Review for International Students : Residence Olympique in Montpellier, France by CROUS RESIDENCE

 Hi everybody,

Greetings~

Hope you are all doing amazing in this middle of pandemic era. The world is getting better and healing.

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If you followed my blog and my page, maybe some of you already knew that I studied in Montpellier for my master degree (finishing soon). I would love to contribute something to the community which I am talking about the student these days and certainly for those who have wish to continue their study in Montpellier or France one day. So, today I would like to review the place where I were staying for 3 semesters (almost), it is the Residence Olympique by CROUS Residence. In case for those of you who are questioning what is this 'CROUS Residence', here is one quote that I took from Campus France site :

"In France, the Crous (centre régional des oeuvres universitaires et scolaires) is a network of student residences spread out across the country’s mid-to-larger cities and is organized according to region. Each region (though not all) typically has several Crous residences per city and works with local universities to provide affordable living spaces for students, typically single-rooms and studios."

Yes, so ta~da, as mentioned above, you did see the most attractive word, did you not ? Yeah, affordable lol. That is the word which attracted me to stay in CROUS and frankly speaking it was also because the choice for me as a scholarship holder to be privileged in CROUS Residence.. (Well, I don't know why exactly was it called a privilege but based on what I heard, it was difficult to get one as it is limited and due to many demands from other students as well, so lucky me!) Anyway, if you are thinking also to get one just because of that word, I suggest you to think twice eventhough you got an offer, because it will decide how you will live your life for the next one year (based on contract). Let me tell you why :

Yes, affordable is affordable for sure, it is cheaper, but do not forget cheaper will definitely affects quality and since I am not staying in a new CROUS residence, which they said it is quite old like 20-30 years building. So let me starts from the beginning, when I moved here.. As mentioned before I came by the landlord or residence manager (whichever you call them), the room is unfurnished except there is already a single bed provided, a study table, a cupboard and a cabinet, a mini refrigerator and that's all. The toilet part, I quite like it, in my place it was not that modern but at least there are spaces and most importantly, BATHTUB, cause I love to dip on hot warm water once in a time to relax myself, lol (sorry for getting too personal in a sudden XD). Continue, they also have this mini kitchen, which is surely mini good for one person, you can cook enough things by yourself, though sometimes i feel i need more space for my stuffs lol. So please beware when they said it is a mini kitchen, it is surely A MINI ONE ! It was the electric stove (electric plate) and it was not bad for it's heating quality but ventilation does not circulate that well so beware of food odours or smelles in the room unless you open the window and door widely. Mini refrigerator works so well despite of the small spaces it has!

So on my first semester, I did stay in a smaller room where i had the chance to move to another bigger room my next semester as it was full when I moved the first time. For the small room, I paid around 380 euro excludes electricity charge (water charge was included already) and for the bigger room, around 405 euro. The difference is the bigger room has a big balcony where you can hang off your laundries which is effective for me. Because laundry outside house means more expenses and you might want to save more, don't you :D Oh, do not forget in France you have the aid from the government body called CAF to pay your accommodation fees where it is totally favorable for students :3 So, do not forget to apply to them once you get your residence certificate. Ok, back to subject : How about the view, I would say it is not too bad indeed, well at least for me I got a enough beautiful landscape with many trees and since it is not the main road, so i have a very peaceful ambience in my room. The corridors are not that modern since it is an old building so it makes much sense, and there are lifts in each building so if you stay in the 6th floor (the highest) do not worry, you can still take your groceries up easily. Though, one thing to notice, the heater is small one in each room and it is not that fast functioning and effective in the room means you have to turn them on for some time maybe 10 minutes which is not that problem. The real problem is, there was once few periods the apartment's heaters are totally not functioning at all and it was during WINTER !! Everybody was complaining they were frozen, well, lucky me I have a small heater machine from my Japanese friend, Marika (I should mention her name her) but yeah beware of that too before moving, cause it will surely affect your life badly if you do not have any heater during winter. Then, regarding ventilation, it was not that good too, so you must be prepared during the winter it is too cold and during summer it is too hot. I think summer should be alright, at least for me, people who came from tropical country but WINTER is definitely a challenge in this residence and tell you what, even the European people I knew who were staying in this residence they have difficulties living in the winter as it gets too cold in this residence, so please keep in mind to buy a small heater just in case it happens again! The toilet is all good, eventhough I felt it is not that modern and fast flow for the water current. Regarding location, it was not that far from campus and near to the city center too (10-15 mins by tram).

