10 Surprising (or not) Things About France!

Bonsoir everyone, happy Sunday! I hope you're all well. As promised, something slightly different this week. Here are a few things I've discovered about the French while living here in Paris over the last couple of months.

1) As stereotypical as it sounds, the French really do eat a lot of baguettes. There is a boulangerie on every corner selling perfect baguettes (crunchy crust, fluffy filling and golden in colour) for less than a euro. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t eat a baguette and we even have a chart in our flat to document our baguette consumption. I’m dreading returning home and having to settle for Hovis thickly sliced.

2) Another stereotype that has proven to be perfectly true is that France is the home of cheese. I didn’t realise how many different types of cheese existed until I saw the shelves and shelves of the stinky stuff in the supermarket; comtés, tommes, roqueforts – the list is endless. What amazes me, however, is that despite the hundreds of cheeses on offer, I’m yet to find any cheddar. I now have to settle for sprinkling my pasta dishes with grated emmental which is like replacing cadbury’s with supermarket’s own: bland and disappointing.

3) Stereotype number three (there seems to be a pattern here…) is that wine is the only thing worth drinking. It’s absolutely delicious and you can pick up a decent bottle from your local supermarket for around 3€. What many people don’t know, however, is that although France arguably has the best wine, it certainly has the worst! Their cheap wine is ten times worse than anything I’ve got on offer in ASDA, stay away!

4) Something that the fashion conscious may already be aware of but of which I was ignorant before arriving here, is that the French don’t wear any colours. Their wardrobes are made up of black, grey, dark blue and more black. Since realising this I’ve slowly stopped wearing my fun, bright t-shirts and am now the proud owner of three pairs of black jeans in the hope of blending in and becoming chic!

5) As a waitress, I am very passionate about customer service and get very annoyed if I’m served by someone grumpy back in the UK – waiters should be happy! That said, I’ve had to abandon this ideal here, as the French have never heard the phrase ‘service with a smile’ and I’m not even sure they know what customer service is. This particularly grates on me as they expect a tip quand même.

6) From disinterested servers to far too interested suitors. English guys have got a bad reputation when it comes to the ladies but I have to say that in comparison to some of the types I’ve met here you English lads are absolute gentlemen. The French men don’t seem to comprehend clear phrases like ‘go away’ or ‘I’m not interested’, so now I just resort to firmly shouting ‘non’ over and over again until they give up. I always dreamt of finding myself a suave, French husband but somehow I don’t think it’s going to happen.

7) Another group of people who are much better in England than in France are the teachers. Working in a school here has made me realise that I definitely don’t want to put my future (though now highly unlikely) bilingual children through the French education system. Here, teachers manhandle the children, shout constantly at them and seem to live for their two-hour lunchtimes. At first, I wondered why the kids like me so much, but in comparison to their teachers I’m a saint.

8) Now, the French have this famous laissez-faire attitude to life; they go with the flow and are very laid back about plans, timings etc. But for such a relaxed country they don’t half love bureaucracy: it takes days, if not weeks, to sort out any kind of paperwork and they are sticklers for details. I have been lucky to have friends doing the same forms as me but if you’re attempting anything alone…bon courage.

9) I’ve always had to use public transport as I only recently passed my driving test and in the UK this is a nightmare – late trains, a bus once every half an hour and paying £6 return to the city centre. Here, life’s a dream. I have a navigo which costs 70€ a month (we’re supposed to get half of that reimbursed but y’know…it’s taking some time), this gives me unlimited transport by train and bus and it’s as simple as that. Everything is always on time and incredibly frequent – I now sigh in frustration if I have to wait 5 minutes for a train instead of 2.

10) This last point baffles me; the French seem to know we’re English. Before we open our mouths to speak, 9 times out of 10, we get “‘ello, ‘ow can I ‘elp?”. What gives us away?! Is it something about the way we look? Even though I’ve taken great pains to wear only black. Is it that we’re so smiley? Regardless, I insist on replying in French and answering their “vous parlez français?” with a confident “bah ouais, bien sûr” which always throws them. I’m determined that by the end of the year I will stop giving off this ‘English’ vibe and convince everyone I’m French with my undeniable Frenchyness.

I hope this was slightly informative and vaguely interesting. Next week's blog will be up on Monday as my family are visiting me this weekend *incredibly excited squealing*  and I won't have time to write it. I know, quel dommage!

