Closing blog

Thank you all for taking an interest and reading my blog!

Unfortunately, I am going to stop posting with Blogger and instead I am going to keep up my WordPress blog instead.  Simply because my WordPress got more activity.  I started two identical blogs to see which one would be more successful.

My WordPress blog can be found here:

http://myerasmusadventure.wordpress.com/

I hope you will continue to read about my adventures!!

Thanks again.

Chynna

Chapter One Begins

I’ve already been in France for a week, it’s incredible how much I have done and how little time I have had to write my first blog entry actually in France.  I can sense that this is going to be a long one…

So Chapter One begins!  My arrival in a strange and foreign land.

Within five minutes of getting off the plane and picking up my luggage I was handed a REAL French croissant by my friend to welcome me to this new place so I don’t think things could have started off any better.  In return of course she received a 5 pack of Curly Wurlys. 

For the first few days I was staying at her family home out in the countryside where the only neighbours were maize fields and the only sounds at night were of bugs and insects going about their daily business.  Although my friend speaks English, it’s obviously important to me that I speak French as much as possible since the reason I am here in the first place is to improve my French.  At first it was a bit strange because all of a sudden I was speaking French all of the time instead of English.  It wasn’t as difficult as I had thought it might be, but I can’t say that it was that easy either.  What’s most important initially, I think, is not that your French is perfect but that you feel understood so at least it gives you some confidence in knowing that people understand what you’re trying to say.  I got the opportunity to watch some French TV too (since there isn’t so much to do out in the country) which meant Futurama dubbed in French but I’m not sure that counts as a good source for new vocabulary – cabine à suicide certainly made it as my mot du jour though.

We moved into the apartment in Bordeaux on the Saturday so that was my first time I really met Bordeaux.  We went for lunch and I was surprised to find that we went to a vegan café/restaurant not far from our place!  I am neither vegan nor vegetarian but I do not eat beef or pork which poses some problems in country renowned for their saucissons and du jambon.  My flatmate for example will add some kind of meat to pretty much anything and before she lived with us I think she thought a meat free dinner wasn’t a dinner at all.

What was most striking about my first impressions of walking around Bordeaux was that all the buildings are around 4 storeys tall and there are almost no hills, as though the city is completely flat.  It made it very difficult to understand where exactly you were situated at all times when there is a church in every quartier and the streets are all made from the same golden stone.   When we walked out to the Quai by the river though that was when I felt most relaxed – you could see into the distance and you could take in Bordeaux much easier.   The Quai is gorgeous.  I believe it has been recently renovated and so it’s got sports facilities like basketball courts and skate parks all along the river and beautiful rows of flowers with plenty of places to sit in the sun.  It is also very worthwhile visiting La Bourse which you will find along the Quai and also the Mirroir de l’eau which is situated in front of La Bourse too.  All next to the tram line of course which is amazing…

Five days later and I feel like I know where I am going that much better than before.  Today was the day we went to the university for the very first time but luckily the tram system is so easy to use and just so efficient.  Not to mention if you had trams as good looking as that in the UK they would be covered in graffiti within minutes.  I’ve walked around the city many many times and squares and rues and cours are starting to make sense.  My French already feels much more natural and I feel like I can express myself how I wish.  Language can contribute a lot to your identity as a human being so speaking a foreign language can feel restrictive when it doesn’t feel natural and you can’t always say exactly what you want to say.  It’s getting better though.

Tomorrow is Judgement Day

This will be my last blog post from this side of the channel for a while since tomorrow is the day I leave for France! 

It feels like I’ve spent the last week trying to pack my suitcase whilst trying not to go over the 20kg allowance, looks like I’m going to be wearing my winter coat and boots through check in.   Considering my friend informed me that the other week it was up to 43°C I am not even going to need my coat and boots for a few months… and I am going to melt.  She told me she has been getting a tan just from sitting in the house!  I on the other hand do NOT tan, I simply burn.  My Celtic ancestry obviously did not evolve to have sun-soaking skin and due to lack of exposure seems to be completely allergic to the sun.  

Wondering how much I will miss the UK, I do love it here but I wonder if it’s only because I haven’t lived anywhere else.  Of course I have visited different places, but visiting is completely different to experiencing everyday life in a place.  Will living in France make me partially French?  Will my British roots leave a mark on the people I meet?  Although we’re geographically part of Europe, we’re not exactly referred to as Europeans that often.  Maybe that little stretch of sea is enough for our British identity to come through much stronger than that of our European identity. 

So goodbye Britons, hello Europeans!

See you on the other side.

I now officially live in France!

Today is the day of the hand over... my official address is now in France!  I am still not heading over until the 29th but that's not the point!

How exciting, I can’t wait to get over there now.

Until next time.

Two Weeks to Go!

Just a short one to mark the occasion.

Something which once upon a time seemed so far away is now creeping up on me.  I’m not sure the enormity of it all has sunk in yet, I’m not normally a nervous or anxious person so for now I am just excited! 

There haven’t really been any further developments in regards to moving over there, I guess it’s all planned now.  Still waiting to hear about my study options for now.

Until next time.

Why Study?

So it’s been a busy couple of weeks!  I haven’t posted in a while now.  I’ve been majorly distracted by the Olympics for a start, we did a pretty good job of it!  All the recent patriotism has reminded me how much I love the UK and how much I am going to miss it when I am abroad.  It’s the little things that define a country, the little peculiarities.          

