Ruth in Rennes (in the rain) - A mystery story...

Once upon a time, a girl named Ruth (Lily to those she meets in France) decided to travel and see some more of France. She had a 4 day weekend, and ended up booking to go to Rennes quite spontaneously. She had hoped to go down south, but being a bank holiday weekend and leaving it to the last minute, all trains were fully booked, so Rennes it was. 

She was anxious about travelling alone. She had reserved 2 nights in a hostel, and was a bit nervous as to whom she would be sharing a room with! Equally, she was a bit scared about wandering around in unknown places by herself, as she has a habit of getting into cars with strangers ... Anyway, as soon as she arrived at the hostel she felt very comfortable and welcomed. It was a bit of a treck from the train station to the hostel but she managed. The staff were very friendly and gave her lots of information about what to do. Ruth was in a room of 2, which meant she only had one other person to worry about! She fresehend up, and set out on her adventure. First stop, tourist office to get a map and some info about what was around. She spent the afternoon walking around, following a suggested 'tour route' , seeing the cathedral, parks, an abbey, and other monuments. So Rennes was done pretty quickly! But as it was sunny, she decided to go for a run along the river. Which was very refreshing! Following her shower, she met her room mate. A kind French lady called Peggy who was staying one night. Despite her snooring, she was a pleasant room mate, and they even shared toothpaste! That evening, Ruth went out to find something to eat. She treated herself to a traditional Brittany crèpe, with a little glass of Chardonnay on the side! She felt very proud of her sightseeing and was quite tired from walking around all day! She did feel a bit silly being alone in a restaurant, but she didn't care. Sometimes it's nice to have time alone. Coming back that night, she bumped into two guys at the hostel, an Australian and a Canadian. Both young travellers, and it was nice to chat to some people in English without them being creepy french waitors and inviting her for a drink in Rennes. 

On Saturday morning, Ruth wanted to get up early to see the market and then get an early train to St Malo. She did manage to see the market, which was splendid, but unfortunately all food stuffs which leant she couldn't really buy anything as it wouldn't keep! Then she got the train to St Malo. It wasn't that nice of a day, but it wasn't raining at least when she arrived. She had no idea where she was going, and saw someone with a map of the town. She made the mistake of asking him where he found it, and this lead to him talking to her all the way to the tourist office,interrogating her, and then suggesting they spent the afternoon exploring together, or exchanging numbers to meet up later. Despite him calling her 'adorable', she politely refused. 'Creep', she thought.

So her St Malo adventure began! A very cute place with lots of character. She walked all around the forts, took the little train ride, visited the Hotel de Ville and museum, and unfortunately got quite wet as the rain began to pour in the afternoon! Because of srupid French train times, she had to wait 2 hours for the next train back to Rennes when she arrived at the station, and so took shelter with a cup of tea in a nice warm bakery! 

On her arrival back to the hostel, she bumped into her two friends again, who invited her to have some drinks. However, after her nap, Ruth had planned on visiting the Musée de Beaux Arts as there was a special free late night opening for the public!

She felt very cultural going out to the museum and admiring the paintings, even if she didn't really know what she was looking at! It was quite late when she started walking back, and her hunger had got the better of her, so she stopped off in a little Sushi bar which was lovely, and enjoyed some maki while watching Chelsea win the champions league. When she got back to the hostel, she joined the boys in the TV room. Another Canadian was with them too who was just as friendly. They chatted and had a laugh, and then Ruth decided it was time to for bed. ‘I wonder who will be in my room this night’ she wondered. 

Luckily, no one! It was a bit lonely but at least she could have a snore-free night’s sleep! However, about 4am, Ruth woke up as she needed the toilet. As she turned on her light, she noticed an envelope next to the door marked ‘To my Ruth’. ‘That’s strange’, she thought, ‘as I’ve introduced myself as Lily to EVERYONE I have met here…’  . She was desperate for the toilet, so quickly ran to relieve herself, and she bumped into one of the Canadians on the way, who was just getting back from a night out. ‘Perhaps it is him!?’ she wondered, but again it couldn’t have been because he knows her as Lily. She rushed back to her room and eagerly ripped open the letter. A smell of mens Eau de Toilette filled the room.  It was a love note, written in quite bad English but by a French person. He said that she thought she was charming, and wants to meet for coffee before she leaves tomorrow. It was signed ‘the fan of your heart’ and he had left his number.

‘WHO ON EARTH?!!’ were Ruth’s immediate thoughts. Not only does this person know my real name, but also my room number and my date of departure… Similarly, she had no recollection of ever meeting a French boy in the hostel and introducing herself. Very strange. 

Obviously, curiosity got the better of her, she immediately texted the number to find out who this mysterious stalker was. ‘Lorenzo’ he replied. Lorenzo??????? This meant nothing to Ruth.  She asked who he was exactly, and if they had ever met before. Apparently, yes, they had met and had a conversation in French and that she spoke ‘well of aillior’ (whatever that means).  He said he wanted to meet her before she left, and that it would be a surprise when she finds out who he was.  Ruth was literally baffled. She decided to leave it and have a think over night. This really was a head scratcher. Yes, she had chatted to the hostel staff in French, but the only man she talked to spoke fluent English so he couldn’t have written the note.  The lads she made friends wih all spoke English and called her Lily. WHO is this person?! 