Bisous à tous xxx

Fluctuat nec mergitur

The stunning Eiffel Tower

The beginning of the week was understandably subdued; back at school Monday morning the atmosphere in the staff room was sombre. Thankfully, no one I spoke to at school was affected directly by the attacks of last weekend and many of the children were unaware anything bad had happened. At midday we all met, teachers and students, in the sports hall where the Head Teacher gave a very moving speech about how following the events of Friday night the most important thing is to stand united against the terrorists and embody the French motto ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’. This was followed by a minute’s silence while we remembered those who lost their lives, and I realised during that minute that I felt the same loss as the people around me. Paris is my home now and I mourned with France as a citizen.

Tuesday night, some of the girls and I went to see the Eiffel Tower, as during the national days of mourning it was lit up red, white and blue. The effect was stunning and we all just looked at it in awe: there it stood, a beautiful symbol of mourning and solidarity; a clear message of defiance to anyone looking to destroy the Parisian way of life. Far from being broken after the attacks, the Eiffel Tower was more glorious than before; the epitome of the French spirit with Paris’ motto shining upon it: ‘fluctuat nec mergitur’ - ‘she is tossed by the waves but does not sink’. Seeing those words, my determination to continue life as normal intensified and for that reason I will cease to refer to the 13^th November and focus on the highlights of my week because we will not be sunk!

delicious wine and walnuts!

The weekend started early for us as Thursday night was le Beaujolais Nouveau: the third Thursday of November. This night marks the day when bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau, the new wine from the first harvest of grapes in the Beaujolais region of France, are officially released. We turned up at our local bar to find the floor covered in straw and chickens chilling by the door – I’m still not really sure why but it added to the overall ambience of the night for sure. The wine was yummy and the atmosphere was lively and cheery which was exactly what we all needed after our week at work. The best part of the night was that we got given handfuls of complimentary walnuts – delicious. The night ended how most British people end a night out drinking – with fast food. A delicious Maccy D’s later and we were home.

random chicken

Friday four of us decided to check out the Andy Warhol exhibit which was really interesting, after which we decided to go to Marks and Spencers – much more interesting! I never thought I’d be excited to go to M&S but after two months trying to navigate French supermarkets it was like heaven! In the end I only bought three things – sliced wholemeal bread: now a luxury, pitta bread: another luxury and an advent calendar for Clémence cus I am a top babysitter. 

Then we decided to go proper shopping which is always dangerous for me. I seem to have two settings when faced with shopping: spend nothing or spend a fortune. Friday was no exception as I spent over 100 euros in H&M! It was after this tiny indulgence that I realised I’d lost my phone. Total panic ensued, on my part anyway, I wanted to cry and got very irrational. Luckily, Laura was a calming presence and we located my phone in the M&S café where we’d had lunch. Phew. Friday night some of us went out for Pizza at an Italian restaurant nearby. Me and Laura shared a pizza and a pasta dish and I managed to help Sapphire finish hers off too cus I’m a greedy piglet!

Saturday morning we were treated to a delicious brunch of crêpes chez Sapphire. We walked into her flat and were greeted by a spread worthy of a hotel; slices of grapefruit and orange, chocolate sauce, chopped bananas, honey and a big stack of yummy crêpes. After we’d devoured the lot we headed to a little made in France pop up market thing. All of the products there were amazing, if a little out of my price range (60 euros for a woolly hat). We then decided to visit Galerie Lafayette to see the spectacular Christmas decorations and they didn’t disappoint! Paris certainly knows how to do Christmas.

just wow!

Last night four of us headed out to a bar/club/hostel called Belushi’s and it was so much fun! I really needed a good dance and that was what I got. Sapphire lost her phone, which seems to be the theme of the week, I empathised completely and we soon had the security guard ringing it and scouring the entire building for it. Little did we know that one of the guys we were out with had it in his pocket all along! Panic over we set off home. We left slightly earlier than I’d have liked so I’m hoping to drag all the girls back there again some time soon.

This week is a two day week at school for me (yayyyyyyy!), so looking forward to filling my days off with swimming, exploring and planning for when my family come to stay which is less than two weeks away! Next week’s blog is about things I didn’t think I’d have to do on my Year Abroad so a bit of a change from the normal weekly account, hopefully you’ll enjoy it.

Bisous à tous xxx

What to write when there are no words...

It’s Sunday, which means a blog update, but there’s only one thing I feel I can talk about this week. I’m still in shock and processing the events of Friday night, so this post will probably be slightly incoherent.

