by Kirthanaa Indumathi
I live in Besançon, a quaint little town* nestled in the bends of the Doubs, which houses the FEMTO-ST Institute. I am Kirthanaa Indumathi, an Early Stage Researcher with the LIMQUET project doing my PhD in the optics department at FEMTO-ST. Most of my work involves developing systems to manipulate and generate frequency-bin entangled photons for quantum communication applications. Information on our work can be found easily on research papers that are publically available. What I would like to share with you today is my personal experience living in France as a student.
Before this PhD, I did my Bachelors at IIT, Guwahati in India and interned for about 6 months at the Center for Quantum Technologies in Singapore. So moving to Besançon, a town that takes a fair amount of zooming on google maps to locate was a bit of an adventure for me. I checked all the boxes on my moving-to-a-foreign-country-to-do list; packing, buying the tickets, figuring out the accommodation and logistics of getting there from the airport, SIM cards, converting the currency, learning the language, you name it… What I did not or rather could not have anticipated then was the culture shock, for no amount of preparation would have helped in this regard. Besançon, as with the rest of France, is a town strongly rooted in tradition and customs that are more often than not, nuanced. The only way to learn most social conventions properly is through complete cultural immersion and lucky for me that is exactly what happened, presumably unplanned. I successfully learnt how to say Hello to people, only after about a couple dozen botched attempts at salutations, some minor, involving bumping cheekbones, and some horrifying, like going in for a hug. To give you some context, a simple handshake or a bise following a “Bonjour” is the appropriate salutation with acquaintances and friends, while a hug is an intimate greeting reserved for special ones and most definitely not shared with strangers. In fact, there is no specific word in French for hug and the word for cuddle is contextually translated as a hug. Now for the greetings, what I have provided is an oversimplified description and it is a little more nuanced, most you can only hope to discern and learn over time. It is also usually customary to enquire how a friend is doing when you meet them for the first time in the day and make conversation for a while. And I mean actual conversation! Usually getting a cup of coffee back to my office, a few feet away from the breakroom takes anywhere between 10 and 30 minutes because I run into a friend or two on the way. All these daily conventions that are elaborate and is usually done at a leisurely pace captures the French way of life concisely – savoring life and taking your time doing it, every hour of every day.
This probably explains why food in general is absolutely delightful here. I am yet to go to a restaurant where the food is disappointing. Forget restaurants, even the university cafeteria serves good food. An opinion a few French students might disagree with because, and I quote, “The food I can whip up at home tastes much better” but true as it might be, it does not take away from the fact that the school cafeterias do serve great meals. With food being such an integral part of the culture, pretty much every one learns the skill at a young age and they continue to do it with ardor. Having easy access to quality ingredients does not hurt either, which brings me to my next point, being a student under 26 is possibly the best time to live in France. Period. Affordable and delicious food – check. Free entrance to most museums all over the country – check. Discounts on trains, restaurants, movies, concerts, bars, heritage sights, etc. – check. Everything is designed to provide us with plenty of opportunities to explore the country, the culture, or simply just to relax and recuperate after a long week. Rent is probably the only comparatively hefty expense but the impressive variety of food, wines and cheeses *cue French stereotypes (which turns out are totally justified)* make up for
it. As a special mention, “Mont d’Or” a cheese produced only during certain months of the year, is hands down the best thing you can have in the winter. It is heated and served like a fondue with potatoes and sausages, I mean, what is there not to like right!
Between studying, work and hogging various cheeses, I do have time to explore the town. Though small as it might be, it does have its share of hidden treasures. Wandering through the town, what struck me first was the number of monuments and stores dedicated to clocks and watches. This town turns out, is the historical capital of watchmaking and has a “Musée du Temps”, which literally translates to the museum of time and provides insights into the town by combining its history with science and watchmaking. Over the years then, it is no wonder institutes focused on telecommunication, biotechnology, and micro technology have continued to flourish here. Overall, living in Besançon is challenging yet comfortable. Yes, French is the only language most people here know, but if you make only the slightest effort to speak it, the locals are extremely understanding and helpful. Yes, the supermarkets close by 6pm, but the life in the city, if you know where to look, goes on late, late into the night. Yes, at first glance, the town appears provincial, but it is also a home to pioneering research and is all the more beautiful for it.
* Besançon, although technically a city, is at its heart a town and we shall refer to it as such.