After breakfast and checking out of the hostel, Ruth made her way to the station to get the bus to Mont St Michel. She had always wanted to see the site, and as it was so close she figured now was the best time. Except it wasn’t. It rained, hard, ALL day. She arrived, and since the rock is in the middle of nowhere surrounded by the sea, it was obviously like walking into a storm with wind, rain, puddles and greyness everywhere.  Ruth had two options: Due to irregular bus times (France’s favorite thing) she either could do whirlwind tour and then get the next bus in 90 minutes, or  wander aimlessly in the rain killing time to get the last bus in 3 hours.  She took the first option. To be honest, an hour was enough to see the church and walk around the Abbey. When it’s pouring with rain and full of tourists, ambling is the last thing anyone wants to do. She found Mont St Michel very cute, but it was just a shame that the views were spoiled by the rain. Still, ‘I can tick it off my list now’, she thought to herself. 

Getting on the bus back to Rennes, she had a message from her mystery man.  He wanted to know if she had a boyfriend, what time her train was, and what she was doing this afternoon. Ruth answered all of these things truthfully, still completely unaware of who this dude was. She got off the bus and went straight to the cinemas. She had a lot of time to kill before her train back, and obviously everything was shut with it being Sunday. Again, it was sad that she went on her own but she liked the film and being dry!  Afterwards, she told Lorenzo that she was coming back to the hostel to collect her suitcase then go to the station, hoping he’d be there just so she could find out who he is! He wasn’t, so she decided just to leave it and go to the station. 

As she was waiting for her train, she received a message saying that he was on his way to the station to see her and say goodbye. ‘Oh my gosh!’ Ruth thought.  This was like something in a film!

But the departure of her train was fast approaching, and as much as she wanted the mystery man to be revealed, she had to board the train. Sitting in her  seat, she sent him a message to say that she was still in suspense over it all and that she’s gutted she’ll never get to find out his identity.  His response… None.

So, following a wonderful weekend in Rennes, she arrived back to yet more rain, but was content.  She still has no idea about the guy who knew her name and room number, and she will carry on living her life never ever knowing who he was. It’s a real mystery, even to her…

What France does to you

Bonjour!

Again, another overdue blog with lots to update on. I have approximately 6 weeks left of my placement, and to think that when I first arrived June felt like light years away. What a whirlwind the past 8 months have been, and my level of French is not the only thing which has changed. I myself have definitely changed since being here. There are things which I would never even consider in England, and never thought I'd do generally, yet since mon arrivée en France, I seem to have adopted their 'no care in the world' attitudue... Here's why: 

Lily, not Ruth. Self explanatory. 

McDonalds. Most of you know, that as a veggie ( and I'd like to consider myself a reasonably 'healthy' eater too) this fast food chain was never an option for me. Sure, after a big night out I might be tempted by medium fries at 2am, but otherwise in England I hardly EVER ate at McDonalds. Since being in France however, I've probably eaten more McDonalds these past 8 months than I have in the past 8 years!! While I was training I didn't feel too gulity, but now I have no excuse. It just doesn't have that same 'greasy' feeling afterwards which makes you want to cut open your stomach and flush it out like you get in England, (Just me?) and, obvisouly, it tastes so goooood. I blame the boyfriend too, it's always his way out of cooking. They need to bring back chocoglacés though, McFlurry's just don't cut it anymore!

Rides. The thought of Alton Towers or Drayton Manor with friends was always a no-go. I could never sit on a ride with loop the loops and vertical drops for fear of, well, just fear! I have always been a wimp when it comes to things like this. I couldn't even hack the tyre swing at my local park! But, again, having conquered some fears at Disney Land, my bravery developed further when I went to Parc Astérix this weekend.  Based on the stories of Asterix, this park walks over Disney anyday! I was hesitant to buy my ticket because I'm such a crybaby, but I am so thankful that I went becasue it was just amazing! There are less people than at Dinsey which means less queueing and less stress just walking around in general. Better variety of rides, big, small, wet, fast, slow... less 'cheese' and glitter, fewer children running everywhere, better ambiance in general. So, be proud of me. I did ALL the big attractions, including a 8 looper and the brand new inverted rolelrcaoster called Ozliris- 4 weeks new situated in the 'Egypt' part of the park. I adlit that the first time I saw it I completelt froze and didn't go on, but I was reassured by all my friends that I would love it and it was the best ride, so in the afternoon I plucked up the courage to go on it and it was AMAZING!! I cried 'let's do it again!!' as soon as we had finished ahah. So there we go, fear of heights and loops and speed = conquered! Yeah buddy : 

