'Franglish!'

Bonsoir from France everyone!

My original plan was to write about my move/settling in for this blog post, but I’m currently writing a piece along those lines for ‘mylifelivingabroad.com’ so you get something a bit different this week!

Last night, me and 9 of the other girls decided to check out a 'Franglish' session which is a kind of language exchange night structured a bit like speed dating. You have to speak for 7 minutes in English and 7 in French and then move to the next table, which, after a week of speaking minimal French was very daunting!  

                    

The night costs 8 euros for students (12 for non-students), includes a drink (wine, beer or a soft drink), and lasts about an hour with a break in the middle. Last night it was held at Chapi Chapo in the 5^th arrondissement, which is a cute little bar; the nights are held at various places around Paris and other major French cities. We arrived a little bit tipsy (Dutch courage was definitely needed!) and were each given name tags and a table number. 

Table 7 was my first port of call and I was paired with a man called Florian who spoke very fast but I was surprised by how well I managed to talk to him (thank you alcohol!). The time went really quickly and with my confidence growing I moved onto my next table where I found myself face to face with a very dishy guy called Eliott - good bye confidence. We were just getting to know each other when my friend Charis joined us due to there being too many native English speakers (gutted!). Romantic convo interrupted we spent the rest of the 14 minutes talking about travelling.

I spoke to three other people throughout the night and enjoyed it a lot! Philippe on table 14 was quite a challenge as I found his French accent very hard to understand and he spoke very little English (he was also a little bit leery). The night ended a lot quicker than I thought it would, but luckily all of us decided to stay and keep drinking. 

Needless to say, at my first opportunity, I made a beeline for Eliott and we chatted for the rest of the night, slipping from French to English then back again (once again thank you alcohol). I don't actually know if I made any sense in either language but the night ended well and we’ve spoken since…

Overall I would definitely recommend this as a way of practising your language skills. It forced all of us to speak French in a laid back setting and it can be carried on way after the session finished: we all stayed til 11.30pm. It was a lot of fun and I will be going again!

This is the website if any other year abroaders are interested :) http://www.franglish.eu/

Bisous à tous 

Strasbourg and Paris!

I got back from Paris Sunday night and I’m moving there today – not the most thought through plan in the world but it was a lot of fun and played a big part in making me feel ready and less nervous. I'm actually really looking forward to going back now!

This was the first time I’d ever flown alone and to make matters worse my flight was from Gatwick, so after waking up at the crack of dawn, I found myself on a three and a half hour National Express coach ride from Bristol. I had woken up at 6.30am and therefore I was not a happy chicken. You can imagine my dismay when some loudmouth woman got on and started shouting down the phone – this happened every half hour, and despite my polite shhing, she didn't stop I was relieved when I finally made it to the airport and could escape the shouty lady.

For those of you who are lucky enough not to have flown out of Gatwick, it’s big. And confusing. And an ickle bit scary when you’re on your own in an aiport for the first time. I managed eventually and before long, found myself sat listening to the flight safety talk; I decided to actually pay attention this time. Now we didn’t crash or anything but it was definitely a bumpy flight: it was the worst turbulence I’d ever experienced, quite a few people screamed at pointsm the seatbelt sign never went off and even the cabin crew were told to sit down. Typical that my first flight alone was the scariest. Luckily I had my HP with me (Harry Potter et l’ordre du phénix) which always makes me happy.

Navigating from Strasbourg Airport to my friend Hannah’s flat was interesting to say the least. I had to battle with a very confusing ticket machine at the airport’s train station – it only let me pay on card so I was charged £1.95 to buy a 2 euro ticket – not impressed. I then succeeded in getting a taxi all on my own from the main train station to Hannah’s. I was very proud of myself but I was yet to discover that this was the easiest bit of travelling I would do.

