Written last weekend without the Internet...

I’ve done a couple of little trips at the weekends, I went to Bois de Boulogne last weekend and hired a bike for a couple of hours and just rode around in the park, it was very pretty and relaxing – even if I didn’t have a map and went past the same point 3 times, and I had lunch by the lake :-)

The park has a bit of a reputation at night for prostitutes, and I did have a bit of a ‘culture shock’ to see my first prostitute, not sure whether it was male or female, but if you thought dance competitions required a lot of make-up and false eyelashes, this was a whole new level!

Yesterday I had a really busy day (I try to keep Saturdays busy so that I don’t get too bored or homesick). I went to Fontainebleau, slightly unplanned. Unplanned to the point that on the train going to Gare de Lyon I wasn’t sure whether I was heading to Fontainebleau or Val d’Europe (BIG shopping centre), but the angel in me won and I went to do something slightly more cultural and probably cheaper. The train ticket only cost €7 – special young people’s weekend ticket and you can travel as much as you want for a day across all the zones and it includes using the bus and trams – bargain! It took about 40 minutes to get to Fontainebleau and then another 20 mins or so to get to the chateau.

The castle isn’t as well known as Versailles but it was worth the visit and it’s free for under 26 year olds from the EU (got to love France for that), so I paid just €1 for the audio guide (in French of course) and wandered round the bedrooms, bathrooms, throne rooms, chapel... After that I had a wander around the grounds which were well kept and there were loads of couples wandering around hand in hand (hmmm).

After that I came back to Paris and was on the way home when I decided I’d stop at Chatelet for a bit of shopping after all. It was with the intention of finding Nick a birthday present, but it turned into clothes shopping for myself... I don’t know who said that the French have good fashion, they lied. French shops are terrible, and I never thought I’d have to resort to New Look in France! So mum will have/has a list of things to go and get and bring out to me next weekend :-D and so far Nick has no present...

So that means that today I’m being lazy and watching TV. It started very educational, a programme about a plane, called the Comet that crashed in 1954 with 35 people on board, but now it’s deteriorated to one of those films you get on ‘True Movies’ or something like that, called ‘Le Lit du Diable’ (the Devil’s bed) whilst I’m having a bit of a clean.

This weekend has a bank holiday stuck on it, so no idea at the moment what I’ll do tomorrow, everything will probably be shut knowing France! My internet hasn’t been working, so if it decides to work I can hopefully find out what is and isn’t open and go and do something, if not, I’ll sit and read in the park and get a crepe or something. 

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to work I go...

So the routine of work has set in – getting up, taking the metro then the tram, getting something to drink at work and then starting for the day. Still, lessons won’t start properly until September, so a couple of days have felt pretty dragged out preparing lessons hour in hour out. Though me and Kate were given an ‘extra’ task to sort out the library (well, the few shelves of books that are kept locked away) so we got to get out of the open space and I think by now we are both experts on referencing! We finished it really quickly, so I wonder what fun task is next!

Wednesday after work I went to the theatre with Kate and Fred (a guy from work) to see a Moliere play “Le médecin malgré lui”. Which, being Moliere, I would have thought would be really difficult to understand, but seeing some 7-8 year olds reassured me, and the woman behind kept explaining everything to her child, not that I was eavesdropping at all! It was really nice, and the first thing I’ve done with someone French (apart from dancing) since I’ve been here. I hope there’s more to come.

Something I’ve enjoyed doing at work so far are the English/French/Spanish lunches, where we meet up with someone just to have lunch and we spend half of it in English and half of it in French/Spanish, but they can be quite hard work and it doesn’t give you much of a ‘break’ from working me and Kate have decided... So we’re going to try not to have one every lunch!

The girls on reception at work, Laura and Flora, are really nice. Was having one of those “AH I CAN’T SPEAK FRENCH!!!!” days, which I somehow managed to explain and get through in French, and they were both just lovely – meeting people like that makes the year abroad a whole better experience, so thanks girlies!

To finish on a light note – Post-it Wars! It’s a guerre (war) where you make a picture on your window using Post-it notes and the person opposite does the same thing... I took part in this on Friday as it was a quiet day and in Bath’s honour and my own obsession, created a duck! (Before any geeks out there mention it, I know it isn't an 8 bit image or whatever you call it, but I wanted a duck so I did a duck - so there!!) It used quite a few Post-its but they get recycled when you create another image. It’s good fun and a nice break from work. 

One month in...