http://youtu.be/Gxi9uwNTDrc

Getting into cars with strangers. Don't worry, it's not as dangerous as it sounds! It's not something I do on a regular occasion, but I have done it two or three times more than what I would in England.Following my bank advisor taking me to the supermarket way back in September, and my hitch-hiking incident, I guess I just have more trust for French people... On Sunday, I had a bit of an adventure when going to meet the family with whom I'll be au-pairing this summer. It was a 30 minute train ride from Versailles, then about 7km by foot to their country house. Since my project has been done (onto that later) and there was nothing else to do on Sunday, I thought I'd just leisurely walk the 7km or au pire get a taxi, how hard could it be? Well, turns out not very! I arrive at Beynes and start walking with my google maps directions in my hands. Its a niceish afternoon, am in the countryside, all is fine. I don't find the first street I need though, and a young driver pulls up seeing the confused expression on my face. He asks me if I'm ok and I explain that I'm looking for a certain road, he sees that my directions are in English and pulls a face, basically he doesn't know. I tell him not to worry, I'm going to walk back to the station to call a taxi. He smiles and drives off. I'm walking back up the road, and he pulls up again beside me. He tells me where I have to go to find the way but advises me that it's fairly far. I just tell him that it's ok, I'm in no hurry so going to call a taxi, thanks for his help. He wishes me luck and drives off into the fields. Having ordered my taxi (from the most enthusiastic driver I've ever heard on the phone!) I'm sat under a tree reading my book and low and behold guess who rocks up and parks infront of me...?! I don't know how I get myself into these situation.Long story short, he offers me a lift to where I need to be and I accept. I didn't feel threatened because I was in the countryside, I would have felt more unsafe in the city I feel. He was a friendly chap, and I made sure I slipped early into the conversation that I have a boyfriend! We actually had a bit in common which kept the convo rolling, and he kindly took me to where I needed to be. Drove off without even asking for my name or number! Winner. 

Eating meat. Mum, turn away. Friends, please don't judge. Remember, what happens in France, stays in France!! I know I had that lasagne incident before christmas, but that wasn't my fault! I arived at the familiy's house on Sunday, quite a bit earlier than expected and they were just about to have Sunday lunch. The mother was very friendly and she invited me to join them for lunch which obviously I couldn't refuse! The grandparents were there too, and the 4 kids! One of which is a newborn of two weeks old, so cute and lots of black fluffy hair!! They made me feel very welcome and the family were très sympa. But yes, I ate chicken. The smallest morceau, mind! It was a lunch of beef or chicken and veg, and I couldn't refuse two out of the three! She said that they are hiring me not only to look after the children but to, and I quote, 'be a part of their family'. And to be honest, that's why I wanted to au-pair too, to gain an experience into true French family life. So if this means not causing problems and eating meat, then so be it. It's just for the summer! I am going to stay vegetarian in all other possible circumstances, (my boyfriend tried to sneak lardons into our carbonara the other day- he thinks he's so sneaky) but if they prepare meat for dinner I'll just eat it.... The afternoon was lovely, the children were fun and I almost died on the trampoline playing with them. But I am very excited to spend the summer down south with them. 

Drinking coffee and red wine. Again, both served at dinner on Sunday afternoon. But equally, I am learning just to let go and adapt to French culture. I do usually stick to tea and herbal teas when I can, but I'm getting better at 'prendre-ing un café' in necessary situations. Just add a splash of milk and some sugar and knock it back! As for the wine, well. Wine is wine!

Skiving. Ok, not really. But I am beginning to take the mic a bit with work. Arriving at 9.10 instead of 9. Taking a bit longer at lunch than I 'should'. But its just, it's getting to the end of semester and the library is quiet, so it's not like I have to rush back to attend to the line of students wanting to take out books.I'm really not needed here anymore tbh! I took a day off on Friday just so I could go to Reims! It was just a flying visit but Aurélien and I had lunch, visited a champagne 'cave' (Tattinger), visited the Fossier biscuit factory, and walked around the cathedral. It was a lovely day, but I should have been at work as I took a day which I didn't technically have left to take... 

Staying in bed. I was always up and about at uni, the thought of staying in bed was just unthinkable! There was always something I had to do.  Whereas now I just use the 'I'm working full time' card each time I hit snooze! Like I said, the marathon is finished, the bane of my Year Abroad has now been completed and submitted ( yaayyy!) and I have no guilt hanger over me now (other than the fact that I feel lazy), so chilling in bed and lolling about on the sofa when I want to is becoming rather a bad habit! :S. Still running though, don't worry I'm not some fat McDonalds burger on legs. Yet.

WHO AM I?!!! What has France done to me?! Don't worry, I still love musicals, Cadbury's and putting gliter on me eyes, RUTH is still alive! I hope you haven't judged me, but just see it as I do, part of the experience and just ' a phase'... haha. 

Finally, one more to add to the things only in France: 

Chocolate and cheese. I kid you not.

(Tastes like chocolate crème fraiche...Yes, I have tried it. Standard).

Paris, je t'aime- again!

Bonjour ! Woah it has been a long time, but I must admit things have got a lot busier all of a sudden recently!  And plus, with a 6000 word project dealine soon approaching, updating a blog really isn't a priority.. as much as I'm using it as a distraction now! But I'm just going to bash out what's been happening in Lily's life recently so I can tick this off my list and 'crack on with my project'. A sentence I've been saying since September.

