Jane is a penultimate year business studies student at Trinity College Dublin who has just returned from a seven-month Erasmus at NEOMA Business School in Rouen, Normandy. In this piece Jane writes about her untimely and difficult transition back to Ireland, how important it is for countries to stay unified during one of the worst unprecedented epidemics of our time and how learning a European language during your quarantine will go far.
It’s hard to believe that I’m currently sitting in my childhood bedroom in Cork composing this, about to enter my fifth day of quarantine. Just short of ten days ago, I had sat a French Language midterm where I complained to a Russian friend/classmate that our prof was a b*tch and that I would be very content for this class to be cancelled for the rest of the semester. A day before that, I had said to my French roommate, Jeanne, that I couldn’t believe I only had a month or so left in Rouen. I also spoke to her about how I would find the transition back to Irish way of life difficult, especially since my brain is a fried, bilingual mess now. If only I knew….
I remember when the virus first hit Rouen in late January. I had just come back from a weekend in Montpellier visiting a school friend who was also doing Erasmus when I heard the news. I remember joking with my fellow exchange- and French classmates about who was going to get the virus first now that it had creeped its way in to a small city of 150,000 (fortunately my French school has had, to date, no cases of the virus but without doubt, this could change by time of publication). Jokes aside, life then continued as relatively normal as the numbers of cases continued to grow across France and Europe. I still went out, still spoke mediocre French in my strong anglophone accent, found a summer job in a hostel in Nice and even made a trip home to Ireland during my reading week in mid-February. As I caught up with old friends, while they were nattering away to me about the various assignments they had to complete, it dawned on me how challenging it was going to be to come back t Ireland for my final year. I loved Rouen, I loved its medieval architecture, I loved speaking French, I loved spending time with my friends of various nationalities and most importantly, I loved the independence and freedom it brought me. I was a nobody there and for the first time in my college life, I felt there were no expectations of me.
While European borders may be physically closing, I’ve never felt closer to my continental counterparts.
Everything took a grave turn last Thursday. That morning, Varadkar made the serious
address about closing educational establishments and banning large scale events. That evening, the French president Emmanuel Macron echoed his speech. As I clutched onto Jeanne, we joked (still not realising the seriousness of the situation) that this was probably our last night together in the apartment, as she was returning home to Lille the next day. Turning up to school on Friday was bizarre, to say the least. I had no classes that day but had an extra-curricular activity with the kids I worked with in the afternoon. I saw French students, male and female, cry into each other’s arms and the school band play the school’s chants for the last time this academic year. I even found myself with a lump in my throat as one of the kids I had worked with since October gave me a drawing as a goodbye present.
On Saturday evening, I received a phone call from my beloved parents asking me to come home as soon as possible. I had planned to stay in France as thought of quarantining there sounded a lot more pleasant than my bustling home in Cork. However this would not be feasible because of the growing number of European countries who were threatening to close their borders. I sadly decided to agree with them and booked a flight for Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day. It hit me all at once on Sunday afternoon when I started to pack up my temporary French life. I started crying uncontrollably like a new-born as I realised that this was the end of my carefree life for a while. Monday evening, my last night, I strolled across town at dusk to say goodbye to some Spanish friends. The lump in my throat hit again as I took pictures of my favourite landmarks. I had sent a voice note to my older cousin who made the same move as me but to Barcelona fifteen years previous (who decided never to come home), wailing about how I felt my European continental life that I adored so much had been stripped of me.
Being in Paris CDG airport was a surreal experience to say the least. Once bustling with thousands of people, it was more like a deserted ghost town. As I spoke French to the security woman, I realised it would be my last in person french interaction for a while. At least half of the passengers were devastated Erasmus students, and a few tears were shed again as the plane prepared the take off. Landing in Cork Airport, we were met by HSE officials who passed out info leaflets about the magic, dreaded “QUARANTINE”. Being at home is as difficult as I expected; however, on day five, it is getting a little easier. When I return to online lectures on Monday, I hope to be a lot more settled in my home environment. In order to keep occupied and some-what sane, I’ve re-commenced Spanish lessons (via YouTube), Facetimed friends both at home and abroad, and even gotten a few long walks in.
European, even world unity is indispensable during these unprecedented times.
Despite this crisis, I’ve never been prouder to be Irish and be a part of the wider European
community. European, even world unity is indispensable during these unprecedented times. While European borders may be physically closing, I’ve never felt closer to my continental counterparts. It warms my heart to see that competition law is being broken
down in each industry from technology to food in order to pool our resources together in
order to fight the battle, and to see those come out of retirement to work on the front
line. Hopefully, with serious cooperation (and I have faith in our world leaders) over the
next few weeks and months, we can overcome this. Our freedom and independence may be
stolen from us now but this is only temporary if we cooperate: China is proof of this. I am
grateful for the amount of technology that is readily available at our fingertips which has
allowed the majority of us to continue the education we so badly need and to keep in touch with friends, so no one is forgotten about. There is no doubt that in years to come, the outcome (whatever it may be), will continue to touch us both personally and professionally, however I believe that this will result in more informed decision making.
Photo by Jane Madden.
While I’ve always been pro-European Union, it is only now I feel we are really going to reap the benefits of the free common market. The EU is a community bursting with languages, cultures and most importantly, different forms of intelligence. In simple terms, we are members in order to help each other out and find the best solution to such problems. Each country is using their resources and talent pool to minimise the effects of this deadly disease. At this time, I ask you to consider trying to learn a European language during your quarantine. According to Erasmus Online Linguistic Support only 33% of Irish and British Erasmus students feel comfortable speaking a second European language, compared to 75% and 79% of our French and German counterparts. We need to get out of the notion that English is a universal language, and this is the perfect time to do so. When travelling resumes again, hopefully by the mid-summer, it will almost be like a small yet important thank-you if you can make a little effort to speak the language of the country you’re in. It shows politeness to the people who are working there who probably were left unemployed during this crisis. Speaking the language of the country you’re in also shows respect and kindness to the natives and by the end of this epidemic which will have killed thousands, respect and kindness will be so badly needed.
I’m still devastated my time in France came to such an unprecedented end. While I do feel optimistic on day five of my quarantine, my heart still yearns for Rouen, for France. Yes, I am still mourning my Erasmus like most, but we as young people need to put on a
brave face and keep pushing forward during this great time of uncertainty, especially for our more vulnerable citizens. We are the politicians, lawyers and doctors of tomorrow and I imagine in years to come, the effects of this crisis will have moulded us in to stronger and better decision makers- that’s not necessarily a bad thing, eh?