*double post* How exciting!
1. I will go for a lovely, sunny picnic in Stormont part with Caroline, Rachel and Mea. She will share the sandwiches.
2. I will re-enact the Epic Muck Up Day trip to Crawfordsburn with Hayleigh Morrison, Laura Morrow, Shona Jemphrey, Fiona Graham and Sarah Rountree. This time, there will be music AND West Coast Cooler. And we will not almost crash in the car park while attempting a three-point turn.
3. I will embark upon a Road Trip with the above persons, most likely to the North Coast. We will have a blast.
4. I will partake in a Daytime Pub Crawl, possibly involving the above persons, should they wish to come (!).
5. I will go to Banbridge, and show Caroline how to get there :)
6. I will go to China China with Chris. We will sit downstairs, and eat our dessert in a leisurely fashion.
7. I will also go to Horatio Todd's with Sarah Menice and Holly Coles. The waiter will bring the right cocktails this time.
8. Chris and I will walk to the very end of Bangor promenade and back. On the sand. With no shoes on.
9. I will take Rachel 17th Birthday present shopping, and inevitably spend an indecent amount of money.
10. Chris and I will go to the zoo. We will make it in time to feed the lemurs. Oh yes, we will.
Saturday, 26 March 2011
That Happy/Sad Feeling
So, I have less than three weeks left in La Chatre, and, as I've read on other people's blogs, the happy/sad feeling is kicking in. For the past few weeks, I've just been happy that I'm leaving soon, but since last weekend, a pinch of sadness has crept in too. The warmer weather makes the town so beautiful, my students have improved beyond my expectations, and strawberries have started to appear in the supermarket. And I only have three weeks left. Happy/sad, indeed.
It's funny to think about all the things I'm looking forward to about going home , and all the things I'll miss about France. I can't wait to get back to my family and Chris, but I'll really miss the teachers here, who have become friends. I'll even miss the students! They are funny and clever, and they do try their best, even though they make me want to rip my hair out sometimes!
I can't wait to have the freedom of being able to drive or get the bus whenever I want, to go somewhere different whenever I feel like it. And to have Chris or a friend to call on to go on a road trip with me. But I'll miss walking into town in the glorious sunshine, past the huge fountain at the roundabout, and saying "bonjour" to people as we pass each other in the street. I can't wait to be able to go shopping. But I'll miss the market on Saturday mornings.
I can't wait to have the easy task of speaking English when I'm out and about. But I'll miss speaking and hearing French everywhere I go. I can't wait to get back to a noisy, hectic, animal-filled home. But I'm sure I'll miss coming back from a busy day to my nice, quiet studio.
I can't wait to go to McDonalds and Chinese takeaways, and restaurants that don't serve tête de veau. But I'll miss fresh baguettes and delicious pastries every day, not to mention the potato-filled pastry that is a delicacy here! I can't wait to go to the pub with my friends, and drink terrible drinks and laugh loudly about our schooldays. But I'll miss the way the French drink a glass of wine with everything, without over-indulging and making idiots of themselves in public.
It's strange to think that I have such a short time left in France, after spending two years preparing and planning! I can't fully get my head around the fact that it's nearly over; I've nearly done it! It's definitely a happy/sad feeling.
It's funny to think about all the things I'm looking forward to about going home , and all the things I'll miss about France. I can't wait to get back to my family and Chris, but I'll really miss the teachers here, who have become friends. I'll even miss the students! They are funny and clever, and they do try their best, even though they make me want to rip my hair out sometimes!
I can't wait to have the freedom of being able to drive or get the bus whenever I want, to go somewhere different whenever I feel like it. And to have Chris or a friend to call on to go on a road trip with me. But I'll miss walking into town in the glorious sunshine, past the huge fountain at the roundabout, and saying "bonjour" to people as we pass each other in the street. I can't wait to be able to go shopping. But I'll miss the market on Saturday mornings.
I can't wait to have the easy task of speaking English when I'm out and about. But I'll miss speaking and hearing French everywhere I go. I can't wait to get back to a noisy, hectic, animal-filled home. But I'm sure I'll miss coming back from a busy day to my nice, quiet studio.
I can't wait to go to McDonalds and Chinese takeaways, and restaurants that don't serve tête de veau. But I'll miss fresh baguettes and delicious pastries every day, not to mention the potato-filled pastry that is a delicacy here! I can't wait to go to the pub with my friends, and drink terrible drinks and laugh loudly about our schooldays. But I'll miss the way the French drink a glass of wine with everything, without over-indulging and making idiots of themselves in public.
