Lukewarm potatoes, 5.30am metros and... sliced bread?!

Yes. Sitting on my balcony ( who needs a fridge when its -5° OUTSIDE!!!)  is the most delicious wholegrain, organic, SLICED, loaf of bread. Something us Brits take for granted, but which seems to have only just made an appearance in French supermarkets. I had a JAM SANDWICH the other day. Simple pleasures. Now for peanut butter to find it's way onto the shelves...

Paris life has been very good recently. I was blessed with the presence of Southampton's past and present Frensoc members for a brilliant reunion in Paris last weekend! It was great seeing some friendly and familiar faces and being able to share 'Year Abroad' stories. The best part of the weekend was ACTUALLY completing a nuit blanche in Paris, without getting stressed or angry at the world. Yes, we stayed out partying until 5am, and since taxi's were just not available,  we got the first metro at 5.32 am. I am officially hard core! What's funny, I have been here almost 5 months now and I haven't yet done a night out in Paris. Although I was on form with which métro lines to take to where, whenever the girls asked me where was good to go out, I simply had no idea because I had never done it before! Shameful. I could have made my way back to Jouy en Josas at that hour of the morning, but since I was hanging out with the girls on Saturday too I decided to stay in the hostel with them, which just made all the difference. We got in about 6am, Ella's famous last words before hitting the pillow being "I'll see you in 2 hours and 46 minutes!" . Such a fun night, hat's off to the DJ who kept playing tune after tune, not even funky wordless french techno stuff, ACTUAL normal club songs! It's definitley not something I could hack every weekend though. And with regards to the lukewarm potatoes, it was a bad translation which we found on a menu in a pizzeria, which at the time we found hilarious, but now i'm thinking it was one of those ' you had to be there moments'.

Campus has been taken over with new International Exchange Students. Ther are lots of fun evens going on to welcome them, not many of which I have taken part in unfortunately (it would just be English speaking anyway) , but I did go Bowling on Monday. I forget how much fun bowling is, and how competitive it can get haha. I'm thinking an old school kids bowling party for my 21st? It was good to have a free coach ride to a place off campus for one night. At the start of the year I was really eager to be getting involved with all the events like this, but now I am not so fussed just simply because it doesn't help my French in any way. I know it's fun and sociable, but it's getting to the point now where I just think to myself, if it's not practising my French, is it worth it? ...Wow, listen to me!! 

So this means two weeks of new arrivals turning up at the library looking completely lost, asking where they can 'rent' a book, if I can fix the scanner, and then there's the dreaded "oh, you're not an exchange student here then? So what do you do?" conversation. ("You mean, you don't study here? But you live on campus? And you can speak French?!").

As I hear in England and in most parts of Europe, the temperature here has significantly dropped. I hate to admit it, but even for a Brit, il fait froid!!!! I am currently sat hugging my little hot water bottle at the desk!! (Ok, its no't actually that cold IN the library itself, it's more for my sore legs- all this half marathon training is exhausting my limbs!) Snow has been forecast for this weekend, and it wouldn't suprise me because it is bitterly cold outside! Which is going to make access on and off campus impossible, considering it's on top of a hill in a forest. Should have stocked up on canned food!

It's french pancake day today! Kown as Chandeleur. (Which I found hilarious, it sounds like Chandler!!) so pêrhaps the canteen will have some yummy crèpes, or perhaps we'll go out for crèpes sometime this weekend. If only we could make them ourselves without blowing the fuses. It's not actual pancake day though in England, right? I don't have to give up chocolate for lent just yet, right?

I can't think of any interesting things left to say so instead of rambling on i'll just say au revoir.

Quoi. (That was for you, Ella).