So it really depends on what your preference but here are some photos those I can share with you for your considerations, I hope it helps :

View from my first room during the night

Me in my studio room with balcony behind the curtain

The room panorama view

The room

View from Balcony (right side)

Me shirtless from my balcony XD

View from the 6th floor hallway

Another consideration by staying with CROUS is there are many offers during your stay, for example during the pandemic I think I got around like 10 invitation of groceries offer for FREE ! it is like a little aid for the students but still if you do not stay in CROUS, you are not prioritised as they always have sessions for public and sessions for CROUS residents only ! so if you stay in CROUS, you might get more of it! Then, today CROUS also assign a person in each residence to help you with anything related to the residence, they are like the student apartment representative, they can help you to report to CROUS manager.

One more important thing to check before you move in to the apartment is to check all the things condition as it is and keep note because they might charge you for something that is not, for example for me, it was the bed sheet it has mark on it where I did not even realize if it was my fault cause I never spoil any sauce above it. And they required you to clean the apartment 100% as you moved out so you must also pay attention to the floor and wall condition, cause they might charge you if there was unnoticed mark on the first day and it was written good condition on the inventory list check.

Lastly, If i were given the chance to give a rate for the apartment, I would give 2.5 out of 5 where I think they definitely can improve a lot of things in the apartment and I somehow suggest you to find private apartment if you did not have the chance to get newer apartment from the CROUS. Well, it was not that I regret staying there for 3 semesters but it is just I found out I can get a better value if I stay outside. Nevertheless, it was not a bad choice since it is nearby the campus (University of Montpellier Triolet campus) like 4 stations if I'm not mistaken. Moreover, it is close to Boutonet where the restaurant CROUS is! (which is again, AFFORDABLE, lol!) So, yes it really depends too on your condition and what do you search, if you think you can live well in conditions that I have mentioned above and agree with the rate, location, advantages given, you definitely too won't regret staying at this residence. :) Happy choosing!~ ;)

My personal life experience getting EIFFEL scholarship (French Government Scholarship)

               Today, 4th September 2020, remarks my one year journey studying in France, all the tears and hardworks finally came to a successful first year, YES, I passed my first year with a title and certificate for my master program in International commerce in IAE Montpellier, France. Furthermore, I am doing my internship now in a French small enterprise nearby to Montpellier city. It was totally a remarkable journey, but today I am not going to talk about the journey I had in France but rather the personal hardship I had to go through to get into this journey. It was surely unique, it all started in 2016, where I got news in the Philippines (When I was working there) that Canada is opening immigration program where we can move, work and live there to get a permanent residence one day. That day, I decided to learn the country deeper and I found out they speak two languages there which are French and English. At that time, I was already a fan of Anggun, if you did not know who is she, She is a former Indonesian who is a French singer / superstar now. Inspired by her dedication, I decided to learn French one step by step. I had even stronger motivation when I had the opportunity to meet her during her album promotion in Eastwood city in Manila. But by working and at that time, i was also trying to get scholarship in different country like Australia, New Zealand and even the Indonesian government scholarship to go to UK, I was not capable to focus instead of learning just the basic. Luckily, i sang a lot so some of the words stick in my mind and I became better at memorizing some useful phrases. Since I was also busy working and having this dream to get a scholarship in foreign countries, i said to myself, it is all just good to focus on one purpose, one scholarship to target and give it all out rather than having too many branches but in the end my candida was not strong and competitive. Unluckily (or maybe lucky), I failed to get a scholarship from the Indonesian goverment to study in the UK, by that said I had to go back to Philippines to work right away after the selection. Dissapointed cause I was hoping too much on it already, but my burning spirit is not giving up at all looking for another scholarship. Thought at one point, I realized that probably my contribution to Indonesia once I am graduated is questionable so maybe that was the reason why I was not accepted. But if I had to contemplate what had happened, I am so grateful cause with the scholarship program I have now, we are not forced to do that but rather the contribution is encouraged in any form as long as it has developing purpose and give advancement to the country and the world where my focus in this case was International trade between countries.

