Master's

Studying in France as Americans: Month Three, Lockdown Edition

Three months have passed since Jalen and I moved back to France to pursue our master’s degrees at Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne where Jalen is studying Logistics and I am studying Public Law. This month was different in many ways from the previous two, read on to find out more!


On October 30th, the French president announced that the country would go back into lockdown until December 1st at the earliest. While students aged from kindergarten through high school have remained in class with bolstered safety measures, higher education facilities have shut down. This means that Jalen and I have attended fully online classes this month. Both our Cours Magistraux, or lecture classes, and our Travaux Dirigés, or seminar classes, have been held via Teams or Zoom.

Despite our worries about how virtual learning would affect us, we haven’t experienced any major problems. Even though it’s just as difficult to sit through three-hour lectures at home, we feel that we have benefited from our time in lockdown that we have been using to regroup. In fact, we are finally beginning to feel adjusted to our student life in France.

This month, we have both had some encouraging academic wins. Jalen had his research topic approved in his Les Grandes Thématiques de la Logistique class and I was asked to present my successful commentaire d’arrêt (case comment) in my Droit Matériel de l’Union Européenne class. We feel especially proud of ourselves for pushing through the difficulties we’ve experienced and have taken the time to celebrate these academic victories.

As the semester winds down, we are preparing for our final exams and looking forward to winter break. Though this month largely consisted of us staying in our apartment, we are relieved to feel less anxious and more settled in.

If you have any questions or want to know more, leave us a comment down below!


Check out this month’s update video!


Check out our other monthly updates!


Check out our video about our daily life as students in France!

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