Au revoir or adieu?

So it's taken me over two months to finally sit down and write this post, for which I apologise.  My seven months as a language assistant were full of highs and lows, but the final few weeks were the most extreme in that respect, perhaps even in my life to date. 

Photograph from Andrea Rotunno

At the end of March we said goodbye to our 'Mother' and neighbour, the two German assistants. Unable to say goodbye just once we spent several evenings and too may tears clutching to the glue of the family unit we had constructed for ourselves. 

Over the next few weeks our group drifted apart, goodbyes becoming less of a shock, and more and more casual (a "see you around" to the other Brits...), almost as if our Year Abroad was already in the past. We started to admit to looking forward to going home, but with a lighter timetable (God bless the bac blanc) we socialised more than ever before, knowing that we had to profiter du temps ensemble - make the best of our time together. 

I never expected to live with 5 girls from 4 different countries, much less for them to be the best housemates I ever had, but now there's always a place in my heart and home - wherever it may be - for the assistants of Quinet, Lalande and Carriat 2012-13.

As for you, readers and blog, I leave you with our legacy:

My other job

As an assistant I was finding I had a lot of spare time; I'd heard from previous Year Abroad-ers that tutoring was an easy way to earn some extra cash, but in my case I was only approached halfway through the year and, despite several reminders, nothing became of it.

However in February I saw a post on the 'Assistants de langues en France - Lyon 2012-2013' Facebook group advertising job vacancies at an English language school called Afterschool in Lyon. I applied almost half-heartedly, expecting heavy competition and no reply, but suddenly I was observing a lesson, having a short interview and talking about gaps in my timetable. Due to the school holidays the earliest I could start was March, giving me a total of only 8 weeks there before returning to the UK.

I have a variety of students, from private business clients looking to learn very specific grammar and vocabulary points to a class of four misbehaved nursery school children. It's well-paid and both easy (no need for elaborate motivation tactics when the students are paying €50 for the lesson!) and challenging (teaching grammar in English takes some getting used to), and it suits me perfectly to be doing a skilled, rewarding and interesting job on the side rather than yet another bar or café, and according to my boss, I'm quite good at it!

I only wish I'd thought of it sooner. So my advice to 2nd year language students is to look up language schools in your area, or the nearest big city; I take an hour long train in twice a week for it, but I meet up with friends from Erasmus for lunch or dinner and do shopping etc. around work while I'm there.
Don't make the same mistake is I did; get in there early and you could be almost doubling your income!

A fortnight-long half term, you say? Part II

After the weekend in the South of France I went home, but as a tourist. I had offered to show my country to some friends who had never been to Britain before. We started with a day in Geneva, since our flight was from there, in the afternoon. The place is eye-wateringly expensive, but worth a wander around the lake and the old town, although perhaps in Summer as we spent most of our time looking for free places where we could go to hide from the February chill.

Arrival in London, and after an unfortunate incident with a mislaid camera we arrived at our hostel by overground. (The Gatwick Express is a rip-off unless you're in a serious hurry; check nationalrail.co.uk to see the many stations you can get to in London for a fraction of the price.) We stayed for two nights in the YHA Hostel at St Paul's. Brilliantly central (obviously right by St. Pauls, but also near Fleet Street and across the river from the Tate Modern and The Globe), well priced (£15pp per night - prices vary according to season, though), clean and comfortable, what more could you want? Well, maybe free Wi-Fi would be nice, or a 'youth'-priced breakfast, but for the basics it performed well.
Our first night saw us desperately seeking a restaurant which would serve us something 'typically British' (ie. not McDonalds under any circumstances) at 9.30pm. After trying several pubs without success, a brainwave struck and we found a perfect Indian restaurant. Now some people might think this is a little odd, given our search for British food, but Indian culture has become such a part of Britain that it is said the best curries are now to be found in the UK, as some of India's top chefs have moved here. (Apparently Chicken Tikka Masala was created in Glasgow!) In  any case it was (or felt like) one of the best meals I've ever had, and for very reasonable prices. (Indian City, 4 New Bridge Street. £10-15.)

The next morning we woke early for breakfast at a lovely café called Fleet Street Pantry, then on to the West End, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, the South Bank, the Globe and the Tate Modern. We carried on until Tower Bridge, then went back to the Tate Modern for afternoon tea in the restaurant at the top of the building. So British and so classy, with a great view! Then we headed Camden town for dinner and drinks at a pub, making the obligatory stop at King's Cross to find platform 9¾... Fish, chips and beer all round (unquestionable British, for all you curry doubters).