Exciting things: 

A few weekends ago, I did a proper Jouy-Paris-Jouy night out, staying out pas the last train and returning  to my room at 7am! It was for Julie's birthday, so I met some of her Irish friends- who are so full of beans! I didn't even drink because the drinks were so expensive, I don't know how I survied until 6am before the trains started but I did. The music was great, that must have been what kept me going! Julie and I were the only hard core ones who lasted until sunrise, and we evern found a cute 24hour brasserie café where we got (nice, not greasy chicoland-esque) homemade chips and a cup of tea whilst looking over the awakening of Montparnasee square at 6am. This is what Paris is about! Funniest moment on the train back in the morning, a French guy came up with uncontrollable hiccups. After asking me for a bottle of water, to which I replied, 'no sorry but try holding your breath and swallowing three times', he groaned and curled up in a ball on the seat, his shoulders jiggling up and down constantly. He then got out his phone to call his friend, and from what I understood by his angry voice and what he was saying, his friends had left without waiting for him or something, so he was having a go at them, but I couldn't take him seriously because literally every other second was followed by a hiccup. 'Are you serious? hic'. 'What are you playing at? hic', 'Shut hic up!'. LOL. Julie and I were just in stitches behind him! 

I  took a day off  last Wednesday to see my lovely friend Ella before she packs up and leaves France! ( asif!) We trated ourselves to another day at Disneyland, starting this time with the Studio Park before finsihing at the main park. I liked the studio park, there were less children and in my opinion more interesting rides to go on. We saw a cool car stunt show too! I actually did  rides!! House of terror, (after which, I was so shaky that I had to sit down and was mocked at by a northerner saying 'Oha, she's all sheehyyken up!'). Space mountain, rock n rollercoaster... there is a finding nemo ride which is actually quite fast and jolty and spinny and backwards in the dark! But fun all the same. I was very brave I must say, I am overcoming my fears! I had a really great day off and it was nice seeing Ella. One of our friends, Sarah, now works there so we met her after work and had yummy nacho's burgers at planent hollywood for tea! (with ehr discount, of course :p)

Thursday night, after shaking my booty at Zumba, I went over to my colleague, Christine's, house for dinner and the airing of Desperate Housewives in French! She knows I am a big fan, and despite already having watched the latest series, I took up her offer to go and have dinner and watch the show at her house, because, you have to take these opportunities! As I know the story lines, it was good watching it in French as I understood it. I met her mum, had a lovely home cooked dinner and the evening was just lovely :)

Last weekend was really good, and I have fallen back in love with Paris. To add to my sudden burst of bravery, I took a ride on the back of Aurélien's motorbike on friday night. We cruised to Versailles along the motorway at speeds which I can only describe through my thoughts as 'Ohmygosh I am going to die'.

There was a free boat trip along the Seine on Saturday evening organised by the HEC  International Students and we basically had a ride in a cute boat along the river seeing the sights with a tour commentary. Who ever knew that each bridge across the river told a story?! There was a little meal with wine included and we watched the sunset along the river- so nice! It's not every day you get to eat smoked salmon and drink wine whilst passing the Eiffel Tower! And the Statue of Liberty...! Afterwards the girls and I went and got a crèpe from a very cute crèperie in the Marais, really hit the spot!  Later, Sylvia and I went to meet Aurélien and his friend  at a pub to watch an important football match (don't ask me what though; Lyon vs Marseille, the League Cup perhaps??) so that was fun, just chilled having a drink in a nice pub and chatting to the guys. Lyon lost though, which didn't go down too well. I feell that I am learning more about football now, so I can join in conversation and my boyfriend's friends will think I'm cool. Even if it is mostly just French insults to the 'arbitre'!We got a lift back to campus which is always a luxury  when trains stop running at 10! And in his flash new car too.

Sunday morning I went to Paris again in the morning to watch a friend do the marathon. We spent a lot of time taking métros all across Paris, but it was worth it. We managed to see her twice and she did so well! Then after I went to meet my neighbors from home who were in Pairs for the weekend for lunch near Notre Dame. We had a lovely quiche, salad and apricot tart in a cute tucked away café just behing the cathedral! 

I was told that Sarkozy was making an appearance in paris that afternoon, as was François Hollande. So in order to delay working on my project further, I went over to Concorde to see Mr President! There were lots of people, lots of flags and lots of cheering. I didn't stay long, just long enough to take a photo to say I've seen him. There were too many people to get a good spot, and I couldn't really hear what he was saying anyway as it was echoy and windy. Elections this Sunday, it's quite interesting with all the election stuff happening at the moment. Then I met Aurélien and his friend again for coffee and then a lift back (I'm not with him just for the lifts, honest). I did some 'work', skyped mum then they came back again with Pizza so we just chilled together all night! It's been ages since I have had a nice week end in Paris, it's a shame that the weather has turned windy and rainy recently , but I just keep hoping it will pass as it's only April Showers.

In other good news, I think my summer is sorted. So I finsih here end of june, go on holiday to Tunisia and then I hopefully have an aupair job with a French family for end of July until mid August.I will come back to England for 3 weddings (in the same week!) and spend some time at home, try and move my stuff into my new student house. Theeenn... I have a month's job working at BNP bank in September!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Soo exciting, can't believe my application got accepted! It will be at the same branch as my boyfriends, which could be a challenge, but it was he who encouraged me to apply and I think the fact that I speak English was a bonus. Even if the Au*pair job doesn't work out I will still be very happy with the Bank internship. I just want to make the most of being in France before Uni starts again! 

I went to see the studen'ts musical the other night. It was the show which I auditioend for but then turned down the secodn round of auditions. It was entertaining enough, nothing compared to what Southampton Performing Arts Society can throw together though! If you're going to sing the Friends theme tune, at least GET THE WORDS RIGHT!! Oh, je n'étais pas contente. 