Just 10 short months after the terrible shootings at the Charlie Hebdo offices, Paris is suffering again. I remember hearing about the attack in January, seeing ‘Je suis Charlie’ everywhere on social media sights and being shocked that such an atrocity had happened so near to home. I never expected that on moving to Paris, I would experience another, much scarier act of terrorism. The feelings you experience are ten fold when it’s your home.

Friday night I was home alone, in my lounge, watching a film and for once I’d left my phone in my bedroom. I had no idea what was going on the other side of the capital. Laura came home from church and told me what had happened and was still happening. I was in shock. I felt sick. How do you take that information in? I’m still not sure I have. I rushed to get my phone and assured my family I was okay.

I was suddenly hit with the reality of what had happened when I saw the amount of worried messages from friends and family to check I was okay. Tears sprang to my eyes at the amount of people who cared and whose first thoughts on learning of the attacks was that I could potentially be affected. I, and everyone I know, were very fortunate and were nowhere near any of the explosions or shootings. I feel incredibly lucky as we have spent many a Friday night in the centre and it could so easily have us. 

We stayed up until the early hours, glued to the news, ringing family members and trying to get our heads around what had happened. For hours all we could hear outside our window were sirens. We haven’t done anything this weekend, partly because we’ve been advised to stay home but also  out of respect; it didn’t seem right to be out doing things just because we were lucky enough not to be directly affected.

Obviously Facebook and other social media sites have been flooded with support and #prayforParis which is very touching, as well as people highlighting that Paris is not the only city to have suffered at the hands of terrorism this week, which is also an important thing to remember. I was shocked to discover that other places were suffering but weren't getting the same media coverage.

However, there have been a couple of posts online that have made my blood boil and my heart break for the millions of Muslims around the world. I cannot comprehend how people can justify blaming millions of people for the acts of a few disgusting excuses for human beings. I would like to take this blog post as an opportunity to reiterate what a lot of my friends have already said online. Terrorists are not Muslims. Muslims believe in peace and do not condone any acts of terrorism. So think about that before you condemn an entire religion for the horrific events of Friday night. They are not to blame.

Finally, I just want to say that while I will be mourning the losses of this weekend, and taking some time to deal with everything, I will not let this change the way I live my life. I will not let the actions of these men stop me enjoying this beautiful city I now call home. I will not live in fear of what might happen. I will continue to live the way I always have. I will not let the terrorists win.

RIP to everyone who has lost their lives to terrorism, no matter where in the world.

My thoughts are with the friends and families of the victims.

Bisous à tous xxx

I'm almost Parisienne, I think...

I have lived in Paris for almost seven weeks and until this weekend I still felt like a bumbling English tourist. Every chance I got, I tried to be more “French” or do something you need to do when you’re here, which became tiring and ultimately counterproductive. This week, I relaxed and things improved drastically.

To start with me and Clémence had the best five days together since I started looking after her: we made biscuits, she sat on my shoulders, we watched The Swan Princess over three days and I even straightened her hair! Instead of dreading the amount of tantrums I’m going to have to deal with, I now look forward to my two and a half hours with her and planning what we’re going to do.

The Low Bats

Friday was a day of two halves as I spent the morning moping around doing nothing. But at 3pm I gathered the motivation to go to the launderette; something I’m still trying to get used to doing in France. This time everything went a lot better and my clothes were washed and dried without any of my previous problems (like forgetting to put in a washing tablet...) After picking Clémence up we got the bus for the first time, which is something I do all the time in England but was a daunting prospect in Paris. We did it and Clémence even impressed our fellow passengers with her English vocab! Straight from work I went out to a bar near Oberkampf with Anna and it was such a good night!

We saw the Low Bats and Selenian

The bar is called Pop In and it is comprised of four very small rooms over two levels. It was quirky with live music and hipster people. It was free to get in and Happy Hour was about to finish when we arrived at 8:45pm so we quickly grabbed a pint each for 3 euros. Three glasses of wine later we were both a bit tipsy. We got talking to three guys and had a great time with them, or at least I think we did - I was quite drunk. It’s surprising how fluent in French I am once I’ve consumed several glasses of alcohol! The music was very ‘cool’, Anna described it as psychedelic and lasted a couple of hours. We got the last metro home and woke up Saturday with one of the worst hangovers ever!

Best brunch ever!!!

