Goodbyes: leaving Park Road

After a week of cleaning, tidying and a stressful evening de-frosting the freezer, the tenancy in our student house in Exeter ends today. I'm staying at a friend's to carry on my singing job at Buckfast Abbey - it's not goodbye to Exeter quite yet - but it's a surprising relief to be free of excessive cleaning and awkward co-habitation. I'm hoping the 'assistants' corridor' next year is like this house, where housemates actually spend time together, cooking, going out or sitting around watching tv.. particularly since I won't know anyone within reasonable proximity when I'm in Bourg.


Let's be honest; I just want someone to go snowboarding with.

For my year abroad I want...

...to be Brigitte Bardot.

I feel like if I buy a stripy t-shirt I'm halfway there.

As a tall person with leftward leanings...

...I'm somewhat glad this guy's gone.

Accommodation

My first thought: http://www.appartager.com/
Fantastic (and punny) flat-share website linking together people seeking a housemate and people seeking a house. Great for student-y locations, but few results for little old Bourg.

Then an e-mail from the head of English tells me there's accommodation available in the school for €50 (a month?!) hopefully with the other assistants. At best it'll be like living in halls again. At worst I can move out.

Why I chose British Council

-I wanted something to put on my CV.
-An internship sounds like a lot of work...
-12 hours a week; €800 a month.

Sorted.

Pre-departure timeline

November 2011: Send off application to British Council
22 December 2011: Acknowledgement of application
13 April 2012: Approval from British Council
25 May 2012: Acceptance of application: allocated first choice académie of Lyon; secondary school. (Note this was sent to personal e-mail address! A few of us spent quite a while frantically refreshing my.exeter...)
11 June 2012: Final details sent to home address: allocated Lycée Edgar Quinet, Bourg-en-Bresse and Collège les Côtes, Perronas.

Still to go: insurance, packing, leaving (!)