It's strange to think that I have such a short time left in France, after spending two years preparing and planning! I can't fully get my head around the fact that it's nearly over; I've nearly done it! It's definitely a happy/sad feeling.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Travel Bug?
So, another week has gone, and for some reason, the impatience to get home and back to normality has kicked in good and proper. It usually doesn't kick in until a week before I travel home, but it's back with a vengeance now! I guess it's because I have my flights booked home already, and I have so much to look forward to when I get home; namely, Spain!
I've been feeling really jealous while reading the blogs of other assistants who've been able to take advantage of cheap holidays and trips while here. I've read about people going to Amsterdam, Prague, Barcelona etc, and I wish that it could have been practical for me to put my long weekends to good use, and make it to Paris or the south coast at least! But with limited transport, even a trip to Chateauroux or Orleans is a challenge for me :( So I'm really looking forward to my month in Ronda with the uni pals in June. I think I just need a change from La Chatre; I've seen it all and done it all, and I want some different scenery. I'm also thinking ahead to next summer, where travel might also be possible; I definitely want a holiday of some sort. If Egypt werent't so turbulent at the minute, I'd be dying to go there, because I've always wanted to, but it seems my dream must be put on hold, and I'll have to content myself with a beach on the Canaries or an exceptionally touristy Greek resort. But I shouldn't complain, because I'm nearly done with the assistantship (31 sleeps now, according to Rachel's countdown), and I have a month in sunny Andalucia and a whole summer of catching up with friends and family to look forward to.
I've been feeling really jealous while reading the blogs of other assistants who've been able to take advantage of cheap holidays and trips while here. I've read about people going to Amsterdam, Prague, Barcelona etc, and I wish that it could have been practical for me to put my long weekends to good use, and make it to Paris or the south coast at least! But with limited transport, even a trip to Chateauroux or Orleans is a challenge for me :( So I'm really looking forward to my month in Ronda with the uni pals in June. I think I just need a change from La Chatre; I've seen it all and done it all, and I want some different scenery. I'm also thinking ahead to next summer, where travel might also be possible; I definitely want a holiday of some sort. If Egypt werent't so turbulent at the minute, I'd be dying to go there, because I've always wanted to, but it seems my dream must be put on hold, and I'll have to content myself with a beach on the Canaries or an exceptionally touristy Greek resort. But I shouldn't complain, because I'm nearly done with the assistantship (31 sleeps now, according to Rachel's countdown), and I have a month in sunny Andalucia and a whole summer of catching up with friends and family to look forward to.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Where Has the Time Gone???
So, I spent two and a half lovely weeks at home with my family and boyfriend. This was definitely the best vacances yet; Toussaint was so short, and Christmas was hectic and stressful with snow and trying to see everyone before going back to rainy dreariness. But this time, we were nice and relaxed, getting stuff done but not rushing about, and taking plenty of time to chill at home too. For Valentine's day, I booked for me and Chris to stay in a thatched cottage in Bushmills for the weekend. Well, "cottage" was a bit of an understatement! It was a MANSION. With heated floor tiles, four bathrooms, a wet room, a giant flat-screen TV and a four-poster bed. And a thatched roof. Wow.
I arrived back in La Chatre last night, after a teary goodbye, a long journey, and a humourous final car trip from Chateauroux station with one of the English teachers. I had my first class of the morning at the lovely hour of 8:30, with three Terminale L's, and it went fine, except for a boy threatening to jump out the window if I didn't stop asking him complicated questions (like, "What films have you seen that have robots in them", the horror!).
Now, with a two hour break, I'm catching up on my interneting, and marvelling that there are only five and a half weeks left of my assistantship. I can hardly believe how quickly time has gone, and I'm both happy and sad about it. Happy, because I hate being apart from my family, Chris, my friends and the animals, and I miss the normal, hectic things that go on at home. But I've begun to feel attached to France; even though the bureaucracy can be a pain in the ass, nothing is EVER open and the builders are still hammering away in the appartment above mine, I'll be sad to leave the friends I've made and the little life I've made for myself here. I spent two years preparing for this experience to be the most gruelling and challenging in my life, but I've found myself really enjoying the independence and responsibility of living alone and having a "proper" job in another country. It makes me sad to hear about people that I know from uni who have had such bad experiences that they've left France and dropped out of their degree course. I couldn't imagine having to stay here if I hated it; it was hard enough to leave everyone yesterday knowing that I was coming back to somewhere nice!