I have a close uni friend with me this weekend. She's currently asleep in my room as I had to do my 3rd 8.20 start this morning!! Lionel has been away this week which has meant Christine and I manning the library by oursleves, but it's been quite nice actually! I'm looking forward to a weekend with Lucy, I'm off this afternoon so we'll go out exploring!

If you are still with me, well done! I'll stop here as ths has already taken me like an hour to write! As you can see I've been quite busy, and the next few weekends will be the same, with a trip back home, a trip to Astérix Park and Reims planned for May. 

Bref, je dois bosser. A la prochaine! 

Ai se eu te pego!

I wouldn't reccommend you look up the translation of this title, but it seems to be the song of the moment across Europe and I can't go one day without it being played, and for lack of any other inspiration of a blog title... why not! 

En fait, this song title does kiiiinda have something to do with this blog. So basically a Brazilian singer, Michel Telo, has invaded the charts and the hearts of young Europeans with his notoriously acclaimed 'Ai se eu tu pego', and you can't escape the tune on French radio. ( I must even admit; the mp3 found itself in my amazon basket the other day...). Even one night at Zumba this song came on and we discovered that there is in fact a dance to accompany it, which pretty much mirrors the lyrics of the song in the least subtle manner! 

Where am I going with this? You may ask. Well, this weekend I spent a lovely couple of days visitng the beautiful Loire region in France. Famous for it's chateauxs ( It's known as the Chateau de la Loire region), the area is very well looked after and stunning in terms of landscape and architecture. The International Society on campus had organised a trip, and I must say it was very well organised as we had meals included in very accommodating restuarants, a coach to take us to three different castles, tours around castles and enough free time to explore Tours, where we stayed. I really loved Tours, there was a lot of character, and it was just great to be in a town which actually had shops, bars, crèperies, restaurants ( all which were open till late!) and people! Once we arrived on Friday night, we checked into our hostel, which was pretty grim, then headed out to the square where we were lucky enough to have tables especially set up for a group of 20 of us so we could sit outside, have a drink and just soak up the atmosphere. Within this group were some very cool Brazilians, who, once they heard me attempt to sing this Portuguese song quietly to myself, immediately corrected my pronounciations and then the song just kinda became the 'soundtrack' of the weekend. For some reason, we thought it would be fun to film us in the grounds of one of the castles singing and dancing this renowned song. So there we were, standing outside Chateaux de Chenonceau , the sun shining and glistening off the river, couples strolling in the blooming gardens, bref, tranquility partout, and we burst out with thrusting and proclaiming to the world 'Ai se eu te pego!' It was just so not in keeping with the étiquette of this historical site but we had such a laugh! So there we go, one theme of the weekend I decided to use in this blog! 

We had tours around Amboise, Chenonceau and Chambord castles. Each having it's own story and impressive architecture.It was a great way to see a different part of France and I enjoyed just being out of the hustle and bustle of Paris and being able to just relax and appreciate the calmness of it all. One crazy thign though, on Sunday morning walking around Tours, I bumped into two fellow Southampton course friends who were visiting the town too- what a small world!

In other news, things have been very eventful but exciting. A couple of weeks ago I went back to Nottingham for my 21st birthday weekend, during which I was very spoilt! As I don't have Easter Holidays here, it was my only chance to come back to see my friends and family, and I had a lovely Open House with lots of special people who came to see me and I had a great weekend full of suprises ( including a French Bank Man :p ), nice presents, cake, champagne and sunshine :) It was hard leaving and having to go back to work, but I had such a wonderful weekend all the same.

The campus has been pretty lively the past few weeks, with new Student's Union elections. There was music, bumper cars, trampolines, segways, sumo suits,free food, free drinks, free goodies, posters, sirens, happeneing all day and all night for about two weeks, and POWs pretty much every night! Not that I attended that many of them, but there was just so much going on across campsu that you couldn't concentrate! And what is it with French student campaigns and condoms? Chucked around like confetti! Can you imagine that in England? The French are wierd.

And equally, what is it with everything being shut ALL THE TIME in France. Theres none of this Tesco 24h convenience malarky. You want to get something for dinner at 8 pm, nope you're just gonna have to make do with what you've got in your cupboards because no food shops are open. Sunday shopping? you've got to be kidding.  Go to the ticket office because the machine is broken, no body there. Pop to the bank on monday. It's shut. Go to the post office on your lunch break. Fermé. France, you'd make so much more money if you JUST STAYED OPEN!!!!! 

Things in the library have been all go. We have migrated our email accounts over to gmail and it's cuased more stress than it's worth! Being young, you know, I can adapt quite easily to the cahnge and just get on with it, some of my colleages really are not impressed with the changeover and all I hear is ' J'en sais rien!' and 'Je comprends pas' and 'J'en ai marre!!!!' all day.

Par contre, the campus is much quieter, sun is out and it's Easter weekend which means I can eat chocolate again yaay. I will be around Paris for the three day weekend but that is all I get. I'm composing a list of 'Things to do before leaving France' so perhaps I will get to tick off some of those things this weekend. Like hiring a Vélib' or doing and actual Nuit Blanche. 

