Dunking a hunk of crusty bread into a swirl of salty butter, I can’t help but picture what life would be like if I swapped Old Blighty for a life abroad. Think of the chic locals I would befriend, the cobbled plazas, the late dinners. But, remembering that aircon gives me earache and I’m usually starving by 6 pm, I gratefully board my flight back home. However, for many MML students ‘Euro Summer’ is about to become ‘Euro Living’.

There are obvious appeals to a year abroad: becoming fluent in a language, gaining new experiences, and being able to start sentences “When I lived in Paris…”. But moving country is no picnic. Culture shocks, language barriers and post-Brexit visa admin can be eine Nervensäge (pain in the neck). To find out more, I spoke to students about the challenges of assimilation and whether the university has supported them in the transition.

“There are obvious appeals to a year abroad: becoming fluent in a language, gaining new experiences, and being able to start sentences ‘When I lived in Paris…’”

Nuala Bamforth, a Spanish and German student, moved to Berlin at the end of June. She tells me the most challenging part of the move was the “sudden switch to German”, recalling how she arrived late at night and by 9am the next morning was bombarded with “rapid fire German which didn’t stop”.

Hannah Burfield, who is living in Paris, agrees. She says: “Especially at the beginning it would feel quite disheartening if people would reply in English when they heard your accent.” However, most students found that within a short time, speaking the language became more “natural” and they began to have proper conversations with the locals.

Though cultural differences between the UK and Europe are less pronounced, certain quirks took some getting used to. Josh Nathan, a French and Russian student who recently moved to Paris told me that the “weirdest” part of the transition has been the difference between “English reserve” and “French forwardness”. Thankfully, this hasn’t proved too much of an issue as, contrary to popular belief, he thinks Parisians are “actually quite friendly” and through joining clubs, playing sports, and attending events advertised on Facebook he’s found ways to make friends.

The students I spoke to were largely positive about the university’s handling of the study abroad program. Most mentioned online webinars with key information and the availability of mental health support. Kate Mulvany, a French and Italian student working in Paris says she has been in frequent contact with her tutor and the Year Abroad Office which has helped her “feel connected to [her] college” and the university more broadly.

“For students looking to work, rather than study, the university was very helpful.”

For students looking to work, rather than study, the university was very helpful. Hannah, Kate and Josh all found their internships through the Moodle jobs board or emails sent by the Year Abroad Office. Though Nuala wishes there was a wider range of jobs advertised, she says she “couldn’t have found [her] current job in Berlin” without the Moodle page and she is grateful to have secured a job with “excellent free accommodation”.

Finding a job with accommodation included is rare and most students were left to their own devices when looking for a place to stay. Students were forced to take a leap of faith when choosing safe neighbourhoods and had to trust they weren’t being scammed by landlords. Josh says his DoS “actively discouraged” him from choosing Paris as she “knew how hard it would be to find a place”. Kate suggested the university could connect students who are returning to Cambridge with those setting off on their year abroad to “improve the accommodation search”. She adds that there should also be “some sort of network which helps students find out who is going where at what time” so that Cantabs abroad can “easily reach out and help each other”.

Hannah also mentioned the importance of connecting students, as she found the “most useful” advice came from previous interns. This is especially because, unsurprisingly, there is no Moodle page for the best clubs or vintage shops in the city. The social side of a year abroad is very important: you are there to live, not just to work or study, and the insights of those who’ve been there, done that, got the camiseta are invaluable.

Overall, despite the occasional visa hitch and the stresses of apartment hunting, students have been satisfied with the university’s organisation of the year abroad process. As Josh says, the fact they have been “hands off” offers students a great deal of freedom; they are not forced to study and can live pretty much anywhere as long as they can justify it in a report. And, once past initial admin, everyone I spoke to emphasised how much they were enjoying themselves already. From watching the Euros at Brandenburg Gate to attending the Olympics, I can’t help but feel jealous. Maybe I could get used to aircon.