so alone and so small? For me, Paris is a happy medium, between my home city and London, with enough vitality to let your hair down at a gig on the weekends until whatever hour in the morning, but never as suffocating as rush hour at Holborn tube station on a Monday morning.

 

1. One of the most appealing aspects of ULIP would definitely be the community that exists here. Forgive the cliché but I’m a people-person: I thrive on being around others, so the social part of student life is extremely important to me. This posed a problem, however, when I was studying at King’s. To give some perspective, there are around 27,600 students across the KCL five campuses. You may think that more students equals more friends, but to be honest, it means that it is difficult to build friendships when you rarely have more than one or two lectures with the same people. At ULIP, I find comfort in seeing familiar faces every day, something I didn’t realise I needed until I didn’t have it. The personable aspect of ULIP has changed me, I’m so much more confident and comfortable over here and I know my family and friends at home can see this change in me. I’m very thankful for that.

1. We all know the financial struggle of being a student in a capital city, but believe it or not, it could be worse. Rent over here is not cheap by any means, but compared to the £800 squat-like room I was living in last year in Whitechapel, I’m thrilled with the flat I’m currently in, a stone’s throw from Saint-Lazare station for ‘only’ 600€ a month. Of course, the green-eyed monster still rears it’s ugly head every now and then when my friends studying in Cardiff or Sheffield mention their rent, but I just have to remind myself how lucky I am to be studying and living over here. Ça en vaut la peine!

 

1. This final point goes without saying but I’m going to mention it anyway: my French is so much better than when I was living in London. Living in France means that every time I leave the building in the morning (or afternoon, to be fair) I’m practising my French. Yes, London is extremely multi-cultural and there are many French people studying at King’s, but nothing compares to literally immersing yourself fully into French culture. Friends still studying at King’s, who were with me on the semester abroad at ULIP mention the difference in my accent in particular, which is something I don’t notice because the change is gradual. Plus, its always fun to add to my repertoire of l’argot, which isn’t really on the curriculum! 

It is worth mentioning that I’m not setting out to talk badly of King’s or London life in the slightest, merely organising my own thoughts and reasons behind moving to Paris. It is safe to say that after becoming a full-time ULIP student, I haven’t looked back and have been able to live out my dream of experiencing la vie parisienne and sometimes it is important to take a moment to be grateful for how things have turned out so far in life. To quote the blockbuster hit La Haine, ‘jusqu’ici, tout va bien’.

​by Annie Birchall 

Good news! The housing gods eventually granted some sweet generosity, shining their great light upon me and allowing the much-awaited farewell to a [not so] “homeless” Chelsea to follow in hot pursuit. In short, I have an apartment, which I am yet to move into. 


Your prying inquisition may have spurred the thought “isn’t seeking the same as finding?”. Well technically… yes, but as it were “finding” can be translated into being the desired conclusion of “seeking”. Or, perhaps “The Founding” as a penultimate title to my series sounded unsettlingly bizarre for my taste- the world may never know. Unfortunately, my dear friends, the gags and ranting will be kept to a minimum: “finding” is indeed the most important stage of the entire accumulation process, this requires a said level of ma-tu-ri-ty.


The listing for this particular apartment was advertised on my good old pal Le Bon Coin where I was obliged to call the provided number for more enquiries. It is important to understand that during the week, the French spend their days at work to return home between six or seven in the evening; except Fridays when they prefer to lounge at nearby cafés post-work, chinking their wine glasses incessantly and toasting to having survived another long five days in a 35-hour employment contract. Saturdays, despite the exhaustive escapades of last night, French(wo)men are at their most animate, either fulfilling the most trivial of responsibilities or immersing into cultural activities, and Sundays they laze around eating home-cooked meals. So, this gives you a slight indication as to when they will be available/willing to answer your call… which is never (but in all seriousness, be strategic with the timing of your phone calls, especially during the weekday, otherwise you will be thoroughly disappointed and frustrated with the results). 


