Maxime in Laval interviews Manon in Strasbourg.

Frank: and it’s all yours.

Maxime: Hello everyone. Last week, Manon asked me a lot of questions about my study and it’s time to take my revenge. I will ask Manon about her study too.

The first question is, can you explain to us what you are studying and what do you do in your school?

Manon: This week I do a Bachelor’s degree in Business. In this diploma, I have three important subjects. I have Marketing, Communication and Sales. What’s the other question?

Maxime: What do you do in school?

Manon: I study communication. For example, I did teasing for a brand or I learned many techniques to create communication in general. For products, for brands and for… I don’t remember. What’s the word for enterprise?

Frank: Company.

Manon: I do communication for brands, for products and for companies. In marketing, I learned many techniques to create a business plan rather than study markets. In sales, I learned techniques to sell a product and to convince consumers and buyers.

Maxime: Okay. You answered my next question. What are the most important subjects? You answered these questions with those three important subjects.

Manon: Yes, but marketing is one of the most important because these conditions compare sales and communication.

Maxime: Okay. Which one is your favorite and why?

Manon: I think it’s communication because we can create a lot of things. For example, I created a teasing for the Pepsi brand and this task was very cool. But I love to sell because it’s not just a theory. We have a lot of practice. For example, we have a lot of oral presentation.

It’s like… We have two people, and we apply our techniques on the negotiation. It’s clear or not?

Maxime: Yes, it’s clear.

Manon: I think it’s communication at first and selling in the second.

Maxime: And marketing, which is the most important? What do you like?

Manon: Marketing is hard because we have a lot of things to learn and it’s more difficult than communication, for example.

Maxime: Okay. And what about your teachers?

Manon: I love my marketing teachers, but I hate his classes. But my marketing teacher was very cool. My communication teacher was cool too, but it’s not my favourite. And my favourite teacher is my Spanish teacher because she is very cool and very enjoying. So I think my favourite teacher is my Spanish teachers.

Maxime: Okay.

Manon: Generally, all my teachers are cool.

Maxime: And all your teachers are permanent teachers or different teachers can come from different companies?

Manon: In general, my teachers are teachers in only time.

Maxime: Their principle work?

Manon: But sometimes I have an intervention. For example, I had an intervention for learning new world techniques. So how to use Word and Excel and PowerPoint very well. So sometimes I have an intervention.

Maxime: Okay. So you answered a little bit my next questions. So you can really reuse what you learn school in a future job. So what you learn is very concrete. You make a teaser for a pepsi. So you can do that in the future in your job. Which type of jobs can you do after your school?

Manon: So my school is not very precise because business is very large. So we can work in communication. So do a communication for a company or for a brand. We can work on sell. So sell products of the company to a consumer or another company. And we can work on marketing. So generally, it’s in office. And you work on computer and create a lot of techniques to improve the marketing of the company. But personally, I would like to work in sell and precisely car sales. So it’s not a surprise.

Maxime: Okay. So you love cars and want to work between business and cars?

Manon: Yes.

Maxime: So now I have two extra questions.

Manon: Okay.

Maxime: What do you know and can you explain what exactly is the Bitcoin?

Manon: Oh, no.

Maxime: Do you know if you have courses about that or no?

Manon: No, I don’t have courses of Bitcoin. But I think it’s the money of the future. Because Bitcoin is increased years after years. But I don’t have know in this field.

Maxime: But can you explain in reality what is that? What is Bitcoin?

Manon: Oh, Bitcoin is virtual money. And everyone can invest in this field. Because you can do this with your computer at home. And just virtual money. But I don’t have a precise know in this domain, in this field. But it’s virtual money. And it’s all.

Maxime: Okay. So it’s virtual money. You can buy it and buy a lot of different things with this virtual money.

Manon: No, it’s more complicated. Because one day the cut of the Bitcoin is high. And another day the cut is lesser.

Frank: Lower. Lower.

Manon: Yes, or lower. And it depends. But I don’t have competence in this field. So if you have competence in this field, you can explain what is Bitcoin.

Maxime: Oh, I don’t have one. But I wanted to ask you about that. So my second extra question is how does the stock exchange work? The stock exchange is la bourse.

Manon: Yes.

Maxime: How does it work?

Manon: I don’t like economy, to be honest. So I don’t hear my economy classes. But the bourse is very complex too. But the cut change day after day. But in France we have the CAC 40. So in the CAC40 we have the most important company in the world.

Frank: In France. In France.

Manon: Yes. In France. And in the world I think it’s the New York Stock Exchange.

Frank: It’s the New York Stock Exchange. It’s the most important. But that depends a little bit. But usually for normal stocks it is the New York Stock Exchange.

Manon: Yes. But I don’t follow the bourse , the stock exchange. So when I have time I don’t see the cut of the birth of the stock exchange. So I don’t have the answer to your question. I don’t like economy and it’s not my field.

Maxime: Okay, so you don’t want to work in the economy in the future?