In the morning we sped around Notting Hill, Westminster and Buckingham Palace, just making our train to Cardiff. (Side note: Paddington left luggage is a horrendous rip-off. Ask to leave bags at the hotel or go to Victoria Coach station where it's about half the price.)

The next day in Cardiff was St David's Day which meant loads of cute kids in the traditional Welsh costume and free entry to Castell Coch! Town was lively but not over-crowded and the sun was shining. Sort of. In the evening we went to a great and brand new restaurant called Mimosa in Cardiff Bay, with a half off our food bill as it was the first night! The food was great, with inspired Welsh influences, the design was cool, and I would easily go again.

The girls went back to France early the next morning, and I headed down to Exeter for the week. With the Year Abroad we're made to feel guilty about time spent at home, time spent speaking English, but I really needed it. Maybe I'm weak, but my friends are important to me, and I needed some with free of culture clashes. Strangely, being in France has made me realise how much I love Britain. Living in a foreign country you inevitably (and are encouraged to) take on their typical traits and ways of life which, for me, means becoming someone else. I enjoy many aspects of living in France, but I remarked back in Exeter that I felt like I hadn't laughed since Christmas. I never pictured myself being homesick but now I know that for me seven months is quite enough.

A fortnight-long half term, you say? Part I

Hello again, blog. And hello again readers, if you're still there. Sorry for the recent lack of posts, I've been bereft of my (Dad's) computer for the holidays but, as you'll see, it was all worth it.

First stop, Nice! We went on another brilliant Erasmus trip from Lyon and after 6 hours on the road we arrived in a slightly rainy paradise.

We also saw the famous Nice Carnival; the Bataille des Fleurs during the day and a parade in the evening. The theme was 'The King of the Five Continents', hence the international flavour to the floats.

We ventured to Monaco for a night out and the last day. The sun (sort of) shone on our morning in Monte Carlo as we visited the royal castle and the enormous marina.

When I'm a 'grown-up' I'll live here.

...that's after I win the lottery, of course.

Our Cultural Weekend in Lyon

 One very hungover Saturday myself and my flatmate decided to venture into our local town for an evening of culture, which meant actually getting a place to stay, rather than our usual stalwart of waiting for the first Sunday morning train... On arrival we made our way to Cool&Beds hostel, a great, cheap and clean place I've stayed at before, north of Vieux Lyon right on the bank of the Saône. Unfortunately they had no spaces left (!) so slightly disgruntled at our unnecessary detour, we turned back south and tried the Auberge on the top of the hill (halfway between Cathédrale St Jean and Fourvière) joking that if they had no spaces here we'd have to roll back down. Luckily for us they did, at only €19-something each for a place in a 8-bed dorm. I had to pay €7 extra to sign up for a hostel membership card thing, but I'm hoping this will come in handy again!

View from the hostel. Forgive the phonecam quality!

Spotted on the walk

After claiming our room and leaving our overnight bags we headed to Place Bellecour for the tourist information office to find out what plays were on that evening. There was a huge choice but we settled on 'Georges Dandin' by Molière in Acte 2 theatre. We weren't quite sure where to find it, so phoned up in advance, only to be led back to the same address we had visited on our first, unsuccessful hostel search! It's a small Lyon. 

It was a cute little attic theatre with one stage and maybe 100 seats (? - I'm terrible at estimates) all at one level and a pop-up bar with all drinks at €2! Such a shame we were so hungover... The play itself was very good: for us, mainly an exercise in language comprehension but we followed almost everything, even the humour which, despite the play being of Shakespearean era, was brilliantly intact. The ending felt a little abrupt, but who am I to question the plot-workings of a genius? 

From here we went to The Wallace, a great Scottish pub (most pub-like 'pub' I've seen out of Britain!) towards Vieux Lyon. They serve fish and chips, and about a million different type of whiskey; I'll definitely be returning another time when I'm more hungry and in the mood for a drink!

In the morning the hostel needed us out by 10am so after a generous breakfast we headed back out into town. With nothing much else to do (the whole of France is like a ghost-town on Sundays) we went to see 'Django Unchained' in the original version - meaning subtitled, not dubbed (hallelujah!) - in Pathé Bellecour. It was admittedly a little early in the morning for all that violence, but it's a fantastic film: typically Tarantino, but not in a predictable way.

Afterwards we grabbed lunch in Quick (like a continental McDonalds - almost the only place open on Sundays) then headed to the Gadagne museum in Vieux Lyon, for me a revisit of their great Guignol collection. Finally, back to Bourg for a well-needed early night!