Happy Pâques to you all! And here's just a teaser of Michel and his groupies ;) 

( The girl who filmed it forgot to press 'record' for the first like minute, but I am sure you'll get the idea...)

Make way for Library Day!

The day we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. Red T-shirts, iPads, Kindles, interactive whiteboard, photo exhibition, book sale, tour guides… it’s all go for the Library Day! For the past two months the Library staff have been organising this spectacular event, to promote the Library and it’s resources ( even it’s ‘hidden’ resources) to students, professors, and staff.  It is all a bit of a show though, I have to say. The interactive white board was only installed last week, the iPads and Kindles are on loan, there are never TV screens with slide shows on repeat, and there are NEVER this amount of librarians present! But in all honesty, a lot of work has gone into this open day, and it has been great for me as I have had loads of translations to do for various posters/programmes/ info guides so I can’t complain.  There has been biscuits, tea and coffee available all day, a fabulous book sale consisting of donated second hand books in all languages, on sale for 1 or 2 euros each! I took the opportunity to buy Le Petit Robert for 2€ (! Literally, they are like 40 quid in England!) , Of Mice and Men (in French), A Midsummer night’s Dream (in French- check me out) and I have to admit… Twilight! (in French too though!) I was staring at all these 1€ Molière and Voltaire books thinking to myself , “ I really should buy these and read them, I am a French student after all” but… I just couldn't bring myself to do it.. Equally, I already have enough stuff to get back to England in suitcases; books are not going to help that! Especially not with Le Petit Robert which is HUGE!! 

Anyway, the day is going well, everyone is happy and chirpy and there are plenty of activities on offer. ( Although, like always, I am stuck at the desk hence why I am writing this!) Sadly, not many students have made an appearance, it’s been mostly staff but I think that’s due to lack of promotion, and also the fact that students here think they are too good for the library as they already know everything already.  The cocktail later might prove me wrong though. I have given a couple of tours in English and done a bit of interpreting here and there for various demonstrations. Makes a change to usual dull days here, at least I’m not doing pages of data input..

My weekend was brightened up thanks to Ella Dove, whom I visited in Le Havre for the weekend. I realised that she leaves in 5 weeks ( as if!) and I haven’t yet been anywhere out of Paris to visit someone so I had better get on that train before I have no one to see! It was a lovely weekend in Haut Normandy. I managed to see the sea! Before it started pouring it down with rain all day. Well, you’re practically in England in Normandy, so what do you expect. I didn’t mind, the weather didn’t stop us from having a nice lunch, shopping ( buy one pair of shoes, get the other for 1€!), taking a ride on Le Havre’s most thrilling attraction; the funicular, eating crèpes at a great crèperie, and enjoying the wonders of St Patrick’s day with Irish celebrations in the evening! I met her other assistant friends and we went to an organised evening of Irish dancing and beer in a very pleasant environment. Until this crazy Irish metal band came on and kinda killed the night. But it was fun all the same! Sunday, we went to a nearby village and looked around the cute market( we were inspired and have decided to buy a rabbit for our house next year) , wandered along the river and just generally admired the village. Being France, there was not much else to do that afternoon so we took a trip to the port, did a bit more shopping then chilled together before my train back to Paris in the evening. Thanks, Ella, for a lovely week end! 

So, what else. Well the only thing getting me through this week is knowing that I am going HOME on Friday , for my BIRTHDAY!! It’s only a flying visit back to Notts, but I can’t wait to see my friends and family for cake and champagne! I don’t have any Easter holidays, or any long breaks at all now so it will be one of my last trips back before the summer! During which I am hoping to stay out in France to work, so it light even be a VERY long time until I move back to England! As much as I have ahd enough of this job and am ready to leave, I am not ready to leave France! Am currently applying for various jobs in various places, but it’s so hard. If you know of anything, please let me know! My colleague got a little over helpful earlier and started phoning the tousit office in Deauville trying to find me a job…! It would be something at least.

No POW tonight as I am getting up at 5 (on my actually birthday- dedication!) to get to the airport, but I think I’ll go to the cinema as France has an offer on at the moment where all cinema tickets are 3.50€. Which is a bargain in Paris. 

The weather is very sunny, yay! It sucks that I have to be stuck at a desk all day during it though, but it makes running in the evenings more pleasant. I hope it stays this nice for this weekend! 

Nottingham here we come! So glad I only worked a 4 day week this week. Really have had enough! However, there is currently a debate going on between my colleagues as to whether I should put 'très bon niveau de français' or 'bilingue' under the Languages section of my CV... quite a compliment!

Run, Ruth, Run!

It's DONE! I ran my little legs off, crossed the finish line with a crowd of people to meet me, recieved my boquet of flowers and went straight to my TV interview. 

Ok, so maybe not. All of the opposite in fact!! The whole event was just a whirlwind. As I was in the last category of runners to leave ( the slowest category) I was hanging about in my 'pen' for about 45 minutes after everyone else had began ready and raring to go, getting very cold and more and more anxious- and hungry! I was expecting to get more energy and motivation along the route though, because there would be hunderds of spectators there to cheer us on, with banners and chanting etc... But no. Apparently Paris doesn't do support! I was so grateful to have my Dad, family friends, boyfriend, Godparents and friends from here come to cheer me on, I saw them just a couple of times but it definitely helped! Seriously, the streets were pretty bare and I was relying on people to be encouraging me to go on! But anyway, I had a nice run through the park at Chateau de Vincennes, and saw Hotel de Ville, Notre Dame, Bastille... and a lot of people peeing haha. 

