Week 7 - French Rugby

This week I've experienced a French rugby match, pot-luck and an unusual amount of November sunshine.

This has been a good week regarding admin (finally). Last Friday night I went out for drinks with a few assistants and I made the discovery that as language assistants we qualify for a free bus pass in the Vaucluse region. This means I no longer have to pay 8€ every time I make the return journey to my schools. Happy days! Straight after work on Monday I bee-lined to the office and was issued my very own shiny bus pass there and then.

On Saturday France were playing Scotland in a rugby league game in Avignon so a couple of us British assistants booked to go along. We had a fab afternoon watching the game with our chips and beer (well-earned after spinning that morning) and there was a great atmosphere, especially as France won! Everyone came back to mine that evening and Pauline had some friends round too so we had an amusing time speaking franglais.

At school this week I've been educating the kids on British culture and they were impressed by the fact that the Queen is on all our money. It was quite a challenge explaining the parts of the U.K. to seven year olds, who refused to believe me when I drew a picture of England's flag and were adamant that the whole of the U.K. was called England. I've also been teaching parts of the body which has been fun, lots of singing of Head, shoulders, knees and toes and games of Simon Says. 

On Tuesday night a group of assistants hosted a 'pot-luck' - basically everyone brings along a dish to share for dinner. Loads of us went along and we had an impressive buffet. I baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert which actually turned out ok despite the fact I didn't have any weighing scales so had literally just thrown ingredients together.

Most of us get Wednesday's off normally, but no one had to work this Wednesday due to Armistice Day. The weather has been surprisingly sunny and even according to the locals this is unusual for November. To make the most of it, we crossed the bridge over the Rhone and went for a picnic on L'îsle de la Barthelasse and enjoyed people, or mainly dog, watching. The French really do live up to their stereotype of having tiny well-groomed canines. 

In other admin news my French SIM card has finally arrived (hallelujah). I've got a huge data plan and unlimited calls to the UK so it has made my bus journeys a lot more entertaining. Next thing on my list is to change my address at the bank - although moving has been great I can't say it's helped with the paperwork. In order to change my address I have to bring in a utility bill with my name on - a housing contract doesn't prove where you live apparently. The woman at the bank definitely knows who I am now and gave me a serious "you again" glare last time I went in. Might try a different branch next time!

Sister Skype sesh

Went to see Spectre with Annie on Thursday night, which didn't disappoint. For those of you who've seen it, we found it a funny coincidence that there's a restaurant called L'Américain situated right outside the cinema.

I'm off to Paris now for a long weekend to visit Frances, my friend from school who is working there, and Ollie from Exeter!

Ciao,

Katie x

The Best Things About Living in France

1. Cheese
It's undoubtedly true, one of the best things about living in France is the bread, wine and cheese. Essential to every meal. If you didn't have a cheese course did you really eat?

2. Wine

Buy a cheap bottle from the supermarket and it will actually taste nice.

3. Bakeries

Cliché but true, the French really have mastered the art of baking. Baguettes and pastries will never be the same again. 

4. Lunch

You can probably see a theme emerging! Lunch breaks are a big deal in France, and not to be rushed. Expect an hour and a half to two hours to take a break from work, sit down and eat (sometimes even with a glass of wine).

5. Skiing

The French Alps have some of the best skiing in the world and there's no channel in the way to get you there.

6. Weather

Ok, so it's still not exactly beach weather in the winter months, but the south is still a whole lot warmer than the UK. As for the summer, the two countries can't quite compare.

7. Museums

Not only are there so many incredible museums to see, most places do an incredible student discount and it's often free entry for under 25s!

8. The Trains

The fastest way to travel all over France, plus they have very comfy seats. What's more, with a 'Carte Jeune' (the French young persons railcard) and you can get up 50% off your journeys.

Oooh curved seats

9. And let's not forget this catchy tune

10. Scenery

From the glorious architecture in Paris to the stunning coastine of the French Riviera, it's safe to say that it would be hard to get bored of these views.

11. The Markets
Full of incredible quality local and seasonal produce, some of these markets can go on for miles and sell everything from vegetables to onesies.

Christmas presents sorted.

12. Entertainment
French film and music just has that certain je ne sais quoi. Quirky, chic, artistic... you can't help but appreciate French culture.

Week 6 - Halloween in France

Celebrating Halloween and a taste of la gastronomie française.