I can't remember if I've already shared this
puppet on this blog. But it's cute so I don't care.

Surfing in January?

Having always been told that the French for snowboarding is snowboarding, it would seem that all the cool kids (and fellow teachers, bemused shop assistants etc.) now use surf.

So for the first weekend of term I went surfing in the Alps. (Kind of.) Being friends with the assistants in the school across the road I managed to invite myself to their Amicale's ski weekend in Les Contamines Montjoie. The Amicale is basically an group in each school which organised social evenings and weekends for the teachers. For skiing this worked out brilliantly, as transport was in the form of car-share and the kind people who drove us wouldn't hear about petrol reimbursement. We got a huge group discount on ski-passes, accommodation and food, so the whole weekend cost under €50.

The weekend's activities included snowboarding, a picturesque sunny/snowy walk, drinking, night-time tobogganing and tonnes of cheese.

The next weekend all of the girls went on my school's equivalent of the same trip, in Les Plans d'Hotonnes. A teacher said they could lend me ski equipment in my size for free, so I decided to ski, for the first time in four years. After a shaky first button lift, it turned out - like everyone said - to be just like riding a bike.

Courtesy of my very talented (and pretty)  friends Andrea and Karolina

Much more fun than my thoroughly intermediate 'red-slope' skiing was teaching my friends some of whom had barely seen snow before, never mind snow-sports. All in all, plenty of laughter, falling over and recovery vin chaud gave us a second successful weekend. The only question is: when next?

L'Esprit de l'Escalier

avoir l'esprit de l'escalier: to think of a great response after the moment has passed.

This great expression doesn't really have a direct translation into English, but we all know too well the frustration of winning an argument in your mind after everyone's gone home. Somewhat ironically (or fittingly?), this happens to me a lot more in French than English, usually from taking a few seconds too long to understand or find a piece of vocabulary. Most embarrassing is when you're passing someone in the corridor: in the few seconds you have to exchange pleasantries I tend to come out with something a bit awkward, even in English:

But in French this all becomes ten times worse when you realise seconds too late that the person you just spoke to in fact said 'bonne année' (happy new year), rendering my hurried reply of 'oui, merci' (yes, thanks) entirely inappropriate and just a little odd. 

More frustrating are the moments when words as simple as Tuesday seem to have fled the mind, in favour of my inner idiot dancing around and shouting 'Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! It's Jeudi!' (which definitely means Thursday). I'm sure these things are part and parcel of starting back at school after two weeks in the UK, but I'm also sure they'll never entirely go away, which is possibly the most frustrating part of language learning.

Afterthought: Speaking of my two weeks in the UK, they were lovely (thank you for asking), and filled with mince pies, Terry's chocolate oranges, friends, family and all kinds of homely, Christmassy wonderfulness. That said, other than the usual 'back to work' blues, I'm not entirely put out at being back. Ever the optimist, I'm looking forward to the Winter term, which I'm sure you'll hear all about in due course. 

Alsace at Christmas

I'm a little late writing this post as the last week before leaving has been a little hectic (!) with extra working hours, 'Christmas' meals and very last-minute packing.

We rearranged Friday's lessons to leave Lyon at 5pm. After a few hours' delay, down snowy roads impassable by coach, we arrived in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines at some ungodly hour in the morning. Through the dark, rain and sleep-deprivation we didn't quite get to appreciate our location, but waiting for us in the morning was a kind of Winter Wonderland:

After a deservedly lazy morning we made our way to Strasbourg, but with only 1½ hours to spend there we sped around the city taking in the main sights: a typical Alsatian meal, the Cathedral, 'la Petite France', and the Christmas market:

 

Later in the evening we went to Obernai, a small historical town with a traditional, artisan market. The evening light wasn't great for photos, but the place was fabulously festive, with tiny, winding streets, old-fashioned houses and a really authentic market.

After a long day we were treated to a traditional 'raclette' dinner: four different types of melted raclette cheese (including 'white wine' and 'smoked' varities), dried cured meats, potatoes, bread and lettuce.

In the morning we went to Colmar, a town taken over by six separate Christmas markets spread across the streets. This wasn't all Colmar had to offer, though. It was a lovely small town with a 'petite Venise' rather like the 'petite France' of Strasbourg, but on a canal.