BUT, I crossed the finish line. Eventually. 21km is quite a long way; after each km I kept thinking ' what, that was ONLY a km??!' . It was a great experience, I don't know how much of it I actually enojyed (probably the Snicker bar at the end was the best bit!) but I can say I have done the Paris Half Marathon as my first. And mayybbeee it will be the first of many, but I want to go back to running for pleasure now as opposed to it being a chore! I had the most wonderful reception at the finish line though I must say, my mum had waited for me, and my family, friends and boyfriend were there which really brought tears to my eyes! (But I cry at everything). So thanks to everyone for their support, even if you weren't there on the day you helped by asking how my trianing was going and I know a lot of you listened to me moaning about hurting and being tired and whiney.. It's over now! What AM I going to do with my free time?! 

Well, part of this eventful weekend included a day in Disney Land!! I had booked Monday off work thinking that I would be pretty dead. (I wasn't , thankfully, clearly didn't run hard enough! ) and my parents, godparents and their children and I had a wonderful trip to see Micky and the gang :) It's about 15 years since I last went, and despite the cold it was a fun filled day enjoyed by all! I don't really remember much from when I first went, lots of colours and happy songs and charatcters everywhere. Was slightly different this time though! Cold, not as colourful, the haunted house definitely wasn't as scary as I remembered! And I was disappointed with the lack of costumed characters around! The parade didn't seem as spectacular, no fireworks or lights or anything. But I enjoyed the day quand même. I even went on rides! For me, the girl who won't even go on fair ground rides, this was quite an achievement! Ok, so I didn't conquer Space Mountain, but I did Le train de mine and Indiana Jones, twice! Nothing beats the teacups though, and obviously It's A Small World, just classic :) 

So it was un week-end très chargé, as my parents arrived on Friday, I organised dinner for 14 on Saturday night, did the run on Sunday, watched the rugby, Disney Land.. Well, I say I organised dinner for 14, there is actually a story behind that. I used a French website called La Forchette to help me find an Italian restuarant which I could book for us all. So I went ahead and booked and they rang me several times to confirm. Found the map on google, printed it off and got directions etc. Managed to get everyone to meet at the nearest métro point and take them to the resaurant. Only to arrive and be told that this wasn't the right Pane et Vino I had booked.... that one was in Clichy and we were in Paris. Woops.  But thankfully they had space for us at this restuarant and we suceeded in having a very pleasant dinner, although I did notice the waitress kept coming in and out with supermarket shopping bags... It's almost as though they were literally making everything to order!

Work has actually been fairly productive this week. We are organising a 'Library Day' soon which everyone is getting rather excited about, which means lots of translations for me to do. I can't complain, and I actually have enjoyed doing them as I get to see what we will have on offer and stuff. Plus it gives me something to do! I was also given the responsability of contatcing several database companies to ask them for samples of user guides, so that was quite good.

Have had the second vist from a Southampton professor as part of this language study so that has taken up some of my time this week. He shadowed me on wednesday morning- at least he tried, my colleague kept chatting to him about the elections!We did some language tests and he stayed to observe my evening activites too. I had some positive feedback from him which was nice. Like I have said before, it's hard to actually know how well my French has come on. My parents said they were very impressed too, so I think it takes being around those who don't speak French that well to realise that you are better than you think.Even if I do still continue to confuse 'pleurer' and 'pleuvoir' !!

A colleague has invited me to a comedy/theatre/improvisation thing tonight near her. I'm not quite sure what I have signed up for, but it looks fun and you get a bowl of soup included in the ticket price- winner! I am going to meet her in Versailles and her friend will give us a lift to the event, and depending on what time it ends she has kindly offered that I stay the night at hers if there are no trains. I don't have anything else planend tonight, and one thing I have learned from this year is to just take opportunites when you can, and it will be a good exercise for my French so I though, why not?! Other than that, nothing planned this weekend, but I should crack on with my project so you now... there is always that!

A trip to Le Havre and back home in the next couple of weeks to look forward to. Otherwise it's now back to putting magnetic strips into periodicals and then putting them on their respective shelves... yay. 

Straight to the point.

I realise it has been a while since my last blog, so I do apologise for that! I am reading from fellow student's blogs that those doing British Council placements have something ridiculous like 8 weeks left of their year abroad, whereas I on the other hand am only half way through my internship and have another 5 months to go! Oui, la vie est dure... But I guess the more time in France, the better? Let's evaluate.