Although it's nothing like in the UK, and certainly not in the USA, Halloween in France is slowly starting to become a thing. As ever, I left things right to the last minute to find a costume and went for a hunt round Avignon in search of something suitable to wear. The distinct lack of costume shops proved an issue but I managed to find a pair of fluffy ear things at Claire's Accessories. Add an LBD and eye-liner nose and whiskers and voilà, costume sorted.

I'm a mouse, duh

On Saturday night, Brian, an assistant from Ireland, hosted a Halloween party at his apartment that he shares with a couple of Erasmus students. After pre-drinks (or pre-game as the Americans call it) chez Kate, we headed to the party where there was a crazy clash of languages being spoken throughout the evening - French, English, Italian, German... It was also fun to meet loads of new people and catch up with some assistants I'd met at orientation.

Walking the streets of Avignon in our make-shift costumes

With Brian and the girls

I've joined a gym here which is great and runs loads of classes - even on Sundays! After allowing ourselves a much-needed lie-in after Saturday night's antics, Kate, the Annies and I went along to the CAF (Cuisses, Abs, Fessiers aka LBT) class, which was run by a very smiley and energetic instructor who reminded me of Caroline from BodySoc. I'm enjoying trying out all the different classes - there's one aerobics class with choreography that I find hilarious (especially following it all in French) and is run by an instructor who is basically the French Louie Spence! It feels like I'm back in Exeter again walking around in stash and sports kit.

Spent Sunday night in Vaison, ready to start back at my schools the following day. This week I've been teaching Halloween which got a great reaction from the kids. Taught vocab, sung a Halloween song (that I don't want to hear again for a very long time after this week) and played bingo. The schools are all pretty old-school but I'm loving writing on the chalk board and I have definitely mastered the art of drawing Halloween monsters - let's just say you'd want me on your team in a game of Pictionary.

On Mondays I have the 6-8 year-olds who are just adorable and on Tuesdays I teach everyone from the ages of 6-11 at my second school. The little ones are just adorable and mob me with cuddles in the playground. One of them even made me a drawing over the holidays, which is definitely going up on my wall.

Thursday was a very long day, as I commuted to Vaison from Avignon and spent a full day teaching at my third school (although my hours are changing so I'll have less time hanging around and finish earlier, woo). I've discovered I can take a bus and a train and make it back in an hour, however there was unfortunately a serious road accident so I missed my connecting train and had to take a bus back, adding an extra hour and a half to my journey.

I've been spending most of my evenings going for drinks with my flatmate, Pauline, and her friends who are all lovely. On Thursday evening we hosted a dinner party at our apartment with a group of her friends from uni and two of them, semi-pro chefs, cooked us an incredible top-quality meal with hand-selected wines to match! As you can imagine, a three-course meal for 10 with no dishwasher isn't the easiest to clean up afterwards so we all took turns washing up.

My flatmate, Pauline, and her friends tucking into the main

Pretty-much michelin star ***

A bientôt,

Katie x

Things you'll miss about the UK on your Year Abroad

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love la vie française, but occasionally there are a couple of things I really do miss about the UK:

1. Roast Dinners
Meat, potatoes, veg, yorkshire puddings, gravy...GIMME!



2. Marmite
Brits love it. French hate it.


3. British Television
Nothing can quite compare to the BBC.



4. Table Manners
Because back home it's normal to put your knife and fork at 12 o'clock at the end of the meal. It just makes sense.



5. Nights out
Going out on a Tuesday and knowing the club will be packed.



6. Percy Pigs
Squishy pig shaped marshmallows of goodness.

7. Tea
Need I say more?



8. Milk
UHT is just not the same.

9. Kettles
Seriously, why are French apartments not equipped with such essentials?!

10. Showers
For some reason most French showers don't have a stand for the shower head. Enjoy opening that shampoo bottle with one hand.



11. General Britishness
Generally people being overly polite the whole time.



12. Rectangular Pillows
For some reason, normal size pillows are virtually impossible to find in France. Instead the French prefer their 63x63 square versions.



13. Mayonnaise
The REAL stuff

Week 5 - Moving House

All moved in to my new apartment in Avignon!

After a quiet weekend in Vaison packing up my apartment and Skyping friends from around the globe - think I've managed to call everywhere from Australia, to America, to Russia now - it was finally time for the move to the 'big' city. Although I've loved living in Vaison, the distinct lack of young people and boredom that comes from living on your own had led me to find a flat-share in Avignon. I'll be living with a lovely family in Vaison for 2 nights a week though so the 2 hour commute won't be as horrendous as it sounds! Organised another BlaBlaCar with Gael, the guy who gave me a lift on Friday (practically my chauffer now), and we had long chats about the best nights out in London - turns out he'd done a year abroad there back in the day and was pretty impressed by London's nightlife.