Far too soon we returned to Lyon, to arrive before the last metro. Unfortunately, by this hour, our train back to Bourg en Bresse had long gone so we had to stay in Lyon for the night in an unusually clean hostel. I'd easily recommend Cool&Beds to anyone looking to stay in Lyon - three of us stayed in a private room for four, which worked out cheaper than the dorms at €20 each.

In spite of the delays, all thanks goes to Erasmus-Lyon for a festive weekend, and for taking us to places we'd never have thought to visit ourselves.

Fête des Lumières

The Fête des Lumières in Lyon is a unique festival of light, celebrating an old myth that the Virgin Mary once saved the town from the plague, and giving thanks. Starting as a tradition of leaving candles on the windowsill, the festival has become a massive international event, attracting millions of people from around the world to see the the city lit up for one weekend only. The installations vary from light sculptures to animations projected on the city's most famous and beautiful buildings. Crêpe and mulled-wine stands line the streets and as the attractions span the whole city, the crowds aren't unbearable (although the Saturday night queue for Place des Terreaux isn't exactly for the claustrophobic.) The métro is made free for one night (and one night only), but surprisingly this doesn't even bring it to the crowd levels of an average morning on the Tube. Highlights included, well, 'Highlights' the short film projected on the buildings around the Place des Terreaux, the Cathédrale Saint-Jean illuminated with crawling gargoyles and stained glass patterns, the last few minutes we caught of Tallis' Spem in Alium performed in the Hôtel de Région in the Confluence and fireworks on the banks of the Rhône.

After all this culture, the two of us who were stuck out in Lyon for the night headed out. We found a lovely restaurant in Vieux-Lyon (cannot remember its name for the life of me) which stayed open until half past midnight for the festival day and served us a fantastic, typically French, three course meal complete with a complementary glass of white wine with cranberry (surprisingly good!) - I had onion soup followed by a Bavette steak with dauphinoise potatoes and a raspberry cake to finish, and all for €20, I seem to recall.

Afterwards we set off for the over-crowded, but brilliantly mock-English, Smoking Dog and the ever-reliable James Joyce, both in Vieux-Lyon. Next, with no idea where to pass the time until the first train at 7.15am, we stumbled across Boston Café on Place des Terreaux (considerable quieter at 3am after the illuminations had finished) while searching for a different bar. A great little pub/club/bar hybrid, it caters to all tastes with decent music (in my opinion, having been in France maybe a little too long...) bearable drinks prices (again, considering it's France) a young, cool clientèle (only one person tried to grope me, which might be a record in this country) and a dress code (!) so no more creeps in trackies. Maybe it was the relief of finding somewhere that would take us for the night (shut at 5.30, managed to linger until 6, chatted outside until 6.30, actually ended up running for the train!) but I think I really like this place.

Overall, staying out for the whole festival was an unprecedented and unexpected success - but even so, next time I want to spend an evening away think I'll get in early and book myself a hotel room!

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.

Checking in

In my last post I promised myself (and you, lovely readers) that I would actually achieve something this term and - most crucially - enjoy doing so. So, here's a check-in, one week on, to see how I'm doing.

• Learning German from scratch through 'tandems' three times a week with my three German friends
  This is actually going pretty well, thanks to my lovely friends. Although I've been a little slack on homework, I've had four 'tandem' sessions so far and apparently my pronunciation is pretty good (thanks, Bach, you're a dude).
• Improving my French through 'tandems' in Lyon.
  Again fairly successful with one session, albeit brief. Unfortunately it turns out my French pronunciation is pretty poor...
• Snowboarding weekends!
  Two attempts; two failures. I think this one will have to wait 'til the new year.
• Getting a head-start on my dissertation (two books already bought, and one borrowed..)
  Not sure how much I read of David Bellos' Is That a Fish in Your Ear?: Translation and the Meaning of Everything* this week before I started dozing off on the train, but that still counts, right? 
• A promise to myself of more nights out!
  A resounding success with three consecutive nights of social drinking in its varying degrees: drinks with the Bourg assistants in the Quinet kitchen; the Irish pub in Bourg with teachers from my flatmate's school; an ERASMUS night in Lyon and a (not) gay (enough) club.
• Getting fit: a teacher gave us a bike for free, so no excuses!
  I managed one slightly precarious trip to Bouvent lake during which I only almost got run over three times... then the rain arrived. 
• A casual interpreting job
  Still to hear whether they need me on Wednesday. Fingers crossed!
• Observing some French literature classes
  Merde, I forgot about this one! I'll ask my flatmate about it tomorrow..
• Lots of travelling
  Only Lyon since my last post, but I did neglect to mention my quick stroll into Geneva whilst waiting for the train after my return flight:

Taking in the lakeside view in what must be one of
the most expensive cities in Europe with an alfresco
lunch of Mum's sandwiches. Capitalism can suck it.