So I’ve been in Paris for a month now! It’s flown by! Had lots of ‘firsts’ – starting with the first day at work, then my first night alone in the studio, first trip to the market, first lesson, first feeling homesick, first time eating peas that come from a tin (quite a strange concept), first French bank card, first French payslip and I could probably go on. What I mean, is that there are lots of new experiences all the time, and I’m enjoying most of them.

Work is going well, I’ve had three lessons now and August seems like it’s going to be an easy-going month as everyone appears to be on holiday! Food at work is good and I can eat 2 courses for about €2! There is loads of choice, especially if you eat meat (which I don’t, yet...). I think going to work takes away the boredom of living alone and getting paid is always nice of course!

I’ve been filling the weekends with cultural activities – tour of the Opera Garnier in French, Cimetiere de Pere Lachaise, Place des Vosges and Paris Plage, followed by lying in the sun in a park on Sunday. My plan is to do lots of different things that tourists wouldn’t necessarily do, and so far it’s working nicely at keeping me occupied. Ooo how could I forget the wander around Monmartre and seeing a rather cool (linguistically) wall – it has ‘I love you’ written in loads of languages :-)

Skype is amazing. It’s my connection to everyone back home and I can’t imagine having to stay in touch without it (although I have been sending postcards J  ). Chatting to nan and Nick more or less everyday is something nice to look forward to in the evenings and mum will learn eventually... Maybe by the time I’m in Spain at this rate!! (Get a move on mum!!) There have been a few nights where all I’ve done is call people in England and have a chat (which might not be the best thing to improve my language, but it’s a good end to the day)! Of course everyone must get slightly homesick, we are all human, and everyone will miss people and different things from home, be it cheddar, squash or proper frozen peas!

This morning I went to my first market, at 7.45am ish before work. The sky was a pretty powdery blue and it was nice and quiet and I walked to the market listening to Schandefreude (from Avenue Q) and songs from Hairspray, so there was a spring in my step. Surprisingly people were still setting up, so I found a stall that was more or less finished setting up, the guy was very helpful and it’s good French food practice! Came back with a bag full of fresh veg for a little over €3 and a quietly smug smile at realising that I do know some useful French, even if the grammar might be a bit dodgey now and then.

So that’s more or less my month in an A4 page! 

You know you're living in Paris when...

Metro:

·         You can read in a very small space standing up on the metro

·         You see there is no space in a particular metro carriage, so you just barge on anyway (I do this every morning – advantage of being little)

·         You can get on the metro in exactly the right place for the exit at the destination (kerching!)

·         You know when the metro station will require a ticket or pass to get out and you have it ready – unlike the tourist in front! GRR!

·         You have a Navigo (of course, better yet if you didn’t have to pay for it)

Monuments:

·         You see the Eiffel Tower every day just walking to work and you start to take the Parisian attitude towards it (maybe that’s just me though)

·         You use your free entry to museums for going to the toilet somewhere clean

·         The sound of an American makes you cringe (again, probably just me, but I hear them every morning on the RER going to Versailles moaning about how many people are on the train going to work :S hmmm)

Service:

·         You don’t expect any decent service anywhere

·         You hear the word ‘Facebook’ more than ‘svp’ or ‘merci’

·         the wine come in tiny glasses, so it’s better to order the bottle and be done with it (this is general for France, and no, I haven’t been drinking, but mum experienced this one on her first day here)

·         You know people only drink coffee because anything else will cost you five times the amount

Other:

·         You get used to not having an oven and your wardrobe turns into something not only for storing clothes, but also for drying them

·         You no longer pronounce ‘oui’ properly, but it turns into something resembling ‘whey’ (pretty sure this is for most of France though)

·         You know ‘je voudrais...’ is just something they teach you at school, and if you say it you’ll get a strange look

·         You eat most of the baguette whilst walking across the road back home

·         You can almost ignore the sound of the church bells next door (if you want to)

Parisians:

·         Don’t look where they’re going

·         Don’t keep time 

·         Rarely smile

Work after a week

Well, it seems to have gone quickly (July 14^th probably helped). It all seems a bit laid back. To be honest I’ve not had that much to do as everyone seems to be on holiday and the majority won’t be back till September. At least that gives me time to prepare some lessons, and raid the stationery cupboard :-D

I shadowed Carys for a few of her lessons as I said in my previous post. My main first task is to test everyone to see what level of English they have so that they can be put into pairs (most of them). I’ve already made my test, written and oral and should have a couple of people to test at the end of the week – it’s quite difficult making a test for a wide range of levels though.