Being hungover didn’t stop me getting up at 9am Saturday morning as I was going to meet Hannah and her Dad in Montmartre for a proper French brunch! It was such a lovely day and the brunch was delicious. For 17 euros you get a hot drink, a fresh glass of orange juice, a fruit salad, a yoghurt, a boiled egg with soldiers, a massive bowl of fried potatoes, salmon on toasted bread and a little cake called a madeleine. I was so stuffed when I finished that I barely ate the rest of the day. We spent the rest of the day wandering round the little streets of Montmartre, climbing and descending hundreds of steps while we were at it, all the time avoiding the creepy street vendors who don’t take no for an answer. It was a little sad to say goodbye to Hannah at the end of the day but we’re seeing each other in 7 short weeks for New Year celebrations so I think I’ll just about manage.

Sunday morning, Charis and I went for a swim which was super fun. We swam lengths for about half an hour and then explored the smaller, more fun pools including one outside with a lazy river. I never thought I’d start a November morning on a lazy river in Paris but now I can say I have! Yesterday afternoon Laura, Charis and I went to the Palais de Tokyo for an art/photography exhibition. We paid 8 euros to get in and then got given a top of the range camera to take photos of the exhibit. It was such a nice change using a camera that works instead of the silly htc camera on my phone. As well as simply taking pictures of the exhibition, there was an interactive section where we could have our photos taken in various cool ways. We had a kind of time lapse taken of us in a kaleidoscope and another photo using torches. Keep an eye out on my facebook page for them cus they’re pretty interesting. The day ended with a quick drink in the museum café which was on a terrace facing the Eiffel Tower – it couldn’t have been more idyllic. 

weird art

my best photo

Laura and Charis!

So that sums up my weekend. It was the first time I felt completely settled and confident for days at a time and I think it’s because I stopped trying all the time. I did things I do in my day to day life back home without worrying and in French; it's a great feeling. You can’t experience everything a place has to offer if you’re constantly trying too hard or in other words being a tourist. I’ve come to realise this weekend that to really feel settled, part of a city and on your way to being Parisian you just have to embrace the culture and relax. I can’t wait to feel like that every day.

Bisous à tous xxx

I need to get fitter. It's a matter of life or death...

As predicted, this week went a lot better than the first week of the holidays: mainly because I treated myself to a little holiday to Bordeaux to see Laura, who I hadn't seen since June. This was possible as Clémence and her parents went on holiday too, giving me three (paid!) days off. The journey to Bordeaux  was on an eco train that took five hours, which might sound like a nightmare for some, but I actually love travelling by train - it's my favourite. I spent the trip settled next to the window with my feet up, either reading my trusty HP; listening to music; drinking diet coke; or just watching the gorgeous French countryside fly past my window: pretty heavenly.

Bordeaux at night :)

I arrived in Bordeaux at 1pm and was so happy to see Laura! After living together for two years, this was the longest we'd ever gone without a proper catch up. The first minute or so we both just spluttered as we struggled to prioritise all the news we had for each other. Needless to say, we spent the entirety of Sunday filling each other in. Aside from exploring Bordeaux you'll be disappointed to hear that we spent most of our time either asleep or just hanging out. Monday night, however, we went out to sample some of Bordeaux's famous wine. Five large glasses of wine later we were rather drunk and at the stage where everything and anything was hilarious. While walking home, Laura said something that really tickled me and we both fell about laughing crazily. Apparently us giggling in the street was appealing as this rather odd man came up and made 'friends' with us. 

For a little while, it was funny to talk to him, then, even in our drunken state, we realised he probably was too odd and that we should get away from him. Laura had a plan so we went into the next fast-food place and ordered chips (this guy just followed), and then Laura said she needed the bathroom so we went together. Unfortunately, Laura's plan was to climb out the bathroom window and the bathroom had no window. With hindsight this was probably a good thing, as we weren't in any fit state to be climbing. Back in the shop, we went to eat our chips, which the odd man had kindly paid for. Our next tactic to put him off was to talk rapidly in English to eachother in the hope that he'd give up on talking to us. It didn't work. 

Glass of wine number one!

We headed home after finishing our chips, odd French man in tow. Laura had another brainwave and said she needed the toilet (the guy must have thought she had bladder problems!). This time we went up a little side street to 'pee'. What we actually did was leg it. Now, you should know, Laura runs. She can run. I can’t run; I get out of breath climbing the stairs. However, I have always firmly believed that if faced with a dangerous situation like, I don’t know, a serial killer or vaguely creepy men, that adrenaline and survival instinct would kick in. Turns out I was wrong. I stopped running after about two minutes, clutching my side and panting something ridiculous. Nothing Laura said to motivate me worked, and that was the night I realised faced with running or potential death, I would die. Luckily, the man, who was most likely harmless, didn’t reappear and we were fine. The good thing is that he made me realise that I NEED to get fitter. It’s a matter of life or death :P

My LIDL receipt!!!