I'm going to try to make the most of the last few weeks I have here, because I know I'll never have this kind of opportunity again. Despite my impatience to go home again and get back to normal life, I know I should appreciate my time here, and really enjoy it, because it's nearly over; in a year, when I'm graduating from university, I'm sure I'll look back on this year and miss it!
I arrived back in La Chatre last night, after a teary goodbye, a long journey, and a humourous final car trip from Chateauroux station with one of the English teachers. I had my first class of the morning at the lovely hour of 8:30, with three Terminale L's, and it went fine, except for a boy threatening to jump out the window if I didn't stop asking him complicated questions (like, "What films have you seen that have robots in them", the horror!).
Now, with a two hour break, I'm catching up on my interneting, and marvelling that there are only five and a half weeks left of my assistantship. I can hardly believe how quickly time has gone, and I'm both happy and sad about it. Happy, because I hate being apart from my family, Chris, my friends and the animals, and I miss the normal, hectic things that go on at home. But I've begun to feel attached to France; even though the bureaucracy can be a pain in the ass, nothing is EVER open and the builders are still hammering away in the appartment above mine, I'll be sad to leave the friends I've made and the little life I've made for myself here. I spent two years preparing for this experience to be the most gruelling and challenging in my life, but I've found myself really enjoying the independence and responsibility of living alone and having a "proper" job in another country. It makes me sad to hear about people that I know from uni who have had such bad experiences that they've left France and dropped out of their degree course. I couldn't imagine having to stay here if I hated it; it was hard enough to leave everyone yesterday knowing that I was coming back to somewhere nice!
I'm going to try to make the most of the last few weeks I have here, because I know I'll never have this kind of opportunity again. Despite my impatience to go home again and get back to normal life, I know I should appreciate my time here, and really enjoy it, because it's nearly over; in a year, when I'm graduating from university, I'm sure I'll look back on this year and miss it!
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Faith Is Restored.
Well, yesterday was a bit of a bad one, student-wise! I had the a class of carrieres boys in the morning; I decided to do something a bit more fun with them, so I had them create characters, write a few lines of a story, and swap papers to continue each others' stories. WELL, it seemed to be going okay, with the exception of two boys who kept giggling and being generally disruptive, until we got to the swapping. There was an indignant cry from the two best pupils in the class, "This is in French!" I took the page, hardly daring to believe it, and they were right. The two boys that had been misbehaving before had written their lines in French, when I had specifically given them the start of their first sentence in English to avoid this very situation! Argh.
So, I got my Teacher hat on and told them (in deadly calm French) that they were in English class, not French class, and if they wanted to muck about they could go elsewhere to do it. They had the decency to look sheepish, and started writing tout de suite!
Irritating situation dealt with, I prepared myself for my two-in-a-row secondes in the afternoons. I had the, erm, less gifted, ones first, and they were okay; typically distracted but eventually they got there. And then came the ones that are supposed to be the best secondes in the school. The class consists of two girls and nine boys (poor girls!), and they've been progressively worse each time I've seen them. Well, this time took the biscuit. The girls were perfectly well-behaved, doing the work I outlined on the board and volunteering answers. But the boys continually shrieked with laughter, walloped each other with various articles, spat at each other and generally took the piss, completely ignoring me when I told them, first in English and then in French, to stop it and do the work.
Finally, I managed to get them to shut up, and I gave them the severest lecture I've ever had to give in my life (!). I was literally shaking with anger, and it was made worse when one boy started to snigger. So I took him up on it, and demanded that he answer one of the questions written on the board (knowing full well that he hadn't done any of them). He sat there for five minutes with the rest of the class staring silently at him, until he said he hadn't done any of them. By that stage I was beyond talking to them, so I gave them a worksheet and ignored them for the rest of the hour. Afterwards, I went straight to their regular teacher and told her, and she agreed that they've been getting more and more unmanageable, and that I wouldn't have them again. I figured that was the end of it, and was happy to have escaped!
Then, today, she came to me in the staff room and said she wanted a list of the trouble-makers... oOo, they'll be in trouble! I have the impression she can be quite a scary teacher when she wants to be. Haha, is all I can say!
