Some things never change...

Take a habit that you've had for 20 years. Now reverse it. I'm talking about crossing the road of course. My natural instinct is to look left before crossing. Here you have to look right; or else you are going to be taken away to the Centre Hospitalier. And nobody wants that, especially on a year abroad. Let's go onwards to the happier stuff.

So today I got my electricity reconnected which means I can cook, use my computer and communicate once again without going to McDonalds! Excellent, so today I have eaten a fair bit of Jambon/Emmental (what, it really is delicious).

Yesterday was a good day, meeting up with a few other language assistants and going to the Musée d'Orsay and having a delicious Croque Monsieur at a bakery. Then I braved the rush hour RER train to Disney Village. Now I live close to it, so I wanted to check out a bit of the night life, and it's surprisingly good. They have a cinema (with IMAX and occasional English showings), and a bar that has a form of live music every night (over 18's only). So I will probably pop down there every so often because I do enjoy live music.

Wednesday I visited the Conciergerie which was a royal palace and then prison during the revolution. It was where Marie-Antoinette spent the final days of her life whilst being on trial until transported then executed. Cheerful topic that revolution. I then headed towards the Domaine national de Saint-Cloud. Which is a massive national park just outside the city, and it is beautiful. So peaceful and quiet. I didn't have too long there which was shame, but I will definitely head back soon.


I'll try making a more substantial blog soon, but that was a brief update with what I've been up to.

A tres bientot!

Green doesn't mean it's safe to cross, just slightly safer than all the other times

So, in the UK you see a green man.  You cross knowing that it's highly unlikely you are going to get knocked down.  Here in France, it's slightly different. Green means cars are still coming towards you, but perhaps slightly slower. You still need to use your eyes. The words that can save your life are "C'est vert!".

Now that we've got that out the way...

I picked up a NaviGo card yesterday, for those of you who don't know what that is, it's basically Oyster, but in Paris, and prepaid in weekly/monthly/yearly travelcards.  To do this I had to go on a bus from Meaux to Marne-la-Valée Chessy RER/TGV (AKA Disneyland) where I saw cuddly Ewok toys in the shop which I reeealllly want. Then take the RER train one stop to Val d'Europe.  Total cost, just under €4. But now I have a weekly NaviGO travelcard for €34.

Today I'll be visiting central Paris. Not sure what I'll do, but without electric I need to keep busy or else I'll get bored.

One other thing: HOME COMFORTS. I found a shop that sells salt and vinegar crisps and other than sells pringles. It's like they know me...

How slowly can you eat at McDonalds?

Yes, that's right.  How slowly can you eat at McDonalds. A few of you may have seen my outcry on facebook, for those who haven't; here is is in all it's glory:
August: is there electricity. Oh yeah, it's on and everything. Today: the electric has been cut off. So I ring EDF, earliest we can connect you is Thursday. I am living without electric for a week. Comment dire 'rage' en Français? On the upside, successfully sorted out a bank account, cheap pay as you go phone, and opened a electricity contract. Reasonably successful first day.

So, a quick trip to McDonalds which is luckily just round the corner. They have plugs! Excellent, I can charge my laptop there, and use it at my flat. The area is covered my Orange wifi, so until I set up my actual internet account, I've bought 10h of internet access. Excellent! So the question is, how slowly can I eat at McDonalds to charge my laptop? I'm hoping for 45 minutes tonight. 

So, I'm here. What have I done so far? 
-Open bank account: check
-Electricity: Will be connected on Thursday, so bought battery powered lights.
-Got a French phone (My UK phone will still be connected though, so text me or whatever if you want).
-Internet: In progress...
-Transport: In progress..

Oh, but I've found the most amazing Pizzaria about 10 minutes walk, some of the best pizza's i've ever tasted. Make sure you come and visit guys! 

Room tour, well that will probably be tomorrow. Things are looking good right now.  

2 days to go, nervous.

Here we are then, the original idea of a blog to document my year abroad! Nobody has done this before, and nobody will ever do it again!

So, the aim of this is to update you all on my progress throughout the year, tell you what I'm getting up to, share some lovely photos and maybe even write up what I learn about the history of places I visit (well, I'm only working 12 hours a week, I have spare time and I'm going to do useful things in that time!). But first, the standard background.

I am a student at the University of Kent. As part of my four year degree, I must spend one of those years abroad. I opted not to study, but to be a language assistant. There are a few reasons for this:
1 - I wanted a break from pure studying, so that I came back to my final year more motivated as I began to lose motivation during my second year.
2 - I had a French language assistant at school, and it helped me so much that I wanted to give the same back.
3 - The spare time means I can socialise with French people a bit more, but also explore the country. It is for this reason that I chose the Ile-De-France, it's a central transport hub.

With 2 days to go, I am quite nervous (naturally). What scares me the most is being taken from my comfort zone (basically, this country) and being placed somewhere about 400km outside of it (in this case: France). I wish I could say I'm prepared, but I don't think anyone can be.  I'm in a good position, I've had contact with my host school, I've been to my host town and found an apartment and got all the things I need to live there. I'm as prepared as I can be, but when my parents leave town and I'm all alone, I'll be like a lost sheep. I've got a week until I start the work at the school, a week to settle into French life and get the all important bank account.

Today I've been into London, bought a load of English language books (even though I know exactly where they are sold in Paris) and revisited the Olympic Park type area (I was a gamesmaker, and needed to revisit my Stadium!).

I'll try and blog again soon, I doubt I'll have chance before Sunday though.

I shall leave you with a picture I took of the town I'm staying in. It's called Meaux and it's about 15-20 mins outside of Paris on the Transilien train.