 I've been preparing some lessons as well on lots of different topics and in doing so have read soooo much stuff on the BBC include this article:   http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14016993 about Hungary wanting to install a 'chocolate tax' and this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/water_and_ice/ocean#p00gbgkn about rubber ducks! 

The lunches are pretty good, most days my lunch has cost less than 2€ and that’s a large plate of pasta and/or salad with a bread roll and a can of drink. I’ve had lunch with quite a few different people, generally half in English and half in French, that way I get to practice my French a bit more.

Today I joined a presentation (in English unfortunately) on the differences in business behaviour in France and Israel. It was really interesting, it firstly talked about generalisations and then explained why the Israelis are how they are, going into history and religion and day to day life.

All in all, it’s going well so far and I’m enjoying it.

Getting a French bank account

Another topic that uni don’t seem to want to go into in any detail whatsoever, so here’s what I found. Banks don’t like people. Let me elaborate, unless you have a bill to the address you are staying at in France you will probably be turned down. 

Generally to open a bank account, take as many documents as you possibly can. I took:

-           the contract for my house

-          my house insurance (which had the address on)

-          my job contract

-          bank statements from the UK (to prove I have some money)

-          passport

Although Crédit Agricole wouldn’t accept all that as proof of residence and insisted on a gas or electricity bill (facture de gaz ou d’electricité).

The Post Office is the place to go. Yep, they have a terrible reputation and might not see you on the day, but they accept more or less anyone – me included. And the guy who served me was pretty helpful :-)

It took about 8 days for me to receive banking details, online log-ons, my cheque book (which has funky different coloured cheques) and a little longer to receive my card.

La Fête Nationale

Thursday 14th July

Well what a busy day this was! We started with the defilés (processions) at Champs-Elysées, arriving just after 8am and it was packed. People everywhere. Horrible really. We decided to wander in search of somewhere better, but found a bench to stand on and see stuff as and when it happened. No wonder the Parisians decide to watch it on TV.

There were people standing on benches everywhere, like us, followed by policemen telling them to get off the benches, like us. What did surprise me was the disrespect of some people, in particular a Chinese girl and a Spanish boy who decided to climb on someone else’s car to get a better view – although they weren’t the only ones in fairness.

Bex brought a friend and I’m not sure, but I don’t think she knew that it was a military parade... and she seemed to get bored pretty quickly! I wasn’t really expecting it to be like the Disney parade...

After the parade, well I say after, it was during really but meh, we decided to try to get to Champs de Mars, but you need to cross the Champs-Elysées which is impossible. However, we did end up wandering by where all the tanks and other vehicles were waiting, and I think the soldiers were loving the attention from everyone, although there were a few having their cigarette break and even the military seem to text whilst driving! I love noticing all these little details, in my opinion they make the day more interesting :-)

We ended up going home to have some lunch and a nap with plans to meet up with Bex later for the fireworks. Me and Nick didn’t think it’d be worth going to Champs de Mars to watch the fireworks but we thought we’d head over there just to have a look and see how busy it was – this was 5 hours before they were scheduled to start.

What a difference from the defile! The atmosphere seemed really nice, helped by the sun, and there was live music playing on a stage which was all broadcast onto screens everywhere. Armed with cards, pasta and carambars we decided to sit and wait. We must have played nearly every card game we knew, and Nick is terrible at two-player Gin Rummy! I heard the song ‘Aux arbres citoyens’ and saw ‘Touch pas à mon pote’ stickers everywhere (it’s a campaign against racism). It was lovely watching the sun set just by the Eiffel Tower and I did feel rather touristy trying to take pictures of the pretty sky.

So then the fireworks started. Obviously you get some absolute idiot who decides to set off a firecracker or a flare (GRRRR) and then some more idiots with lasers beaming everywhere. Then in front of me was some guy with a camera who watched the whole thing through it whilst trying to take photos – as Nick said, why not just enjoy the moment?! Oh and the smoke, I must have passively smoked the equivalent of about 10 cigarettes. Apart from that, the fireworks were really good and they were set to songs from Broadway musicals :-D right down my street! Though why you would choose to end the national holiday celebrations in Paris to “America” from West Side Story?!

It all ended and the manic rush began to get out and to metro stations, thankfully I live pretty close so it was just a 20 minute walk – piece of advice, if you own a car, don’t even attempt to drive on that night! It was a very busy but worthwhile day. It’d be a bit stupid to be in Paris and not go and see one of the biggest events of the year – even if you do get a better view off the TV.