• Volunteering as a project coordinator for UnicefCampus
  Set up a meeting for this afternoon, the guy cancelled... I'm officially signed up, though!
• Getting better at this blog thing...
  Leaving it over a week doesn't really cut it, does it? I'm truly sorry, as I'm sure you're all devastated.

*The book's actually really interesting - in fact, I recommend it - I was just ridiculously tired.

On proactivity

I like being busy. I know this might sound alien to students who conform more closely to the Young Ones stereotype, or even that of University Challenge, but I can't think of anything worse than sitting alone in my room for entire days or evenings.

In sixth form I took four A-levels (don't confuse me with a nerd; I practically failed one of them), had weekly singing lessons for my grade 8 (conveniently a day after my A-level Music practical, also my birthday...), sang in far too many choirs, became a music prefect and worked in a bar... yet I was always first to say yes to a night out ("...but the exams aren't for another week!")

Much the same in university: where others wait for 'the fear' to get an essay done, I have to plan weeks in advance of concert season around jobs, committee duties, auditions, mass, rehearsals and - of course - socialising. The lifestyle has its disadvantages: I don't take well to just sitting and reading for any considerable length of time, which could be seen as a drawback in an English degree...

Therefore, as you might imagine, I had a few concerns about moving to a different country. Language assistants only work 12 hours a week, so to do with the rest? If you read my 'Week in the life' post you might have some idea, and you might also remember that I ended on an optimistic note:

"Sunday
As you might have already known, or read here, the 'day of rest' is very restful here in France. So far - apart from that one time we went to the rugby and the cinema - it's been an opportunity for lie-ins/hangovers, lesson planning and laziness which is gratefully received by my lazy alter-ego, but I'm sure after the holidays I'll be back on form with not a moment spare - or so I hope."

Like-minded friends will be glad to hear that I have begun to fulfill my own prophecy within four days of being back.

So what am I going to take on in the remaining few weeks of term?

• Learning German from scratch through 'tandems' three times a week with my three German friends
• Improving my French through 'tandems' in Lyon.
• Snowboarding weekends!
• Getting a head-start on my dissertation (two books already bought, and one borrowed..)
• A promise to myself of more nights out!
• Getting fit: a teacher gave us a bike for free, so no excuses!
• A casual interpreting job
• Observing some French literature classes
• Lots of travelling
• Volunteering as a project coordinator for UnicefCampus
• Getting better at this blog thing...

All of this along with my two choirs, never forgetting, of course, my actual job.

Two weeks off for some dead saints? I'll take it...

I've missed half term. As a British student you're hardly aware it's happening until you go into town and it's full of kids "who should be in sch—! Oh..." Despite having a holiday in October for the first time in ages, this year's half term actually started off as normal: my parents came to visit. 

We only paused for two nights in Bourg as it doesn't have a huge amount to offer for a holiday. Nevertheless, two nights was enough to pack in a fair amount of excitement:

Early Christmas present.. :)

First try of Poulet de Bresse
(actually quite boring..)

Then to Lyon! We did all the normal tourist-y things but the highlights for me were:

The marionette museum

and a fantastic big band at the famous 'Hot' jazz club.

We flew back together, then parted ways as I headed to Exeter to spend a wonderful week-and-a-half invading my boyfriend's house (sorry!) and seeing my lovely uni friends. I miss student life, and it was difficult being there almost as an outsider, with new freshers I didn't know and changes I hadn't registered (the Long Lounge is now the Kitchen Café?!) Seeing my friends running around with heads full of deadlines, concerts, committee responsibilities and society drama I ruefully said "I miss being busy".

Now, though, as I sit here listening to The Swell Season after a morning at the market, a lovely shared lunch with the girls in the Quinet kitchen followed by a movie (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, if anyone's interested) I'm starting to think it's a good thing that my year out is just that: a year out.

C'est la vie... of an English Assistant

I've realised that my blog posts are a little detached, and don't really give much of a real idea of what I normally do here. So here is a 'week in the life' of the only red-head in Bourg:

Monday
Only 3 hours of lessons, but unfortunately, working at 11, 2 and 4 doesn't leave much room for doing anything interesting in between. I usually use the time to plan lessons to free up bigger blocks of time later in the week. No early start on Tuesday to me means a night out on Monday, but some of the others have shown to be a little disinclined to go out in general. The two other Brits, my Russian flatmate and I have usually ended up in the same bar in Bourg, but a few issues involving some mecs a little too insistent on chatting me up (and there's really nowhere to hide in this tiny place..), a guy who described himself as racist (!) and the fact that my idea of a good night out doesn't really involve playing back-to-back games of pool with this kind of clientele have left me reluctant to continue the habit. Keep reading to see what the future holds for nights out in Bourg... but I don't have high hopes.