 

So since I am half way through my year I have asked myself  'what have you learned so far?' and 'what can you expect from the next 5 months?'. Well in all honesty, I feel like I have come to a bit of a standstill in terms of what I am getting out of this experience. I don't feel like each day bring exciting/new experiences anymore, and work is definietley not a challenge. There is nothing I can do that will bring my French to a better level I don't think. It seems like since Christmas I really haven't advanced, and it's just because evry day is the same and I am not doing challenging tasks or anything. I am trapped in the campus bubble, not getting insight into the 'real' world of France/Paris. Ok, I am at an advantage by having a French boyfriend, with whom I can watch French TV, listen to French radio in the car, talk to on the phone and in general just about n'importe quoi, but otherwise my conversations at work are not that rich and the evenings are spent gossiping in English with the girls!! I have really had enough with this library placement. In terms of having tasks and things to do, well, I don't have any! Yes, each day I have to spend 20 minutes putting magnetic strips into reviews and then putting them in their correct place but that's hardly using  my French! There are sometimes students who email and ask for a book to renewed which is my job to do for them ( they are not clever enough to do it themselves online) so i'll respond to a few messages in French or English, but it's always the same phrases so no real extention to my vocabulary there. And since I am not qualified on data base research or book covering/preparation, it's always down to me to be left as the person at the welcome desk. Sat on my bum having nothing interesting to do. Sure I can read French magazines and stuff but come on, would you want to do that all day? I need to make the effort myself to do more grammar and vocab learning, and to just strike up conversations myself with students/my colleages. I do tell my colleageus that I am here for anything they need help with. But that doesn't stop them putting up a bad translation on the English website because they didn't get me to check it first!! Of course, the students never cease to amuse me and brighten up my day when they come up to complain to me that the colour printer has printed thier documents in colour...

 

I have learned that the French are very laid back. I know that seems cliché, but it's so true! 'Coffee after lunch? I've already had an hour and a half break but sure, why not?!' 'This book was due back last monday, but I'll just bring it back the next month, no bother'. 'I'll meet you at 8' and they arrive 20 mins later. 'I'll respond to your email when I get back'. 'I'll just send it to them when I'm ready'. 'Excuse me while I take this phone call instead of serving you'. 'We'll give you full details the night before' 'I'll come and get you later sometile'... I could go on. I have also learned that Gare du Nord is a hotbed for weirdos and teethless men. The same man approched me three times at three differnent places of the station when I arrived yesterday, and I coudn't tell you even what he was asking me because he was talking jibberish.  I have equally learned that France are just a little bit behind the times. You can't scan barcodes on library cards, you have to type in the number manually. Online banking is about a week behind date, and equally you can only check your bank balance at your actual bank cash machine, not another bank. Finally, train timetables are not to be trusted! So these all seem like negative observations, huh? Well I have to say that  despite what we say I find the French verys honest people. They are just open and will tell you the truth. Perhaps this is where we get the idea that they are 'rude'. I would say differently. Not rude, just honest. I ask my colleague how she is, and she tells me exactly how she is. Even things like emails and texts. Naturally as a female I tend to elaborate and write everything out in full with terms of endearment, hearts and smileys and kisses, whereas the French will literally just respond to the question you asked using as little words as possible, followed (if you're lucky) by a full stop. No messing about with the French! Moreover, greetings and introductions are very important to the French. Everyone you pass around campus is likely to wish you a 'bonjour' whether you recognise each other or not, and also I have found that when you arrive at work in the morning, colleagues make a big thing about saying 'Bonjour' to each other, and on some occasions some of my colleagues have evn sought me out just to say 'I realised we haventt said hello yet today!'. It's nice :) And then there's the whole bisous, a kiss on each cheek even on the first meeting of someone. How is that being rude?!

 

Anyways, I am SURE that the next 5 months will be great and that things will come up to keep me going. I already have lots of exciting things to look forward to before Easter. I was in London this weekend for a flying visit to spend with the family and we went to see the stage performance of War Horse which was just fantastic. And this weekend my parents, godparents and other family friends will be in Paris for this bloomin' half marathon- and DISNEY LAND!! Quite exciting. I WILL go to both parks, even if I have to do it in a wheelchair following my run aha. Once the half marathon is over I don't know what I am going to do to fill my time with! (The words 'year abroad research project' keep flying around my ears!). Then at the end of March I will be in Nottingham celbrating my 21st Birthday (old, much) and the weekend after that I am going to Château de la Loire with friends here, then I'm seeing Drake in Paris, not sure what I am doing over Easter week end yet but perhaps something fun will come up then too! Am also looking to try and get tickets for Mamma Mia in French in Paris! I don't get any more 'official' holidays until July now. No easter, no half terms. It is currently French holidays and despite the lack of life on campus the library has still decided to stay open. Its almost one o'clock and so far ONE student has walked in the library... This week is going to drag I can tell. I have 7 days worth of congés left to take before I leave, so I need to think of how wisely I can use them. There are an insane amount of Bank Holidays in April/May which I could make use of for long weekends so I'll have to see. I feel like I am not making the most of being in France to travel around and visit people around Europe- I need to get my act together! One of the restraints of working full time is that come the weekend I just want to relax as I only have two days to turn arund and recover and prepare for the next week! But time is going so fast, there soon will be no more weekends left!

 

 

The sun has got his hat on again at least in ol' JouY en Josas which naturally lightens the mood of things. I am pleased that cold spell is out of they way, now we can move into spring and Easter and happy bunnies prancing everywhere :) I kid you not, there are rabbits on campus! And the FATTEST cat you have ever seen. And ladybirds everywhere. And ducks. And green parrots. And red squirrels. Quite the nature park HEC campus!

 

Clearly I am running out of things to say as I have started rambling on about the wild life here. Time to call it a day and say bye , to be honest ( see what I did there).

 

Bye.

 

(And again)