The landlord needs to feel assured that you are a polished and reliable candidate perfect enough for their property, so preparation, politeness and professionalism is key:

• Even before you call any prospects, it would be a great start to have prepared questions that you need answered or clarified e.g. “how much is the security deposit”, “are there any charges that I need to know about?”, “is internet included in the rent”, “are utility bills include in the rent or are they separate?”, “what is included in the apartment?”, “are there any rules I need to abide by or conditions I need to meet?”
• Make sure your dossier is airtight beforehand, and be prepared to be asked about the content of you and your guarantor’s documents, know it inside out
• When on the phone, remember to be polite and friendly with a hint of professionalism but not too stoic, you do not want to come across as stand-offish or annoying 
• Mention that you are an international student, it could work to your advantage!
• If you do not understand something, ask, make sure you are leaving the phone call satisfied
• If you manage to bag yourself a viewing, double check you have all the right information, search and visit the address beforehand if you can to avoid getting lost on the actual day

So, let us whizz past the unnecessary in-betweens and skip to viewing day. You will find that wearing a suit and tie to the viewing is rather “extra”. Frankly, I turned up in a construction-chic inspired outfit; dungarees, scuffed Doc Martens, a green hoodie, and I was fine. As long as you do not turn up dressed as Pennywise’s estranged cousin then I think you will be quite alright. Landlords are likely to feel confident in a candidate who exudes inquisitive and positive charms, so if you are interested in the apartment ask a lot of questions, and put on your best theatrics, you know, the one you once had at the zealous age of fourteen. Oooooh-ing and ahhhhh-ing with marvel at the place, whether it resembles Shrek’s bungalow or not, is the most obvious indication of intrigue. Although, do keep in mind that you are not a resident of Albert Square, you are but a humble international student looking for decent accommodation in Paris. Mr M, our landlord, was very sweet but he also had an air of being an accomplished, no-nonsense type of man, so I chatted leisurely with him whilst asking relevant questions and… well… the rest is history. 


Firstly, I do want to apologise because I feel like this post is firstly, very long, and secondly, more of an instructive recount rather than a rant, but I wanted to be a lot more informative this time round, especially since the “finding” stage is essentially the difference between you having a place to live or not. Succinctly, staying polite, professional and organised doesn’t guarantee you that, however it is, in my opinion, the effective approach towards apartment accumulation. And honestly, being pleasant and polished never really hurt anyone. 

by Chelsea Bondzanga
 

​

Another year and another successful Tower to Tower Bike Ride has been completed. 9 days, 6 riders and approximately 600 miles peddled. 

We all set off from the Eiffel Tower at 4am on the 1st June, buzzing full of adrenaline, apprehensive but incredibly excited for the journey ahead. The next 9 days were full of ups and downs as we trailed our way to the Dieppe port and then climbed our way up through England to the famous Blackpool Tower. 

From Callum’s knee getting ‘healed’ on the side of the A49 in a bacon sarnie selling bus by ‘Mad Lisa’ to Laura getting stuck at a campsite for 4 hours with a leopard print dressing gown wearing man to all of Luke’s crazy but wonderful stories, we made some incredible memories that will last forever. 

Huge shoutout to the best team in the world. Sophie, Callum, Luke, Jacc & Alice you are all champions. Louie, you made the greatest (and classiest) T2T driver and of course Laura, we couldn’t have done it without your constant bubbly & morale boosting support. 

Thank you to Ella Rickard, Emma Pinder & Andrew Morgan who were all crazy enough to come and see us off at the Eiffel Tower at 4am! 

I want to say a special thanks to many people who without them, this bike ride wouldn’t have happened. A huge thank you to: The Fishers, The Wades, Neil & Helen Boyle, The Gilby’s, The Starling’s, my family (Claire, Paul, Michelle & Phoebe) and Jean & Phillip Johnson. 

I also would like to make a special mention to two amazing guys who have put their heart & soul into making this bike ride over the past three years. We promise to keep it going and your legacy will live on Callum & Mike!

​Ellie