Namaste!!Bonjour!!

Its been almost a month since I came to France for a foreign exchange trainingprogram under DEFIAA Program. I would like to dedicate this blog to all thoses tudents who are aspiring to be part of any foreign exchange program but arehesitant to pursue it. Let me start with the feeling that you also feel when thinking of going toa different country to study or to do an internship or some sort ofprofessional training.

Before coming to France for this training program, my head was full of so many Ifs and BUTs such as how I’ll communicate with peoplehere, how will be the environment there at the institution, what the professors are expecting from us, how I’ll manage with food and other kinds of stuff, how to get mingled with the people here, etc., etc.Now, I have answers to all my questions.

Since the day I am here, I have learned a lot in terms of both professional skills and social skills. It is well said that the best way to master a language is to practice it with native speakers. Though I didn’t master the French language, I learned the basic greetings that help me interact with the people in France. Now I can easily enter into a group of French people and can exchange greetings without any hesitation also, I can go back to my country with some newly learned professional skills that might help me and other students in India to improve and move toward betterment. I can clearly say that this exchange helps me see things more objectively and become more tolerant towards cultures and their customs. This at the same time gave me the confidence to communicate with people across cultures confidently.Talking of culture and traditions, then I must share my experience with students from different countries such as Spain, South Africa, France, and so on.

That session was meant for social education where we share presentations about our nation, culture, tradition, and education and also did some fun activities like enacting a small play where students depicted their expectations when they will come to a particular nation (India).

Learning in a different land helps you open up your mind and makes you capable of thinking out of the box. It is like we all are afraid to come out ofour comfort zones but trust me when I say that it's just a single initiative to push yourself and you will learn the wonders. Here I have learned the processing of some western bread, cookies, and pancakes from the processing experts alongwith the historical aspects of it and the professional skills required for that.

Some laboratory analytical experiments such as water quality, ham quality, surrounding hygiene, etc., were also been part of this training since we are dealing with food so, it is necessary to learn the quality control aspect as well.

To get some practical insights we also visited different food processing firms like the milk processing industry (Lactalis Companie, Montauban), the yogurt processing industry (Yeofrais firm, Toulouse),the wine yards, and the wine processing plant (SaintMont.).


This training taught me that mingling with people of different cultural communities gives an international perspective both professionally and socially.

Apart from this educational part, this training also gave me the opportunity to explore the French history. During this time period, we visited the Lavardens Castel, Lupiac city museum, Saint-Marie Cathedral, Monumental Staircase, House of Henri IV, Arton Gate, City hall, and many more. This list is never-ending.


I think it is needlessto say that when you live away from your home in another country, you will soon build up your confidence and develop cultural sensitivity. This will eventually make you stand out from the crowd and that’s when your learning abroad will be a boon for your success in life. These are life skills that will help you fit into the global work environment with ease and also make you feel confident wheninteracting with people from a different culture or country. It may be dauntingat first, it is only a matter of time before you will be able to develop yourself-confidence but it is definitely holistic learning.