Today has gone much better, and restored my faith in French teenagers! I had three Terminale L's this morning, and they wrote the most amazing poems about getting older. One boy had the lines, "I'm scared to be paralysed by all the things I have not realised." Deep, huh? And with the carrieres girls, I showed them My Fair Lady. I think they thought it was a bit crap at first, but enjoyed it in the end, and are looking forward to watching more next week.
I have three more classes today; hopefully they'll go okay as well!!
So, I got my Teacher hat on and told them (in deadly calm French) that they were in English class, not French class, and if they wanted to muck about they could go elsewhere to do it. They had the decency to look sheepish, and started writing tout de suite!
Irritating situation dealt with, I prepared myself for my two-in-a-row secondes in the afternoons. I had the, erm, less gifted, ones first, and they were okay; typically distracted but eventually they got there. And then came the ones that are supposed to be the best secondes in the school. The class consists of two girls and nine boys (poor girls!), and they've been progressively worse each time I've seen them. Well, this time took the biscuit. The girls were perfectly well-behaved, doing the work I outlined on the board and volunteering answers. But the boys continually shrieked with laughter, walloped each other with various articles, spat at each other and generally took the piss, completely ignoring me when I told them, first in English and then in French, to stop it and do the work.
Finally, I managed to get them to shut up, and I gave them the severest lecture I've ever had to give in my life (!). I was literally shaking with anger, and it was made worse when one boy started to snigger. So I took him up on it, and demanded that he answer one of the questions written on the board (knowing full well that he hadn't done any of them). He sat there for five minutes with the rest of the class staring silently at him, until he said he hadn't done any of them. By that stage I was beyond talking to them, so I gave them a worksheet and ignored them for the rest of the hour. Afterwards, I went straight to their regular teacher and told her, and she agreed that they've been getting more and more unmanageable, and that I wouldn't have them again. I figured that was the end of it, and was happy to have escaped!
Then, today, she came to me in the staff room and said she wanted a list of the trouble-makers... oOo, they'll be in trouble! I have the impression she can be quite a scary teacher when she wants to be. Haha, is all I can say!
Today has gone much better, and restored my faith in French teenagers! I had three Terminale L's this morning, and they wrote the most amazing poems about getting older. One boy had the lines, "I'm scared to be paralysed by all the things I have not realised." Deep, huh? And with the carrieres girls, I showed them My Fair Lady. I think they thought it was a bit crap at first, but enjoyed it in the end, and are looking forward to watching more next week.
I have three more classes today; hopefully they'll go okay as well!!
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Time is Flying.
Well, the title of this post says it all, really. I can't believe it's only two weeks til I'm going home again for the half-term vacances; that means I'm three quarters of the way through the assistantship. How scary is that? I've been planning and freaking out about these seven months for the best part of three years - ever since I applied to do languages on the old UCAS form in sixth year - and it's more than halfway over!
Somehow I feel like I've done loads, and absolutely nothing, at the same time. My French is coming on leaps and bounds. My students are improving (slowly), and love coming to my classes. I've eaten weird and wonderful things, acquired a taste for red wine, traveled on the Paris metro, had a conversation about the colour of chickens with a three year old boy in French, learned to cook... the list goes on. All while (seemingly) sitting on my arse for entire weekends. It is bizarre.
And yet more planning is taking place, namely my trip to Andalucia over the summer. I have a roomie (for a change!) all arranged, we've decided to go in June, where it'll be nice and quiet, just the right amount of heat, and I'm feeling fairly opimistic that Spain should be at least as good as my time here has been. It'll be nice to have a pal - French twenty-somethings are non-existent out in the sticks, it seems - and we'll be able to travel a bit and help each other out with the language (as I'm convinced all the Spanish I used to know has fallen out of my head).
And I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone at home again. I've been feeling a bit out of the loop lately, just because I've been away from home more than there for the last 5 months, so I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone again - visiting the family, shopping with the girls, seeing the animals, maybe having a bit of craic with my friends, which, due to our busy lives, only happened once over Christmas!
I've been pretty terrible at writing this blog of late, so hopefully I'll have another update soon!
Somehow I feel like I've done loads, and absolutely nothing, at the same time. My French is coming on leaps and bounds. My students are improving (slowly), and love coming to my classes. I've eaten weird and wonderful things, acquired a taste for red wine, traveled on the Paris metro, had a conversation about the colour of chickens with a three year old boy in French, learned to cook... the list goes on. All while (seemingly) sitting on my arse for entire weekends. It is bizarre.