But first I have to sort through all this damn bureaucracy… my printer has collapsed under the pressure.  What I am talking about are all the forms that need filling in and signing and sending off.  As I’ve said before we have an apartment sorted but I had to read/fill in/sign 55 PAGES of forms and contracts and pop them in the post.  Mental.  Even my printer thought it was too much and almost collapsed.  He is currently in rehabilitation and doing well.

Another formal aspect that I have to really consider right now is what I want to study when I am in Bordeaux.  Surprisingly, for students in the UK what you study during your year abroad doesn’t count towards your degree and so I can pick and choose any modules from different courses at Université de Bordeaux.  I am excited to find that I may be able to study a Japanese language module since I used to go to evening classes when I was at college.  Other modules that I am leaning towards are the cinema modules on offer since this is probably my strongest area in regards to culture modules (what you study alongside the language modules).  The reason I chose to study whilst abroad is because I think that it will benefit my personal language development much more.  I am quite a sociable person and I think being in an environment where I am with other students will mean that my language development will probably come from those social interactions.  I also chose to study because I want to keep in that studying mind frame so that I can go into my fourth year feeling confident and prepared! 

I better get deciding what I want to study then…

Until next time. 

Losing Weight. Suitcase Weight.

This week I’ve been trying to think of different ways to make my life just that bit more portable – after all, I can only take a suitcase weighing 20kg and one piece of hand luggage on my flight.  Although I have to admit I’ve been heavily distracted by the release of The Dark Knight Rises at the cinema this week, maybe even more so than my year abroad!

Back to my weight loss battle… everything is so much easier now thanks to technology, yay!  Some of the bulkiest items can be transformed into teeny tiny bits of electronic information that you can take anywhere.  One thing that will drastically reduce the amount of luggage is my Kindle – there is no doubt that this will weigh MUCH less and take up less than lugging around even just one larger book.  I’ve had it around 8 months and it is a lovely little thing.  Another possession I will have to say bye-bye to my Xbox 360.  At least I will still have games on Steam which I can access anywhere and even play them with my boyfriend.

I don’t even have to pack my friends into my suitcase thanks to technology!  They’re all in my laptop too.  I introduced my Grandad to Skype the other day since he recently got a laptop and he was saying it’s like something out of a sci-fi film so I think he was pretty impressed.  To be honest, our computers are already much better than anything they had in Star Trek, we just haven’t quite mastered teleportation yet. 

Clothes seem to be at the back of my mind at the moment, I’ve been thinking more about food.  Food can be a huge part of culture and I wonder just how different it might be.  Let’s consider Marmite for example – it’s a pretty British thing and it’s something I’ve eaten since before I can remember.  But in France however… it’s an alien product.  How can Marmite be in the International Foods section!?  Maybe I will have to use all that space I’ve saved on books and video games on Marmite.

Until next time.

How Accommodating

Whilst booking my plane ticket to Bordeaux felt like a massive step forward, I now even have a place to live.  This must be one of the most stressful aspects of the Year Abroad experience for any student, especially if you are going to live somewhere you have never been before.  What you need to remember is that every year there are many many many ERASMUS students who find somewhere to live!  So no matter what, keep smiling.  Things WILL work out. 

I have a confession to make though…

I didn’t have to look for an apartment in Bordeaux because I am going to live with a friend of mine from Bordeaux.  Some may call that cheating, I call it good networking! 

I can still offer up some advice on finding apartments though.  In the UK, students often find the next year’s accommodation in early January whereas it seems the norm in France (or at least in Bordeaux) student apartments don’t tend to be advertised until around July/August.  If you aren’t as lucky as me to be living with a trusted friend, people often advise that you should visit the apartments before you agree to anything.  Lots of ERASMUS students head over to the city they will be living in a few weeks in advance of their placement and stay in a hostel whilst they visit various apartments.  Like in the UK, you can find private landlords and agencies who advertise rental properties but be warned that if you go through an agency, you may have to pay agency fees which are non-refundable.  Of course you often find that the university you may be studying at offer accommodation in halls to ERASMUS students.

Don’t worry, when I get to Italy I will have to find ANOTHER place to live!  In the middle of the academic year for only 5/6 months… so I’ll be in the same boat as everyone else again.

I have yet to see any photos of my future apartment but I am still super excited, I feel French already!  I’m now starting to wonder about what I should pack.

Until next time.

The Adventure Starts Today

Hello and welcome to my newly created blog!

As a student of French and Italian who is about to set off on an ERASMUS year abroad this summer, I wanted to explore the medium of blogging as a way of documenting my experiences and provide a little insight into French and Italian culture as I go along.  


The ERASMUS scheme is designed to enable university students within the EU to study, work or teach English in foreign schools.  I will be commencing my year abroad by living and studying in Bordeaux, France at the Université Bordeaux III until around the end of January.  After Bordeaux, I will be moving to Verona, Italy to study at L'Università degli studi di Verona.

I don't leave until 29th August, so I've got a while yet!  In the mean time, I will post about my preparations along with some thoughts and expectations.

Whether you are a student yourself or simply interested in my adventures, I welcome comments and questions; maybe I can help you and maybe you can help me!

Until next time.