It was so lovely to catch up with Laura, it helped a lot with my homesickness and was such a relaxing few days. She’s hopefully going to come and stay with me in Paris after the New Year (which we’re spending in Strasbourg with Hannah and Ellie!)

Yesterday was a fantastic day. It started with a LIDL shop with my housemate Laura (different Laura!), which I was very excited about. The only food I had was a packet of spaghetti and some frozen veg. We had to get the metro, but it was definitely worth it for how cheap LIDL was. I managed to stock my fridge, freezer and cupboard for a mere 37€ - bargain! Though, my shoulders and back did not appreciate lugging it all home, especially up 8 flights of stairs .

At 5pm Soph arrived! She’s studying in Rheims which is pretty close and it was so, so nice to see her. We drank a bottle of wine on the roof, caught up, watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle and had a delicious, fancy salmon salad for dinner. We’d decided no to go out for Halloween as Soph had some work to get done. While she beavered away in my room. I became almost like an odd-job person for all the girls getting ready to go out. I painted on clown eyes, put in two pairs of contact lenses, added some skeletal contouring, back combed three people’s hair and provided eyeliner and hairspray. Everybody looked absolutely incredible, especially considering it was all rather last minute. There was a dead Minnie Mouse, two very scary clowns, the creepy dude from Saw, a corpse husband and bride, a Cheshire Cat and even an Eiffel Tower!

Me and Soph spent our evening watching Legally Blonde, eating pistachios, pretzels and chocolate fingers. I had curled up on the sofa to sleep (as I had selflessly given Soph my bed) and was awoken by somebody whispering my name at 5am.  Perfect Halloween surprise. I opened my eyes to find a still completely costumed Cheshire cat, complete with white contact lenses that I had struggled to put in earlier. Lexine had been unable to take them out and as I am the resident contact lens expert, she had come to me. Eventually after battling with Lexine’s fear of anyone “squeezing her eyeballs”, we managed to get them out. Hannah to the rescue!

It’s now the end of the holidays and I’m facing seven weeks of lesson planning, scary French teachers and early mornings. I’m feeling determined and kind of motivated…hopefully that will last. If not, bring on Christmas!

Bisous à tous xx

My First Bad Day

I debated writing about this for a little while but then decided that it was important to share the bad stuff as well as the good. Every representation of a year abroad on social media makes it look like every day is the best day ever, and while most days are fantastic and I'm incredibly lucky to be spending my year in Paris, I recently had my first bad day.

It was the first day that I felt homesick and I think that's because, a month in, Paris ceased to feel like a holiday and more like reality, and with the end of the 'holiday period', homesickness came. Anyone who knows me well, will know that my family are my entire life, so being away from them is difficult: we are so, so close and this is the longest I've ever gone without seeing them. Homesickness was something I was expecting and a feeling I am completely used to from my days at university however, it's worse here as I can't just pop home for the weekend to see everyone. The other thing is that I realised I was actually homesick for England: it's really strange doing day to day things like laundry, food shopping etc. in a foreign country and it was this first bad day that I realised how much I miss Blighty.

Another issue that I let get to me on this bad day, was feeling lonely. I am lucky enough to have been placed with a big group of girls, which begs the question, how can I be lonely? The truth is, something my mum always says, you can be lonely even if you’re not alone. The difficulty of the year abroad is that while you’re often surrounded by people, they’re not people you know well, and this can lead to feeling quite isolated.

Finally, the biggest thing to get me down was an all-encompassing fear. There are a lot of things that I let worry me: will my French improve enough this year? Will I get a good enough grade in my assignment? Will I get a First in my degree? Will I get a job when I graduate? And those are just university related worries…like a lot of people I have my own insecurities that I have to deal with every day.

My first bad day ended in the best possible way: I phoned my mum. We spoke for over an hour and she did what she always does and put things into perspective for me. She made me realise that it’s okay to have bad days while I’m here, it’s okay to feel homesick or alone and that the main thing is to deal with it and move on. So, that’s what I did.

I’ve just got back from visiting one of my best friends in Bordeaux, which helped ease some of my homesickness and definitely stopped me feeling lonely. I’ve also realised since my first bad day that things aren’t as bad as they seemed. I’m living in a beautiful city with some of the loveliest girls ever and I need to just relax and enjoy it.

