Georgia Tech-Lorraine - An American Island in a French Sea (Part 4) 

by Andrew Kerr
November 2007

In this four-part series we look at Georgia Tech-Lorraine, a campus of Georgia Tech located in Metz, France.

The Student Perspective

The BdE was planning trips and a Thanksgiving dance at the time I sat down with a group of GT-L students. My first several interviews at GT-L had been with faculty and administration who emphasized, well, much of what was written earlier in this article: hard work, the global economy, competitiveness, the advantages to being tri-lingual, a lot of Serious Stuff. So it was a treat to sit down with a group of students and find that, while they were certainly bright and serious, they were also willing to talk about just having fun in France. There was certainly more chatter about the upcoming Thanksgiving dance than about the implications of China's economic rise.

Students ran the gamut from those who were merely curious to experience some sort of a European culture to others who particularly wanted to have a French experience. In the latter group, undergraduate Erica O'Neal seems fated to have come here; a childhood interest in French cooking shows and a grade school introduction to the French language has evolved into a full-blown love-affair with the country (and she mentions that she's dating a guy who is half-French). But what of the stereotype of the French hating on Americans?

"I think what bothers them is if you come to their country and are all like 'I'm American and I'm better than you,'" she says. "But if you really embrace their culture, then they're happy. They're proud of their culture and they would love it if an American or any other nationality came and tried to adopt their culture. They're totally open to that."

Pedro Perez has found the experience useful for reinforcing the French he learned in high school. "I go back and listen to some songs that I have in French and they make sense now," he says, noting that what was once garble has turned into recognizable words.

General subjects of conversation at the time (October) were the transportation strikes (these were a prelude to the more dramatic one that ground Paris to a halt in November), and the euro. The euro was at all-time high levels to the dollar (and it has gotten higher since). Adopting a tongue-in-cheek "ignorance is bliss" philosophy, undergrad Jessica Carter quipped, "You don't think about the exchange rate—ever!"

The top activity for undergraduate students seems to be travel—an activity that GT-L's director Yves Berthelot strongly encourages. "We typically don't teach on Fridays," Berthelot says, "so that they have a long weekend so they can travel." (Lest you become too envious, "Trade-off is classes are an hour and a half," explains Carter. "We still get the same time in class.")

Student government member Mohamad Abid has been working on organizing these excursions and activities (which have included visits to amusement parks and Go-Karting), and notes that last summer the average student took 15 trips in 12 weekends. "I don't even know how that's possible," he laughs.

O'Neal rattles off some of the destinations she and her friends have visited. "Austria, Hungary, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, some kids are going to Italy, I'm going to Greece..."

Class sizes at the undergraduate level during the academic year are very small, which strengthens bonds between professors and students. (Class sizes for the graduate program and during the summer program are comparable to those on the Atlanta campus). Professor Kevin McFall says that the largest class he has ever taught had 11 students in it. In fact, it is not unheard of for a class to have just one student. Even when the program is enlarged, he imagines that class sizes will still be kept relatively small. This has changed his teaching style a bit as well. "Instead of giving so many formal lectures and homework, my students and I sit in the lab with the problems they have to work on. They can work through them in class with me there to help them move through things. You still have to be clever about choosing those problems so they cover the material you need, but it's very nice because you can help the students one-on-one. And I like that."

So in Conclusion...

I asked McFall, an American who has lived both in Sweden and Metz, about the personal pleasure he derives from living in Europe. What exactly do you get out of it?

"I just really like the European life style," he says. "The small town, the convenient public transportation. The pace of life is slower—it's not money! money! money! It's more quality of life. Plus being able to travel. You learn a lot about yourself; you learn about how you fit into the world, and how Americans fit into the world."

And loving Europe doesn't mean hating on America. As McFall notes, living in Europe also "really helps you to see what it is that I love about America—what are the things that are so good [in America] that we take for granted."

Says Berthelot, "I want even elementary school kids to start thinking that traveling and having these kinds of opportunities is really, really available. They really can do it. If not with this program, maybe with others. But they should certainly do at least a year abroad to get started. They should really travel to see the world. It's so important."

And with that thought in mind I leave the Technopole by bus, rolling along one of those ultra-smooth French roads, ultimately in pursuit of a coffee which I will enjoy under the stately auspices of the Cathedral of Metz. It may sound like a glamorous vacation to some, but for many—and possibly one day even for you—it's just everyday life.

...return to previous page

Part One: Introduction
Part Two: Location, Location, Location/Getting Down to Business
Part Three: The Global Nature of Work/"Uh, English, Please?"
Part Four: The Student Perspective/So in Conclusion...