You are new here and have just arrived? Don’t stay alone!
Did you know?
Each year more than 200 international tandems are formed!
Attention!
The Buddy International Program is not a language tandem! Foreign students come here to learn French, and get immerged in our culture...
The Buddy International Program is one of our main activities in the association.
If you also want to share your experiences, your passions but also to practice foreign languages with another student in a casual way, becoming a buddy is what you need. The buddy program is a simple idea: put together two students who share the same interests.
What is the Buddy Program exactly about?
The International Buddy Program is an opportunity for international students to integrate more easily and more quickly to life in general at the University, and in Toulouse. For the Toulouse students, it is the opportunity to meet foreign students, to help them, to share with them, to open up to the world, and contribute to the cause!
The Buddy Program, how does it start?
First of all, the student (foreign or from Toulouse) must complete the form available at the bottom of this page. Then, the EIMA team is responsible of the tandems based on the answers given in the questionnaires. And finally we will put you in contact so that you can organise your meeting.
And then, what happens?
How can I organise my first meeting?
For example you can give arrange a meeting place between yourselves at the University at a certain hour, introduce him/her to your group of friends, drink a coffee in the center of town, visit a Museum together, or even see a rugby match; make him discover life and Toulouse culture. You can organise yourselves as you wish, according to your shared centers of interests. Whatever it is, discuss and find together what you think is the best way to make the Buddy Program an experience of a lifetime!
But what if I don’t speak his/her language?
This is not important, because Exchange students wish to speak more often and practice their French, but feel free to choose the language that you speak. This program is not a tandem language but rather a cultural exchange. However, if you wish to sponsor a student of a certain nationality, we will try to respond to your request, but this is not always possible.
When do we meet up?
You can choose to see each other once a week, once a month, or even once a day. You are free to organise your sponsorship whatever way you feel is best!
Keep one thing in mind: the way that the sponsorship is chosen should be a result of a decision taken by the two people!
Remember also that the EIMA team is here to help you.
And what if it doesn’t work?
Sometimes it happens that you are not satisfied with how your sponsorship turns out: those are the risks of the International Buddy Program! So if its not plain sailing, if it doesn’t work, then contact us so we can find a solution together. It happens that students change sponsor in the middle of the year.
Still interested?
Fill the form available by clicking on the links below. We will subsequently contact you to get you in contact with an exchange student.