My first night in Strasbourg was fantastic, it is a beautiful place. Hannah and I shared a bottle of wine by the river and I tried sushi for the first time, it took some getting used to but was very yummy. I then got to see a light show as the cathedral is celebrating it’s millennium this year. My phone camera is rubbish so didn’t get any good photos but I found a youtube video for those interested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-haQy9GjVh8.  We spent the rest of the night drinking more wine and singing Disney songs in French…standard.

Day two I had to make my way to Han’s university to meet her for lunch. It went very well and I was waiting outside the law building five minutes early. Quarter of an hour later and still no signs of Hannah I started to panic – my phone wasn’t working and I had no idea where she could be. Luckily I decided to venture into the law building and discovered that there were two entrances, and of course Hannah was there waiting the other side. Lunch was a delicious falafel burger, chips and salad with a drink for only 7,50 euros (although my diet coke was flat :( ).  I then sat through a three hour long law lecture, yep 3! I made sure it was productive though and wrote my last blog post during it!

That night Hannah and I devoured 20 euros worth of cheese, watched lots of modern family and went to sleep far too late (1am). The next morning we were up at 5am to catch our  train to Paris, I slept the whole way there so nothing of interest to report except that their trains are much nicer than ours. Two and a half hours later we were at the train station and got distracted by shops, my purse 50 euros lighter we headed to Vaucresson where we would be staying with the family Hannah used to work for as an au pair.

My stay there was amazing and a real test of my French; we played Monopoly (I won, of course), had sushi again, opened a bank account, learned how to play the Harry Potter theme tune on the piano, had a picnic, went to the cinema and got our nails done. Alcohol, bread and cheese were a must daily, which wasn’t good for my waist line! It was lovely feeling like part of the family for the weekend and I was sad to leave.

While in Paris, Hannah and I visited where I’m going to be living, Boulogne-Billancourt and it looks great! It’s much busier and bigger than I thought it would be but it’s reassuring to know that there will be a lot going on. I’m moving there today and it’s still not hit me really! I will update soon on the move and settling in J

Bisous à tous

10 Things I Wish I Knew This Time Last Year

The more astute among you will have realised that my weekly update schedule has slipped embarrassingly early on, but I promise I have a good (or at least passable) excuse.  I’ve tried to write this particular post numerous times but have been forced to stop on account of it becoming just a tad passive aggressive.

This post is primarily aimed at first and second year language students at the University of Birmingham because I really wish I’d read something along these lines when I was starting out on my Year Abroad journey.  My fellow year abroaders will hopefully enjoy this as a welcome reassurance that they weren’t alone in their problems, and I hope my frustrations are shared by more than a few of you. Other friends and family: this post might bore you, but if you love me read on purely to demonstrate your relentless support of my writing.

1)      The entire process is very complicated!

Those of you, who are expecting a simple application to either study, work or teach abroad, prepare to be severely disappointed. All three pathways are agonisingly slow, confusing and downright stressful. The simplest choice is definitely to go to a university, which is why every student has to do this as a back-up. The uni help you out a little in the beginning, but once allocated you’re pretty much on your own. Teaching is the next option (which is what I’m doing), the uni don’t help you out in any way, and in my experience no one there even knows what it is. The British Council however, are very good and have a detailed website; it’s still slow but they stay in touch. The hardest choice without a doubt is working: there are a handful of places available per language (I think I had better odds of getting into Oxford than getting a work placement). They expect you to find a graduate level internship and contact them, once you’ve secured a placement you have to send your proposal to the Head of Work Placements, this year: Andrew Watts – if your application is one of the best then well done! This may appear to be a harsh description of the choices but my summary is supported by the proportion of students which choose each pathway: it’s roughly 75:20:5.

2)      You actually have to check your emails!

In first year I checked my emails once a fortnight in my language lab classes and rarely had an email. Second year I quickly learned to check my emails at least twice a day as the Modern Languages Department and International Office like to plague you with hundreds of unhelpful emails.  I also discovered that I needed a Year Abroad email folder for the masses I received. Trust me, frequent checking and a designated folder will help save you from opening your emails one day and wanting to jump off of the top of Muirhead.