Tuesday
My day off! This week I went into Lyon to find out if I could take a course in the university; no luck, but I met up with a girl who was a French assistant last year for coffee and she gave me loads of great advice about France, the job and Lyon. I would advise any assistants past or present to send an e-mail out to all the addresses of past assistants that the British Council send out as I've met and spoken to some really lovely and helpful people (in French!) this way. It's called 'FLA Buddy Scheme', and I received the e-mail around mid-October. I did it because I was worried I wasn't talking enough French with French people, and it's really paid off!

Passarelle Saint-Georges, Lyon

I ended up doing a lot of aimless wandering after the girls I met went back to class, as the train I had planned to take was cancelled due to strike action with no replacement service... No idea how the French get to work on time in the morning!

Wednesday
Every other week I start work at 7.45am in town half an hour's walk away. Give me an Exeter 9am any day; walking to school when it's still dark is miserable! It's also my youngest class, so I really can't be tired, hungover or look like I just rolled out of bed (although sometimes the wind on the way there will do that for me anyway..) The flipside to this is that I'm free from 11am onwards, and that every other week I have another day off. This week I went to the Parc de la Tête d'Or in Lyon with a few of the other assistants:

When we got back we had a meal planned with another French girl I met through the FLA Buddy Scheme in Bourg. We had booked for nine but it ended up being only four! It's occasions like this that I wonder whether it's a case of the individual or the culture; I've certainly never been in the situation where someone cancels on a dinner which has been booked for anything other than unforeseen circumstances, but luckily the restaurant didn't mind and the four of us had a lovely evening speaking almost entirely in French.

On my days off I also usually like to take a walk around Bouvent lake, which is a good hike away but well worth it for the calmness. (I'm slowly but surely turning into my mother, aren't I...)

Thursday

Usually I have lessons 8am-5pm on Thursdays but this week my six hours were reduced to one due to various tests and absences, giving me time to... sleep and do nothing. Good one, Fiona.

In the evening, though, we went Bowling with the Lycée Quinet 'Amicale' (a kind of social society for teachers). I'm not the best bowler in the world (two strikes and two zeros.. what's wrong with me?) but it was good to get to know the teachers in a more social context, and I'm already noticing the difference in the staffroom; no more awkward break-times, I hope.


Friday
A busy but enjoyable one: every other week I have to make two separate journeys to Péronnas (the other school) with a class and a choir rehearsal in Quinet in-between. Technically I shouldn't really have time to go to choir, but if I leave ten minutes early and eat a sandwich en-route it works.

In the evening I have a rehearsal with L'Ensemble Vocal de l'Ain in town (Bourg inexplicably being the capital of its region). I auditioned just to fill some spare time but luckily for me they're a really good choir with a busy schedule which suits me to a T.
(If anyone was interested: the chorus parts of Mozart's Don Giovanni, Gounod's Requiem, Duruflé's Requiem, Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine, César Franck's Les Sept Paroles du Christ sur la Croix and Duruflé's Notre Père.)

Friday is also, of course, an opportunity to go out, but so far early starts for travelling have put paid to anything particularly exciting.

Saturday

So far we've used our Saturdays to go to Annecy and Lyon, with more plans for travelling in the pipe-line (including a festive Paris trip in December). Again, Saturday night is for going out, and we've managed to have one successful night out in Bourg on a Saturday (following a disastrous one in Lyon) involving the almost authentic Irish 'Pub', flaming shots and great company. Hopefully more like that to follow!

Sunday

As you might have already known, or read here, the 'day of rest' is very restful here in France. So far - apart from that one time we went to the rugby and the cinema - it's been an opportunity for lie-ins/hangovers, lesson planning and laziness which is gratefully received by my lazy alter-ego, but I'm sure after the holidays I'll be back on form with not a moment spare - or so I hope.

France does have some good music..

..and you know you're in a fantastic mood when you have this in your head.

