Bourg, je t'aime

We might complain about being stuck in a smallish town, but I imagine when I move back to Exeter I'll miss a few things about this year in Bourg en Bresse:

• The salary - Not sure how I'll fare going back to life as an impoverished student surviving once again off my parents' generosity.

• The view - Living on the top floor has its perks (almost worth the ridiculous stairs).

Taken from our kitchen today. Which brings me onto my next point...

• The weather - Usually only marginally better than home during the Winter but that makes all the difference. 

• The food - Just incredible (if you know what to avoid...).

• Free time being free time - This sounds paradoxical, but in university a good proportion of my time outside of lectures is spent either reading and writing essays, or feeling guilty for not doing so. Admittedly a few hours a week of preparation are needed for the assistant job, but recycling lessons is perfectly acceptable - even encouraged - in the name of giving every student an equal education... Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité and all that.

• Breaking out of the bubble - Students in Exeter tend to avoid locals, wrapping ourselves in a somewhat claustrophobic net of BNOCs, recognising people wherever you go, being limited to student haunts ("I've never seen this street before...") and knowing everything about everyone in your society/halls, even if you don't know their name. It's actually quite refreshing to meet people of all ages and ways of life, and not to feel like there's only 'one' place to be at any particular time. ("You went to Arena on a Friday?!"; "You've never been to Varsity/Ottery/Cellar Door?!")

• The people - For perhaps the first time in my life I have one solid friendship group, and they're amazing. I've always enjoyed flitting between friends in different groups, but I can only imagine that whatever living situation I end up in next year amongst my various and scattered friends doing a fourth year (probably looking more like a studio for one...) won't live up to this.