The negative feelings I felt on that day have since paled dramatically and I promise my next post will be much happier, detailing my adventures in Bordeaux and a Parisian Halloween.

Thank you for reading :)

Just another week à Paris!

This week began with my first proper day as an English Language Assistant and it was absolutely terrifying. On the whole, the teachers were great; they told me what they wanted me to prepare, took the lead and did their job (teaching) meaning I could do mine (assisting. Some of the teachers however, think that I am the new English teacher. This led to some very awkward and scary classroom situations where I was just left to it. Luckily, I’d been warned this might happen and came prepared with some fun Halloween themed games, songs and worksheets for the children to do. Side note: singing in front of 30 French kids was definitely not in my job description and was incredibly embarrassing.

After my first week as an assistante, I’ve figured out which teachers expect me to have prepared two 30-minute English lessons with no input whatsoever from them, so at least I know who the difficult ones are. It’s a good job I’ve got two weeks off because I need to do some serious lesson planning. Monday night, Laura, Charis and I celebrated starting work with a flat meal which was delicious and much needed. I got in from looking after Clémence and they’d put on a massive spread of bread, hummus, tzatziki, grilled aubergines and courgettes, salad, toasted squash nuts, falafel and vegetable rice, finished off with a cheeky bottle of rosé.

Epitome of beauty - that's me

Thursday morning I woke up looking like Quasimodo. I’d been bitten on my eyebrow by some little s**t of an insect and my entire eye had swollen up – I could barely open it. This caused a minor issue in that I couldn’t wear my contact lenses; why not just wear your glasses I hear you ask. Well, I’d snapped an arm off and hadn’t found the time/courage to go to an opticians to get them fixed. So at 7.15am I was facing quite a dilemma I could 1) wear my contact lenses even though it would be extremely painful 2) wear neither, in other words spend the entire day blind! 3) Wear sellotaped glasses like Harry Potter. Anyone who knows me will know which choice I went for! Thankfully my eye has since returned to its normal appearance and I don’t look like a Disney character.

Friday was great because most of us had the day off – did somebody say lie in? We got my glasses fixed in the morning and it only cost 12 euros, which was a relief. The man said I’d completely broken them and he’d need to attach a new arm that was a similar colour. I was pretty chuffed when I turned up an hour later to find he’d put on a Ray Ban one. The girls said I should snap the other one off so that my cheap Specsaver specs look designer and I haven’t ruled that out!

That afternoon we went to the Musée D’Orsay which is an old train station turned in to an art museum. I don’t think I’m quite cultured enough to appreciate all the incredible pieces there but I enjoyed wandering around all the same. Following my face plant at school last week I’d hoped to limit the embarrassing incidences from then on. Life, it seems, had other ideas. Jess, Anna and I went to the museum café to get lunch, which included a cup of diet coke. As we were getting up to leave, my bag got caught on my chair causing me to wobble my tray, this then knocked off my half full cup of coke. It went everywhere! Including onto a woman who had the misfortune to be sitting behind me. I blurted out my apologies in both French and English and hastily tried to mop up the mess with my napkin. Needless to say this didn’t work very well so I went up to a man working there, flushing with shame but nervously giggling at the same time. Luckily he saw the funny side of it and told me not to worry. A very sweet American guy saw it all happen and said to me ‘you could get away with a lot worse than spilling your drink with a laugh and a smile like that’ which was so lovely and probably one of the nicest compliments I’ve received.

Yesterday Jack and I went to the aquarium, which was so fun! We were definitely the oldest ones there, and the most enthusiastic. We saw the entire cast of Finding Nemo and spent quite a while sat watching the sharks. After having fun with the fish we went for a few drinks, watched the France game and went to a house party. House parties are not the same in France as they are in England. For us, a house party is an excuse to get really drunk, really cheap. For the French it’s more of a sophisticated soirée: people were just sipping wine, chatting and eating apple pie. Though the English half of the group did manage to initiate a game of Ring of Fire which, when you’re really drunk, is very hard to play, especially when it’s in French.

World's biggest wine glasses!

I’ve spent yet another weekend day recovering from a hangover, watching films and eating junk food and I’m determined to be much healthier/studious tomorrow. Me and my friend Hannah have decided to challenge each other to be productive every day and for every week we fail we have to buy the other a drink. Hopefully this method of long distance motivation will be successful because I’ve not stuck to my strict year abroad schedule once yet and I’ve been here nearly a month!

Thank you for reading!
Bisous à tous