Perks of the job; kids are hilarious

Even though most of my pupils are 15+ they still come out with some funny and brilliant things. Here are the highlights of my teaching career (lol) so far:

1. My usually sullen TSTG class getting seriously competitive over a game of articulate.

2. The kids in the collège playground playing three-player ping pong. (It involves running round the table, if you can try to picture it.) Brilliant idea.

3. The two girls who still always say hello to me even though I only take them once every four weeks.

4. The boy who didn't know how to say "I'm supposed to go back and send someone else in after 20 minutes" in English so instead laboured on alone, telling me about immigrant communities in Britain, for the whole hour-long lesson.

5. The looks on my 4ème's faces when I told them about Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

6. The boy who asked if I'd ever been to Aberystwyth, and the fact that the teacher didn't know where that was.

7. Doing pronunciation exercises when the teacher doesn't tell me what topic to cover: 'TH TH TH TH TH' 'H H H H H H'. Just like choral warm-ups, but they find it hilarious. 

8. The girl who, after much deliberation, replied 'Wales' when I asked her to name any country in the UK.

9. The trouble-maker in 3ème who shocked everyone by saying he wanted to join Homework Club. It later transpired that he didn't know what 'homework' meant.

10. The super smart sixteen year old in my Terminale Science who brought up punk rock in my 'What's Great about Great Britain?' class. Ten points to Gryffindor.

Annwyl i mi

Photography from Andrea Paz

This week I'm hoping I started a trend with my three course traditional Welsh meal of Glamorgan sausages, lamb and mint sauce, and Welshcakes followed by drinking games (non Brits absolutely horrified by the dirty pint in ring of fire) and general merriment. A few people have asked me for recipes, so here goes:

SELSIG MORGANNWG / GLAMORGAN SAUSAGES

Not actually sausages at all, but more like a slightly lighter, cheesy version of stuffing.

      

Photography from Andrea Paz

Photography from Andrea Paz

Makes 8

175g breadcrumbs (I just used a packet and that worked out fine)
150g Caerphilly cheese (obviously doesn't exist in France; I used feta)

Half a leek, finely chopped (or a third if you're using enormous French poireaux!)

Small handful chopped parsley 

½ tsp of thyme

2 eggs, beaten

1½ tsp Dijon mustard (you can get it very cheap out here, but English mustard is fine too)

Milk as required (no more than a few tbsp)
Oil
Black pepper to season (the cheese will already be quite salty so no need for more, to my taste)

1. Mix together 150g of the breadcrumbs in a bowl with the cheese, leek or spring onion, parsley, thyme and freshly ground pepper, blending well. 

2. Beat the eggs with the mustard. Set aside 2 tablespoons of this mixture and stir the remaining egg mixture into the breadcrumb mixture. If it seems a little dry add a touch of milk to help bind it together without making it sloppy. 

3. Divide the mixture into eight and shape each portion into a sausage about 2.5cm thick. Put the reserved egg and mustard mixture into a shallow bowl and spread the remaining breadcrumbs onto a plate. One by one dip the sausages into the egg mixture and coat in the crumbs. If you have time, chill the sausages in the fridge for at least half an hour to firm up. 

4. Heat the butter or oil in a frying pan and fry the sausages briskly for about 5 minutes until brown, then reduce the heat and fry for a further 3-4 minutes.

(based on recipe from uktv.co.uk/food)

CIG OEN GYDA SAWS MINT / LAMB AND MINT SAUCE

A.K.A how to make a traditional British Sunday dinner on Tuesday, in France, with only two electric hob spaces and what we like to call the 'easy-bake' oven (cf. right hand picture of the starter).

Photography from Andrea Paz

Serves 8 (as part of a three course meal; bigger appetites might want more!)

8 lamb cutlets

16 small new potatoes

500ml cider or white wine vinegar

85g sugar

10g chopped mint leaves

Vegetables as desired (I used frozen petits pois and the left-over leek)

Salt, pepper and garlic to season (I used garlic granules as we had nothing else, but you might prefer to use the real thing!)

1. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a heavy-bottomed pan and bring to boil. Allow to simmer at a fairly high temperature until syrupy. (This took a fair while on the electric hob!) 

2. Meanwhile, par-boil the potatoes (until you can stick a fork in). I cooked the peas in the same pan due to lack of space.

3. Prick the potatoes with a fork, season with lots of salt, pepper and garlic, then place in the oven at about 200°C/180°C for fan oven ('9' for not so easy-bake...). Roast for about 20 minutes or until golden-brown. 

4. Leave the sauce  to cool for 5 minutes before adding the mint, mixing, and allowing to cool further to room temperature.