Beaut last night in my Vaison apartment

Spent the afternoon unpacking and settling in and in the evening Pauline, my new flatmate who's studying at the University of Avignon, cooked dinner for me and her friend Perrine. We had a chilled evening drinking beer and watching Harry Potter et la Coupe de Feu.

My new room

Decided to stay on mainland France for week 2 of half term! The family I used to au pair for in the summer live really close by so invited me to stay with them for a couple of days. They came to pick me up on Tuesday afternoon and I've had a lovely time catching up with my second family and have been sleeping like a log in my old room. Louisa, the girl I look after, has grown up so much since the last time I saw her which is making me feel very old - she's 11 now and has just started Year 7 (or sixième) and is at the stage of sending chain messages and choosing ring tones for her shiny first mobile phone. Those were the days!

Selfies: the best way to keep an 11 year old entertained

I've been helping her with her homework - mainly learning how to say what the weather is like in English - and we've also been making a scrapbook of her holiday to a safari park last week. We also went on a trip to Marseille as her grandparents had some errands to run so Louisa and I spent the afternoon browsing the shops, enjoying the views and riding the lifts (she got a little over-excited and would have stayed in them all day if she could) at the shopping centre.

The weather's not been great as there was a huge storm on Wednesday which caused a power cut when Louisa and I were home alone (fortunately it was daytime). Since there's little to do when it's pouring with rain we thought we'd have a trip to the cinema and went to an adorable old cinema to watch the film everyone's been talking about: Les Nouvelles aventures d'Aladin of course (James Bond isn't out until 11th November in France). The film was surprisingly entertaining, basically a modern day twist on the story of Aladin with lots of jokes thrown in that were easy to understand.

No swimming this holiday

Heading back to Avignon this afternoon and am looking forward to celebrating Halloween in Avignon with some of the other assistants before finally heading back to work on Monday!

Katie x

What to pack for your Year Abroad

There are a million and one lists out there on what to take with you on your year abroad. I thought I'd compile a list of those really random little things you'll wish you'd brought with you:

Extension Plug

You never know where you're going to end up living and chances are there won't be many plug sockets (or they'll be in really inconvenient places around the room). Make your life 100 times easier by bringing an extension plug that you can use for your many appliances, and also save on adaptors!

Slippers

Definitely worth getting yourself a cheap pair. They take up no room at all in the suitcase and are something you're likely to use much more than you realise - especially if you've got a stone floor apartment with little heating.

Adaptors

Seriously do not want to forget one of these - good luck finding an adaptor in your new country that converts an English plug socket (they'll only sell them the other way round)!

Sleeping bag

On my first night in France in my new apartment I didn't have a duvet or a pillow. Fortunately I brought a sleeping bag out with me so that kept me going for the first few days! Also really useful for visiting friends and having guests come and stay.

Marmite

Unless you're willing to splash out extortionate amounts of money in the 'English section' of the supermarket, bring your own with you. It's also a fun thing to get all your new foreign buddies to try, even if just for their facial expressions!

Photos

You're moving a long way from home so it's good to bring some pics of friends and family to decorate your walls and make the place feel a little more homely. Also a good idea for language assistants so you can show your students pictures of life in the UK.

Memory Stick

Really useful, especially in order to get you through all the admin in the beginning as you're unlikely to have your own printer. Also another good one for language assistants as you can save games and worksheets on your USB to print out at your schools.

Umbrella

Despite what you might think, it's not sunny every day in the South of France. In fact, there have been some serious storms since I've been out here! Another thing that takes up no room in the suitcase and you'll be glad to have with you.

Cabin Max Bag

These backpacks are unbelievably useful. The perfect size (they're designed to be the maximum capacity to take as carry on luggage on an aeroplane) and lightweight to begin with means this bag is ideal for weekends away and quick trips home - plus no extra fees for hold luggage.

Reusable Bag

While the UK has only just introduced the 5p plastic bag rule at the supermarket, in France this system has been going for years. Keep a reusable bag constantly in your handbag to avoid having to buy one every time you go grocery shopping. Also soo much better for the environment. I'm rather fond of Envirosax.

Swimwear

You'd be amazed at how hard it is to buy swimwear in winter. Literally impossible. Even if you're not heading out to a hot country you never know when you might have a spontaneous holiday to the beach.

