A Year in Wyoming

Here is the story of my year as an exchange student at the University of Wyoming.
Never thought I would spend quite some time there...but it turned out to be one of the best experiences in my life!

Studying on an American campus had always been a dream for me. I had taken a year off and traveled, but it is still a different experience than actually studying abroad. I knew I wouldn't have felt fulfilled until I would have got to experience it.

I was studying Modern Languages in Strasbourg and the University was giving us the opportunity to study abroad on our last year. I was not interested in Erasmus or any other destinations; my goal was to study in the US.

I had a couple of options: as an LEA student I could apply to the University of Wyoming and would only compete with other LEA students. I could also choose to apply for the MAUI program that offers a few universities where you can apply but then you compete with the entire campus. Finally, I discovered another program, the BCA program, that is not well known but sends students to a US College.

I decided to apply for Wyoming because I assumed that if I could not get that, there was no way I could get into the MAUI program since I would be competing with more students (and honestly the destinations were not better than Wyoming to my opinion). I also applied for the BCA program because they had a College in California, and well…let’s be honest, that was enough to convince me.

To apply for the BCA program I had some paperwork to fill out and a cover letter to write. I also needed to get a recommendation letter and I had to take the TOEFL test.

As for Wyoming, I needed to turn in a cover letter and a resume, take the TOEFL or TOEIC test, and I had an interview with the coordinator.

I got accepted in both programs (but I didn’t get California though) and I decided to go to Wyoming because the University was bigger and even though it was kind of in the middle of nowhere it was still in the Rocky Mountains, 2 hours from Denver; and I would leave with a close friend, which really changed everything. I mean, yes it would definitely be awesome even if you were to go alone but if you leave with a friend, you can start enjoying yourself from day one. You`re not afraid of getting to a place you don`t know at all and you don`t feel pressured by the fact that you have to make friends quickly because you`re already with someone, and it doesn`t mean that you`re only going to stay with that one friend because you will definitely meet people, but at least it will be in a casual way just because you want to talk to them and not because you`re desperate to meet people.

I also decided to live off campus because I would have had to eat at the cafeteria all the time and I really like to cook. I looked for a room on the University Website and found a room in an apartment with two roommates. There’s no secret about finding the right room with the right roommates, it’s all about luck! And thank God I got really lucky. We got along really well and we did many things together, from skiing or climbing to road trips all over the country. But we’ll talk about all that fun later.

So I was living in a house with two girl roommates of my age. I was walking distance from the bus stop where the University bus would pick us up and drop us off. That was really convenient since there was a bus every 15 minutes.

As I was an exchange student, I had to take similar classes to what I would have had in Strasbourg. So I was studying English and Spanish and I had some other classes like International Relations, Marketing, and American Studies. Classes were usually easier than in France to my opinion, or maybe not necessarily easier but teachers were more tolerant. I’ve always had the feeling that in France teachers were looking at where they could take points off your copy but in America it’s the complete opposite. It is amazing how obvious it was. They will always try to help you and give you credit. Teachers are also way more open, you can actually share things with them and you feel like they care about you. There is a real teacher-student relationship.

Another thing that I liked better there, was the fact that we had several exams in the semester. You are less stressed out; you know how you are doing in the class and you know what to expect. In French Universities, your whole semester mostly relies on one single final. It feels like it isn’t fair.

As for administrations, they are actually organized and they care about you. You don’t have to fight for information or things to be done like you have to in France.

On the other side, you have a ton of reading to do in America. It was disturbing at first but you get used to it. It isn’t too bad and you actually read for a reason because then you will use that material in class and share it with the class.

The campus was nice and pretty impressive at first. I thought I would never find my way around, but in the end you get used to it pretty quickly.

Besides the different buildings like Arts and Sciences, Agriculture, Engineering, Business, etc., there was a building dedicated to students, called the Union, where you could find food and drinks. There were also a bank, a printing shop, computers with free Internet access, a fireplace with couches, etc., and that was also where any events would take place. There was always something going on there.

Before getting there, I was expecting a very small town lost in the middle of nowhere. I was used to big cities like New York, so I was afraid to get bored or tired of it after a while. I wasn’t completely wrong, in the sense that yes it was lost in the middle of nowhere, but I sure had the time of my life there.

The town itself wasn’t too big, about 30,000 people. The good thing though, was that half of that number were students since there are about 14,000 students at the University of Wyoming. So it is more of a student town, it is lively and there is always something to do.

Laramie is at an elevation of 2,200 meters (7,200 feet) so it takes some time to get used to it. You don’t realize it at first, but if you try to do any kind of exercise you’ll figure it out right away. The air is drier too, which forces you to take better care of yourself if I can put it like this (drink water more often, use lotion, etc.).

I really enjoyed living at this elevation though. The landscape was absolutely incredible; the outdoor activities were so diversified: we could easily go hike, rock climb, scale, ski, camp, etc. And because you’re already at a high elevation it’s easy to go really high up. I remember hiking at Medicine Bow Peak, and since it starts at 2,000 meters we easily hiked up to 3,600 meters. The view was breathtaking! Hiking up was not easy though; we had to stop every 5 minutes because we were out of breath. However, as I exercised at a high elevation, my endurance increased considerably and I noticed the evolution. Hiking in the Rockies after a few months in Laramie was definitely easier.

Back to the fun part: one of my roommates, my French friend and I did so many things during that year. We went to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and Zion National Park two weeks after we got there. That was great and so impressive. The West like you see it on TV.I felt so tiny, so “young” and so “temporary”. It was amazing.

We also went to Moab, Utah. This place is heaven; there is no word strong enough to describe it. We camped out, I had never seen so many stars in my life, and trust me, I’ve camped out hundreds of times! We went on several hikes to see all the different arches; again the immensity is so impressive. The West in its grandness!

We went to Colorado dozens of times, South Dakota, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton and Jackson, Florida on Spring Break, we spent weekends skiing in Steamboat or Vail, NYE in New York City, we went winter camping in the Rockies, etc. I did so many things that I could talk for hours.

It was an amazing experience, but obviously it had its cost. You must count between 8,000 and 10,000 euros for the whole year. It seems like a lot but trust me, it goes away way quicker than you think. And even though I wouldn’t have spent that much money if I had stayed in Strasbourg, it was worth every penny and I never regretted it because now I’m left with amazing memories that no one can ever take away from me. And THIS, is priceless.

So yes, Wyoming isn’t the exotic destination but it is a great place for the outdoorsy kind of people. If you are a big city person, you’ll probably get bored., but if hiking, rock climbing and skiing excite you…then it’s definitely the right place for you.

No matter where you go, studying abroad is really enriching on so many levels. You learn responsibility, you learn how to adapt to a new environment, you become fluent in another language, you learn more about yourself and grow, you get a better vision of what you want in life, etc. Studying abroad is a win-win situation.

Studying abroad is a unique experience. I can give you as many tips as I can, but your experience won’t ever be exactly like mine.  The people you meet play a huge role, but most of all it’s all up to you to make the most out of it! No matter where you go and how long you stay, your time abroad will be the best time of your life and will change you forever!

Justine D.