And yet more planning is taking place, namely my trip to Andalucia over the summer. I have a roomie (for a change!) all arranged, we've decided to go in June, where it'll be nice and quiet, just the right amount of heat, and I'm feeling fairly opimistic that Spain should be at least as good as my time here has been. It'll be nice to have a pal - French twenty-somethings are non-existent out in the sticks, it seems - and we'll be able to travel a bit and help each other out with the language (as I'm convinced all the Spanish I used to know has fallen out of my head).
And I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone at home again. I've been feeling a bit out of the loop lately, just because I've been away from home more than there for the last 5 months, so I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone again - visiting the family, shopping with the girls, seeing the animals, maybe having a bit of craic with my friends, which, due to our busy lives, only happened once over Christmas!
I've been pretty terrible at writing this blog of late, so hopefully I'll have another update soon!
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Summing Up.
Top Ten Christmas List;
1. BEING HOME. I have never been so glad to see rainy, snowy Belfast. The weather, the chavs, the surly bus drivers; I love them all.
2. FAMILY. Mum, Dad, Girls, Chris. Wonderful :)
3. My AWESOME NEW BEDROOM. Imagine my surprise to find that, in my six week absence, my parents had redecorated my room, transforming it into a Boudoir Extraordinaire. Purple, black and sparkly, with fairy lights and glass-topped units. I cried.
4. ANIMALS. Oh, how I've missed the little doggies and kitty-cat. Tabitha's snuggly, purry furriness was awesome, and Mea has grown into a ginger rascal; I don't think I received a more enthusiastic (or wetter) greeting upon my homecoming.
5. FOOD. What more can I say? Dad's Christmas dinner was Outstanding. I have put on three stone.
6. CHRISTMAS DAY. I must say, it has become such that I look forward to giving gifts more than receiving them. I think my choices went down pretty well this year; Tiffany's necklace, Ugg boots and a London trip, to name a few ;)
7. BOXING DAY. Ayn's house. Home made chocolate fudge cake. Kinnect bowling. There are no more words.
8. NEW YEAR'S EVE. Chris's house. Daytime drinking, DVDs, Jules Holland, champagne and bizarre foghorn sounds at the stroke of midnight. What more could one ask for?
9. NEW YEAR'S DAY. Helen's house for a surprise visit. The purchase of a purple starry dressing gown. Lovely food (again), tea aplenty, a Stolen Scarf and seeing the Lads. Joy.
10. GENERAL HAPPINESS. What can I say? A perfect Christmas, in every way. Except one. That it had to end! Bring on next year!!!
1. BEING HOME. I have never been so glad to see rainy, snowy Belfast. The weather, the chavs, the surly bus drivers; I love them all.
2. FAMILY. Mum, Dad, Girls, Chris. Wonderful :)
3. My AWESOME NEW BEDROOM. Imagine my surprise to find that, in my six week absence, my parents had redecorated my room, transforming it into a Boudoir Extraordinaire. Purple, black and sparkly, with fairy lights and glass-topped units. I cried.
4. ANIMALS. Oh, how I've missed the little doggies and kitty-cat. Tabitha's snuggly, purry furriness was awesome, and Mea has grown into a ginger rascal; I don't think I received a more enthusiastic (or wetter) greeting upon my homecoming.
5. FOOD. What more can I say? Dad's Christmas dinner was Outstanding. I have put on three stone.
6. CHRISTMAS DAY. I must say, it has become such that I look forward to giving gifts more than receiving them. I think my choices went down pretty well this year; Tiffany's necklace, Ugg boots and a London trip, to name a few ;)
7. BOXING DAY. Ayn's house. Home made chocolate fudge cake. Kinnect bowling. There are no more words.
8. NEW YEAR'S EVE. Chris's house. Daytime drinking, DVDs, Jules Holland, champagne and bizarre foghorn sounds at the stroke of midnight. What more could one ask for?
9. NEW YEAR'S DAY. Helen's house for a surprise visit. The purchase of a purple starry dressing gown. Lovely food (again), tea aplenty, a Stolen Scarf and seeing the Lads. Joy.
10. GENERAL HAPPINESS. What can I say? A perfect Christmas, in every way. Except one. That it had to end! Bring on next year!!!
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