3)      The stress oh my god the stress…

For me, and a lot of my friends, second year was when we realised that it was gonna get tough; it counts and you realise that you should probably go to at least some of your 9am lectures. This is all well and good until you realise that all your information about the Year Abroad (YA) comes during particularly stressful times – like exam season (nice one guys). Be prepared to spend at least half of your time sorting out your year abroad: filling in paperwork (see #5), checking those blasted emails, crying, worrying about how you’re going to survive in a foreign country alone etc. You’ll quickly realise that the year you’ve decided to step it up is when other things start taking priority. Good luck with that!

4)      Nobody knows anything!

I’m not kidding. If you find one member of staff at the Uni who can tell you everything you need to know about the YA I will run around Old Joe naked! My personal tutor has no idea what I’m doing this year (heads up UoB, this needs fixing). I emailed him a while back asking for help and he responded with some tripe about how French unis are slow; absolutely no idea I was teaching. I didn’t bother to reply it pissed me off that much. The people we needed to contact regarding our year abroad changed ALL THE BLOODY TIME so that it was impossible to know who was in charge of what. The current guy in charge at the International Office is new, which apparently is an excuse to be rude, patronising and incompetent. Hopefully he’ll know what he’s doing when it’s your turn. My advice to you on this one is to find a third or fourth year and talk to them. We will all happily help you cus we’ve been through the disaster which is prep for YA and will gladly do all we can to save you from it.

5)      There are a few forms to fill in…

Ha. I’ve done almost all of the forms and I’m still not really sure if they were correct or what they were for etc. There was no comprehensive list of the forms we needed to fill in with deadlines and explanations so we emailed asking for one – hopefully this will mean that they’ll distribute one from the day one now. If not, be prepared to get pestered via ten emails per each individual form (see, told you there are loads) from different people with no real explanation on how to fill them in.

One form has been the bane of my life and I apologise if this bit comes across as overly ranty, I’ll try to contain my frustration. The training agreement form for teaching assistants is a bit of a joke (and is similarly annoying for uni students) because you have to print this elusive form (make sure it’s the right copy as they have made a habit of distributing old ones), fill it in (if you can figure out how), scan it, email it to someone at your school abroad (good luck finding the right person) and get them to repeat the ridiculous process – though you have to instruct them on which sections to fill in. I’m particularly bitter about this form as the lovely French lady that promptly filled in my form missed a box: a box I didn’t know she had to fill in so I had to start the process all over again. This process still hasn’t been completed at the time of writing and it began in August!

Tip: Pester whoever you can for detailed instructions, deadlines and team up with friends as it’s the only way to get a response.

6)      The Uni’s advice/warnings are questionable to say the least…

Examples:
-Don’t move with the help of anyone

Why this is stupid: Good luck moving your entire life abroad alone; they foolishly think that our parents, friends, bfs/gfs won’t leave after helping us move and should therefore stay at home while you lug your life in suitcases around the world.

-If you miss a single bit of ERASMUS paperwork you won’t get your grant

Why this is stupid: they won’t let you miss any cus you’ll get a million and one reminders.  Don’t worry everything will get done eventually, no idea why they would want to panic you more.

7)      Everyone gets a bit scared even if they don’t show it…

I encountered a lot of people who went on and on about how excited they were and how they couldn’t wait etc. which can make you feel like you’re alone if you’re apprehensive or even petrified. Trust me, everyone feels that way at some point and it does pass. The more organised you are and the better you prepare the happier you’ll be. I’ve been told countless times that once the scary initial few weeks are over that I’ll be having a great time. I’ll let you know if that is the case.

8)      I wish I spoke to someone who understood!

I’ve touched on this point already but I think that it needs reiterating in its own little point as to help with every single aspect of your YA the best people aren’t the members of staff but your peers. If any first/second years have any questions please email me at hlm378@student.bham.ac.uk and I will be as helpful as I can or put you in touch with someone more helpful.

