I met up with the Well'Come Team at Gare de Rennes (Rennes Train Station). Well'Come team members Lucas & Lucas (yes they are both named Lucas) picked me up along with some other international students. Below is a picture of us meeting up.
The two Lucases are close friends, but one is from Paris and another is from Marseille, so they had a friendly rivalry/argument going while they were driving us to our residences. As a result, I got some insight into certain regional stereotypes among French people. (Lucas from Marseille is wearing a white and mint shirt, Lucas from Paris has glasses and an orange jacket).
You can see some details of the train station behind us. It was actually pretty modern.
I found out that another person being picked up by the Well'Come team was staying at the same place as I, so we ended up checking in at the same time.
I am really grateful for the Well'Come team and Lucas and Lucas' help. If you come to Rennes, I highly suggest signing up for the Well'Come team's pickup service (it's free!).
When I first arrived at the school for orientation this past Wednesday, Well'Come team members gave me (and all other international students) a nice goodie bag, including a laptop cover with the school logo, a map of Rennes, and some miscellaneous objects to help you on your way.
Temperature/Weather:
When I arrived at Gare de Rennes (Rennes Train Station) it was around 82 degrees Fahrenheit. This was actually a particularly hot day, as in September, Rennes usually bounces between a slightly chill low 60s to a pleasant 75 or so degrees Fahrenheit.
Rain has not been too much of an issue. There's this weird weather phenomena in Rennes where it looks like it is about to rain but it never does. I would liken it to anticipating a sneeze, but the sneeze never comes. In other words, you anticipate the rain but it doesn't come, it just looks like it will. Though I will say that sometimes a light drizzle will break through.
Days end later in September, and the temperature during the day reflects that, with 3:00 - 6:00 pm being the hottest times of the day (it reaches its peak around 6:00 pm). So far, it seems that it doesn't get truly dark out until 9:00 pm (though sometimes clouds cover the sky and make it seem like it is dark around in the afternoon). Below is a picture of what it looks like around 7:30 pm (the sky was pretty clear on this day, and the sun was peeking through).
What's nice about Rennes' September temperature is that I never sweat. It's like walking around in an air-conditioned office, except the air conditioning is everywhere, even outside.
Housing:
I was able to secure a residence at Appart'City Rennes Saint-Grégoire. This was by no means my intention, but I found out that a previous UH student who went abroad to Rennes booked an apartment at the same residence as me. After over a week of living in Rennes, I discovered that a lot of Rennes School of Business students are staying here also, and I was invited to join a group chat for the residence by a friendly German guy called Mathis. International students come from all different kinds of countries, including Italy, Germany, India, and even Uruguay.
While I was still in Newark I received an email from my residence, with the information I would need to access my apartment after hours. It was reassuring to know that they were well prepared for the possibility that I would arrive later in the day when the apartment reception is closed.
Although the apartment is fitted with a lot of 90s decor and is a little outdated, I am quite satisfied with both the location of the dwelling and the quietness of the area I am staying in. I know several classmates who are staying in AirBnBs or homeless, so I am extremely grateful that I got started on this early (thanks Dad, in particular, for encouraging me to secure housing early on). Rennes has a lot of student housing options available because it is a university town with around 60,000-70,000 students. However, the demand for this housing is very high, especially in September, when thousands of students start competing for accommodation. If you are considering a study in Rennes, then please start searching months in advance!
A grocery store called Lidl is very close to my residence and has supported my living in my early days in Rennes.
Now, stay tuned for an article that goes into depth on the food in Rennes, France!
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