Alarm Clock

Whether you're studying or working abroad, you're inevitably going to have some early starts you'll need to wake up for. Save yourself the worry of your phone running out of charge (as I mentioned, you never know where those plug sockets are going to be), and get a cheap battery-powered alarm clock to keep beside your bed.

Padlock

Gym lockers, hostels, suitcases...endlessly useful!

Passport

Pretty obvious this one. Also make sure you check the expiry date long before you go in case you need to get it renewed!

EHIC

If you're heading to Europe a European Health Insurance Card is essential and also completely free to apply for! Just make sure you allow plenty of time before to get one before you leave as the application procedure takes 7 working days. Apply for your EHIC and find out more here.

Insurance

Another essential - who knows what could happen when you're abroad. Shop around for the best deal or check with your university to see if they provide insurance for you. Make sure you keep a printout of what your cover entails and those all important contact numbers in case you ever need to make a claim (although hopefully you won't need to).

Photocopies

Photocopy EVERYTHING - passport, driving licence, birth certificate, proof of employment - at least three times and keep it all together in a folder. Trust me, it will make your life so much easier when settling in. I'd also recommend emailing yourself a copy of all these documents so if you ever need to print out more you've always got them easily accessible.

Passport Photos

Just another thing to make your life a whole lot easier, lots of things you sign up to e.g. Carte Jeune and gym memberships, will require you to provide a passport photo.

Best Websites for your Year Abroad

Sometimes I wonder how people managed to get through their year abroads without the internet. The following apps/websites have been endlessly helpful in meeting people/getting around/travelling/sorting admin...

BlaBlaCar
Drivers with spare seats in their car post their journeys and for a small fee (usually cheaper than public transport) you can join them. It's really popular in France where public transport is less frequent and difficult to negotiate. It's also great for language practise as you're forced to make conversation in French and it's a great way to meet people of all ages and walks of life.

For me, being based in a small town with few transport links, BlaBlaCar is perfect for getting around as it's a cheaper, faster and more sociable alternative to public transport!

Rome2Rio

This site has been endlessly useful in order to plan any journey anywhere! The site allows you to enter your start point and your destination and offers you the different routes, modes of transport and prices you can use to get there. Links to the relevant transport websites are even included and it works all over the world!

AirBnb
Perfect for travelling as well as settling in when you first arrive on your Year Abroad. If you're planning on finding accommodation when you get there, I'd definitely recommend booking into an AirBnb with a host family for a few nights. The hosts I've stayed with have always been really welcoming and happy to help you out where they can.

While you're on a year abroad you'll definitely want to make the most of living in a foreign country and travel around, although it can be expensive. AirBnbs are often cheaper than hotel and also give you a more authentic travel experience as you get to stay in someone's home.

Facebook
As soon as you know where you're going search on Facebook for the Erasmus group of your university, or if you're working abroad join the group for the nearest uni to where you'll be - after all you're still a student. These groups are a fantastic way to meet people, especially other students, and find out about events going on in your local area.

For British Council language assistants also join the Facebook group for your region - really useful for meeting other assistants, arranging meet ups and answering each others questions on admin/housing etc.

Third Year Abroad
The ultimate source of information for anything to do about going on a year abroad. Their Q&A section is really helpful and you'll probably find any questions you have about anything to do with your year out have already been answered for you!

It's also a good thing to check it out before you go to give you an idea what to expect when you get there so the culture shock hopefully won't be too bad.

Skype
For keeping in touch with all your friends and family back home. While Facebook and What'sApp are great free ways of keeping in touch too, nothing's better than face-to-face. Skype has now also updated to do group chat - great for me as I've got friends all over the world and we've been able to arrange a group call across 3 continents!

OuiGo
Another transport site to help you save some pennies! This site books trains to alternative destinations, for example to Marne la Vallée Chessy (aka Disneyland Paris) so you can get a journey from Avignon to Paris for as little as 10€ (booked in advance).

Teaching English
An amazing resource for language assistants, this site has loads of games, songs and lesson plans for teaching kids English. Really useful suggestions for different ways to teach things and ideas for themed weeks such as Halloween and Christmas.

Appartager
A must when looking for housing in France, this site helped me find my roommate. Create a profile and people can also search for you so your housing might even end up finding you!

Scannable
You won't realise until you start your Year Abroad just how much admin there is you need to do. As it's unlikely you'll have access to a scanner (especially at the beginning) this app is a God-send, allowing you to scan and email documents from your phone. Perfect for claiming back for train tickets and emailing Erasmus forms to your uni.