9)      Shoulda, woulda, coulda practised my French...

Oral classes at UoB can be a bit naff but use them. It’s much less scary to practise your language skills in front of your friends than when trying to open a foreign bank account. You’ve heard it all before; listen to music in your target language; watch films; read their new; speak! I hate to say it but your teachers and lecturers are right! Start immersing yourself early on and you’ll feel much more confident when the time to move comes. I’ve had to do this intensively over summer but it would have been much easier if I’d done it little and often.

10)   Everything will be alright in the end ;)

As much as I’ve badmouthed the uni’s organisation and highlighted that it’s scary, the best way to think of this Year Abroad is as an exciting once in a lifetime experience. It’s so much harder to do outside of a university setting and they are a great safety net if things go really wrong. Try not to think about the scary bits during the build-up but instead focus on what it could mean for you. For example, I’m only teaching 12 hours a week so I’ve been planning extensively what I’m going to do with my free time. I’ve got another job babysitting, I’m going to start learning Spanish and read up on my  Shakespeare…not the most exhilarating plans but they are my way of enriching my Year Abroad and I hope that you can think of some extra stuff to do too.

To my first/second year readers: good luck with everything!
To my fellow year abroaders: hope it’s all going well!
To friends and family who haven’t understood the majority of this post: bless you and thank you for sticking with it! 

Bisous à tous x

Where has the summer gone?!

Somewhere between working three jobs, learning to drive and getting a tad addicted to Humans, summer passed me by and it’s already September: which is both incredibly exciting and a tiny (maybe not so tiny) bit scary. For those of you who didn’t already know, I am spending my third year abroad in Paris as an au pair and an English Language Assistant. That’s the exciting bit. The scary bit is that I am spending my third year abroad in Paris as an au pair and an English Language Assistant. Oh boy.

I’m three weeks from uprooting my life and moving across the channel but a never-ending pile of forms has forced me to do what I do best: procrastinate. Though, as any expert procrastinator will know, I’ve been preparing by doing things that are as essential, if not more so, than paperwork.

Besides the obvious and numerous To Do Lists I’ve written made up of actual important things I need to get sorted like opening a French bank account, and getting a French sim card etc. I’ve reached new procrastinating highs.

So far I’ve spent nearly £20 on stationery, which is entirely justifiable 'cus as a teacher and student notebooks, coloured pens and some more notebooks are essential with a capital E! I’ve also written an extremely detailed list of what I need to pack including, if you’ll believe it, specific items of clothing, which I think you’d agree is very helpful, and therefore essential, when moving abroad (let’s ignore the fact that packing is yet to begin). 

An unavoidable consequence of having a list of things to pack is that it made me painfully aware of the (essential) clothes I was missing: cue a couple of hundred pounds’ shopping spree. I know you could say that was a bit superfluous but I definitely need more than two pairs of jeans and without new gym clothes how will I ever get down to a size 8 again. See, essential.

But now it’s September the procrastinating has to stop. My last shift at the pub is Saturday night, I’m heading upstairs after this post to start packing and in a fortnight I’m visiting my friend in Strasbourg where some serious organisation is taking place. I’ll probably blog about my time there 'cus I know you’ll all be desperate for another update...

As much as this post is about how quickly summer went, I'm now wishing the next three weeks would hurry up! I'm in contact with the girls who I'll be living with: they're all lovely and I’m sure we’re going to have an awesome time. I've had  months of stress, forms, money problems and a severe lack of information, now that’s coming to the end I just want to get started. I’m sure I’ll get more nervous as the 23^rd creeps nearer but until then I’m just enjoying being excited.

Sorry this post is pretty boring, it’s just an introduction and I promise there’s better to come so please stay tuned (though it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s only family who are still reading: Hi Nanny Lynn!).Who knows how often I’ll post (if anyone remembers my last attempt at blogging you’ll keep your expectations low) but I’ll aim for a weekly update Sunday nights :)

Bisous à tous