Manon: Oh no, no, no. I hate numbers and I hate mathematics in general.

Maxime: Thank you for answering my different questions about your study and these two extra questions.

Manon: You’re welcome.

Frank: Okay, Manon, I have a question but it’s actually a question from Niki who is an English teacher in Baku in Azerbaijan. And she posted this in the cafe conversations and I’m going to read it to you.

Manon: Yes.

Frank: And then maybe you can answer it a little bit and then you can also write one or two words afterwards. So she wrote,

Hi Manon, I have a question from several of my students whom I’d like to direct your way. They are curious to know what draws you to become an Erasmus student and what benefits and opportunities the course can provide to prepare your future. Best regards, Niki.

So basically, Niki has some students. She teaches high school students the last two years of high school, and they want to know about the Erasmus program, how it will help you and how everything that you have to prepare will help you to get into this club of students.

Manon: Okay, so the question is, what is Erasmus?

Frank: What is Erasmus and why do you want to go in there and what are the benefits?

Manon: Okay, so Erasmus is an international program to go on another school in another country. So some schools proposed this program, but I don’t know if the Maxime schools proposed this program or not. Yes. Okay.

And the benefits of do an Erasmus is you can learn in another country and classes are very different from country to country. And you can improve your language skills because the classes are in English. For me, the classes are in English, but you can do an Erasmus in Spanish, in German or many languages. And what are the benefits?

And the benefits is you can open your mind in other cultures and other countries. You can improve your language and you can discover a new country.

So it’s like the life school because you learn a lot of things of the life, generally of the experience of life. So I think the benefits is you can grow up, you can grow in generally. So we have a lot of benefits, but I think you can open your mind in general.

Frank: Okay. So what do you have to do in order to become an Erasmus student? What is the process?

Manon: For me, in my school? So we did a list with three choices. So at first, our first choice and second choice and third choice. Personally, I put Madrid in first choice because the classes are in English, but you are in Spain. So you can improve your Spanish. So after that, you create your fields. So with your personal information, with your choice, with your passport numbers and a lot of papers.

Frank: Paperwork.

Manon: Yes, a lot of paperwork. After that, we fill our exam mind by a jury. So I filled our exam next week on the 8th of February. And after that, I have an answer. And after that, I do a certification in English. And after that, I can go to Erasmus.

Frank: Okay.

Manon: We have a lot of steps before going to Erasmus.

Frank: And how long can you then stay at the other school, at the other university? If you go to Madrid, if you get your first choice and go to Madrid, how long will you be there for?

Manon: So it’s one semester. So it’s six months. So September to January.

Frank: Okay. And does the Erasmus program also organize your accommodation where you live? Or do you have to organize that yourself?

Manon: Yes, I organize by myself.

Frank: Well, that will be fun.

Manon: No, not really, because it’s very complicated, because I don’t have height level in Spanish. And when I do my research, a lot of advertisements are in Spanish, and it’s complicated to understand everything.

Maxime: You can have English to speak with different people to reserve.

Manon: Yes, but the location contracts are in Spanish, and it’s complicated.

Maxime: You can maybe ask to translate in English.

Manon: Yeah, I think, but in Spain, you need a Spanish contract. I can translate this when I wrote information, but the official contract is in Spanish.

Frank: Well, that is part of your life lesson. So can you go to as many different universities as you want during your studies? Or can you only go to one university?

Manon: Yes, only one. We have a list of, it’s like, not a sponsor, but it’s like an agreement. Yes, it’s like an agreement. It’s an agreement between my school and the school in Madrid. For me, it’s Universidad Juan Carlos in Spanish.

Frank: Okay, so your first choice is Madrid, and what is your second and your third choice?

Manon: My second choice is Canada, and my third choice is Ireland.

Frank: When you say Canada, are you saying Montreal or are you saying English-speaking Canada?

Manon: No, French Canada.

Frank: French-speaking Canada. Oh, there’s not much difference there, but okay, it’s a big country. So that would mean if you go to Madrid, let’s say you get to Madrid, you have to find your own apartment, and you have to pay for your own travel to get to Madrid, otherwise you would also have to go to Canada or to Ireland.  So what will you do with your apartment where you are now? Would you give it up or will you keep it? What will you do?

Manon: No, I keep my apartment in Strasbourg because when my Erasmus will be finished, I need this apartment, so I keep it. Two apartments are very expensive, but when you go on Erasmus, you know it’s very expensive. So it’s not an easy choice, but I’m thinking about this choice.

Frank: I think also that if you go on this Erasmus program, you are almost part of an Erasmus community. So, if you will meet other Erasmus students and you become friends or you have a network, I think that is also one of the benefits.

Okay, so sorry to take over there Maxime, but I just wanted to throw that question into the ring. But now you can close this interview with a few words, Maxime.

Maxime: Thank you, it’s really interesting to hear about these different topics. So thank you Manon for answering our questions.

Frank: Okay, and now we stop.