5. Fry the lamb to taste - three minutes each side will do for a good medium rare, but a little while longer is needed if you want it "vraiment mort" as my flatmates requested!

6. Decant the sauce into a jug (or in the absence of which, a small bowl) and serve the meat and potatoes with vegetables. 

PICAU AR Y MAEN / WELSHCAKES

Classic and well-loved Welsh delicacy. Eat plain as a snack or with raspberry jam and cream (I mixed some sugar into crème fraîche) for dessert.

Makes 16

225g plain flour

85g caster sugar

½ tsp mixed spice

100g butter cut into small pieces (plus extra for frying)

50g currants

1 egg, beaten

splash milk

1. Mix the flour, sugar, mixed spice, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl. 

2. With your fingers, rub in the butter until crumbly. Mix in the currants. 

3. Work the egg into the mixture until you have soft dough, adding a splash of milk if it seems a little dry.

4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of your little finger. Cut out rounds using a 6cm cutter, re-rolling any trimmings. (Lacking a rolling pin or cutters, I just formed them in my hands: worked fine, and less mess!)

5. Grease a flat griddle pan or heavy frying pan with lard, and place over a medium heat. Cook the Welsh cakes in batches, for about 3 mins each side, until golden brown, crisp and cooked through.

(based on a recipe from bbcgoodfood.com)



Here's looking forward to the Spanish, Bavarian, Turkish, English, Scottish, American, Russian and Chilean offerings!

The Job

Sorry for the radio silence this last week - I'd like to say I've just been too busy, but I think laziness might also play its part. So, amongst some interesting nights out (everything is so expensive), yet more bureaucracy woes, choir rehearsals and a shock induction into clothes shopping in France (EVERYTHING IS SO EXPENSIVE!) I actually did some work this week.

After some confusion where everyone in the English department seemed to think I would have training on Monday afternoon - even after my frequent assertions that it was definitely only in the morning - students were informed that my Monday 16h was cancelled. I, however, was not.

False starts aside, this meant that my very first day ever in a 'proper' job was Thursday: 8h-17h. I was prepared, and everything went smoothly, but even so, a few things really startled me. Firstly the difference between each class, despite them all being in the same year group, was huge: I taught the same lesson three times in a row and the first class were clever but mute, the second were enthusiastic but inaccurate, and the final group looked so bored I changed the topic. There was also an overwhelming difference with regards to class size. I knew smaller was supposed to be better but I had no idea that five students from a 'technical' (less academic) class would talk so much more than ten from a 'science' or 'literature' class!

Unfortunately it will continue to be like this, as my classes rotate meaning I will only see each group once every four weeks making it impossible to build a rapport. Another few things I'll just have to get used to.

So this is what the French do on Sundays...

Determined to do something productive with our Sunday (despite everything in the whole of France being shut) we took an English teacher's suggestion to go to a local rugby match: USBPA (Bourg) v. Lille.

'Poulet de Bresse': team mascot and local dish. 

Now, despite being Welsh I am no expert in the sport, having in the past only watched with a very vague idea of who's winning and what's not allowed. However, my knowledge was far superior to that of my German and American flat-mates who watched with bemusement and frequent questions, most of which, honestly, I couldn't answer.
The sport is apparently very popular in the area (so everyone knows what/where Wales is, hurrah!) and the crowds were so infectiously enthusiastic that I felt myself drifting towards native-esque Bourg support.

"I like the bit where they jump to catch the ball"

Rugby will never be my favourite thing, but it was a new experience for everyone - in varying degrees - and with student tickets at only €5 it was an exciting way of passing what is normally a rather dull day en France.

Afterwards, those of us who didn't take our 9am "training" quite so seriously (classic British students..) went to see a movie (again for a very reasonable €6.50 student ticket!)

Do Not Disturb, despite the title, is a thoroughly French movie (one has to be careful as dubbed English-language films are seriously annoying) about two men trying to overcome their heterosexuality in order to make an artsy 'erotic movie'/porno. It's an odd premise, and it cast a few raised eyebrows for us - perhaps prudish - Brits ("Why is she still walking around with no knickers on?" "That was annoying me too..") but it was simple, yet still absorbing, so absolutely perfect for language development.

On either a funny or infuriating side note, we got a quick McDonalds before the film (only thing that's open, remember!) and my request for a Happy Meal was met with a blank stare. Only when I asked for an 'Appee Meel' did the girl behind the counter confirm my order: 'Ah, Appee Meel!'
One thing I just cannot get used to is pronouncing English words in a French accent... at least, not yet.