From French elective at NTU to dream internship in France: Here’s how one go-getting student did it, imbibing the best of joie de vivre
by Jay Ng
“Che bellezza! Ti giuro, posso rimanere qui per sempre!”
an Italian friend exclaimed when she saw the crystal blue Mediterranean Sea from high up in the hills of Èze.
We were hiking one of the many trails along the Azure Coast near the glorious summer city of Nice. Below us was a quiet beachside town filled with olive-skinned bathers and old couples having their afternoon coffee. Just over the peninsula of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat lay the iconic 10km stretch of silver beach. How did I get here?
Three years ago, in NTU as a freshman, I decided to learn a new language after hitting it off with my Francophone friends on campus, many of whom were Swiss exchange students. Taking French as an unrestricted elective was ideal because it added structured learning on top of the conversational practice I already had. The single most important element in my learning was motivation in the form of daily encouragement from my francophone friends. Every time I learnt something new, I would immediately be able to use it in conversation. It was like eating candy – instant gratification.
Getting a job in France
Three semesters came and went, and all of my friends went back home after their exchange. With the window for the mandatory engineering internship coming up, I decided to go on an adventure. Instead of doing my internship in Singapore as I was supposed to, I went on some job-hunting websites in France to look for start-ups willing to take an ambitious university-level intern.
Being in computer science, I had the huge advantage of a very agile labour market, especially in France. I landed two interviews, for a start-up in Paris and a start-up in Montpellier. I carried through my plan, and locked in a contract with the HR disruptor CodinGame, a dynamic company focused on assessing IT competencies of tech recruits in a novel, gamified format. Getting the contract and visa was a breeze, and took less than a week on the French side. In mid-October, I received all of the papers I needed. I was going to France.
Settling in
My arrival was simple. I spent a week in Paris, then rode a train down to Montpellier. I stayed in a cheap Airbnb in a migrant neighbourhood for a week while I looked for a share flat on local Facebook housing groups. Within two weeks, I had moved into an apartment on the outskirts of the city with a Moroccan guy, got a bicycle for the 10-minute commute to work, and figured out the lay of the land.
Magical Montpellier
Montpellier is a beautiful seaside city with about 250,000 inhabitants. Being one of the largest student cities in France, where more than a third of the population are students, there is no lack of nightlife. I made many friends from cultural events and student hangouts.
On weekends, I cycled downtown to load up on fresh fruits, cheese and local ham from one of the three farmers’ markets, pedalled along a flowery river down to the Mediterranean beaches with my friends, and went on long hikes between stark limestone peaks and lush green valleys of the national park just north of the city. Being on an important railroad link between Marseille and Perpignan meant that there was no lack of travel options. The great southern cities were within two hours of reach, and relaxing beachside towns were a quick 15-minute ride away. The French have truly mastered the joie de vivre – the joy of living.
Write English, speak French
I worked in a techie start-up with Californian work values. This meant agile work practices, lots of flexibility in projects, and good welfare at the office. We updated our products every week. A digital corkboard kept track of all projects, and we could work on whatever project we wanted. The team was incredibly supportive, and through a combination of hard work and consulting their expertise, I was able to pick up a huge variety of skills and best practices.
Our kitchen and gaming/hang-out area in the office was where we would have lunch and play video games together during breaks. We even had a dedicated office manager who organised events in and out of office for the team. My colleagues were all very accommodating, and I never felt any estrangement being the only foreigner on the team.
Language was an interesting issue at the office. All documentation and written correspondence were in English, but outside of the weekly meetings, the spoken language was French. This proved difficult during the first months of my internship, as I couldn’t focus for more than 15 minutes when speaking and listening in French. However, in time, my conversational French greatly improved.
Hey you, try it out
My year in France was one of the most amazing experiences in my university life. I got to live somewhere vast and beautiful. Flowery plains, azure sea, great mountains and valleys. The people were incredible – the French are diverse, friendly and active. Work culture is flexible and relaxed, with a maximum 35-hour work week. Nobody thinks about work after work – you typically enjoy an apéro (a social event before dinner with wine and cheese), a picnic or a stroll in the old town streets.
France is all the magic that it seems to be. I spent a lot of time in the lazy summer sun of Provence, blending into the background of the little towns and villages of Occitanie, coffee in hand. I swam the blue waters and rivers of Hérault. I fell in love. You could have this! It’s easier than you think. Learn the language, practise with friends, find a job online, and off you go! I know that I will be going back.
HEY! STUDENT WRITER
Final-year computer science student Jay Ng plans to pursue a master’s degree in data science in France or Switzerland. No prizes for guessing where he wants to work after that.
This story was published in the Jan-Mar 2021 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.
