WHERE ARE THE PENGUINS? F RENCH CLAIRE FIHUE OFTEN HEARD ABOUT GREENLAND AS A CHILD. However, her image of the huge Northern island was a romantic one - and not entirely correct. She was dreaming about icebergs, seals, polar bears - and penguins! “I had no idea about modern Greenland or Nuuk, until I came here to study for one semester at Ilisimatusarfik”, she says. Claire Fihue is a humanities student at Université de Rouen in Normandy, and she is following a programme in social science during her semester at Ilisimatusarfik - with courses in international relations in the Arctic and sustainable development. “I chose to study a semester in another country to experience another culture and to meet new people. I believe that travel is a necessary requirement to become an open minded world citizen. Furthermore, I believe that it helps understanding, for example, refugees and immigrants in your own country if you have experienced living as a foreigner in another country”, Claire explains. She is very enthusiastic about the five months stay in Greenland, and - in particular - noticed the quiet way of life and the trust among people. “For example, at one point I forgot my mobile phone at the university, and was convinced that someone had stolen it - which would have been a sure thing in France. However, far from it, a fellow student had handed in the phone at the reception”, she says. Claire is in Greenland through Erasmus+, which is a European exchange programme for students - and she noted, among other things, a big difference between courses in the two countries. In France, you often have several hundred students in an auditorium, listening to a professor - whereas in Greenland, you are only a few students with a chance to talk and contribute to the classes. “I would recommend all students to travel - for example through exchange programmes - to be able to experience other countries and meet other cultures, without putting your education on hold. Personally, it has taught me to appreciate the small things - as in playing board games with friends or visiting the swimming pool - those are the best times”. 48 Shaping the Arctic
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