          After I had my first failure applying on scholarship, I found out in France that they have these French government scholarships program where I were also interested in applying. So I decided in 2017, just to focus on this one rather than other scholarships in other countries. However, the language was way too complex to learn by myself and when there is nobody to practice with in the Philippines it becoming more complicated than you can imagine. Consequently, in 2018 I quitted my job just to focus on the French language. I got a lot of critics from my family and even from some friends at this rate, they bashed me like I dreamed way too big, like i want to leap out from two stone to another stone in a pond, it's totally risky and having a high failure risk. Moreover, they told me that I was not an alumni from International school and learning new language in a very short length-time is definitely impossible especially when it comes to French. Of course I know that, but I told myself that I rather live giving efforts than giving up without trying. Eventually, I still sticked my nose on it and started having courses from A1 level to B2 level in my hometown, a language institute called Alliance Francaise. Learning intensively around 9 months was definitely exhausting and energy-draining, however I successfully attained my objective which is to pass the DELF B2 French language level on November 2018 that is required at least to apply to French universities (with French modules). After selecting plenty universities, I finally did not choose French modules to go with, I applied only to English one with Montpellier University (IAE Montpellier) for the Commerce International master program. It was only my hope back then, so I prayed everyday to God, I said whatever is the result, I knew that I always had your blessings and supports, at least now I already gave maximum effort to pass the language examination. Though of course, with again, an enormous hope, I still want to make my dream come true, however at some point, I do not want to get too much pressures on my mind, so I try to accept the fact in case if I were not accepted, it is going to be okay too, cause what can we do eventually after applying and just waiting for the application result. Not to forget that I was 25 years old back then and in Asia, somehow man was expected to search for a life partner by this age and marriage, having children were seen as a key of happiness. Also, the truth is people get married sooner as well in Asia compared to Europe, however that is not whole purpose in my life. Of course, I would not lie to myself, I will need love and companion one day, but if I meet the one who I love undeniably with my heart and not just being forced because of age matter. My passion was pre-destined, 'to become a world citizen where I can speak few languages of the world, having a business instinct, live with different cultures, continuous improvement, a better human being, peace-promoting, share more love & kindness and live comfortably'. At least, that was what I convey to the God I believe in, and hoping that I will be given the chance to enrich my knowledge and becoming an inspiring figure (hopefully) one day.

            Talking about the scholarship, the first selection was to pass the University assessment from the administration part first, then continue to the university department where we want to study and finally but not least, forwarded to the French government for the final selection if your application was chosen by the university. Other frightening fact about the scholarship application is also if once you failed the candidature, you are forever banned to apply it again the next and following years. YES FOREVER and EVER ! So basically, it was supposedly my only chance to get in France in one shot or never. The competition was also tight enough, if I was not mistaken, we have around 1600++ candidates for the program at that time. Next, I started selecting university from November 2018 and in December  2018 I made up my mind to go with Montpellier University for my scholarship admission (because you can only choose one university according to the application rules).  I was so impatient to know the result from the start, however the selection process itself takes a very long time from December to March. In March, they announced that the scholarship announcement will be delayed in one more month which at that time, I was already hopeless. Since I can't wait no more and hold with it, I somehow applied some job just to pass time, earn money and see in case if ever I was not accepted for the scholarship, I would have work already by that time.. One, two months passed, I worked in a Palm oil manufacturing company as a field Auditor just to spend some free time and of course learning new things since February 2019 and on April 2019, the announcement day finally came, They published a list of the accepted laureats (scholars) on the CAMPUS FRANCE site and YEAH, MY NAME WAS THERE !! AT THE END OF THE LIST coz my surname comes with the first letter 'Y' so... It was totally dramatic when I was trying to scroll down the 200++ names listed just to find my name on the bottom page. I was crying and hugging my twin brother in the morning founding this announcement, it was definitely hard to believe if I reflect it back on my past. I was actually a failure where I did not pass my first year high school nevertheless, that was actually the turning point where I changed my mindset with everything in life. I reflected a lot and became a totally different person now. Maybe some old habits stay, but better human being is a mere objective till today. :) So if what the proverb said that failure is the key of success, then probably in my case, it is true and I am grateful I had my failure earlier. :)

Oh In case if you guys are asking which scholarship program I was applying ? It is called the Excellence Eiffel Scholarship which was financed by the French government. That year in 2019, I was one of three Indonesians who were listed in the announcement. Lucky me and us :D

I will try to write about my experience studying in France next time, please stay tune and hope you enjoyed my writings ! Thanks for reading  <3

Love,

Steven