Two months have passed already; I have done over a quarter of my time here! In some respects I feel like I have been here for no time at all, and in others I feel like I have been here for ages! There are constant reminders that Christmas is coming. A week or so ago I was greeted with flashing green and red lights when I stepped off the train into the station on my way home from work and looked up to see a ‘Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year’ sign. The lights are actually quite tasteful and I like them, but it never pleases me to see too much Christmas stuff before the end of November! However, I don’t think it’s as bad here as in England, because I was able to buy Christmas chocolates in the English supermarkets before I came in September but it was mid-November before I saw similar things popping up here. There is a Christmas market which is very popular in Lille, I haven’t yet had the chance to visit it but hope to soon.
It has to be said that there are not many bargains in French supermarkets compared to the ones back home. Naturally I look out for the few that there are, in case they’re of interest to me. I’d come to the point where I needed a new deodorant so checked out the shelves to see many labels saying 3€ or more for one. Then I spotted an offer on a cheaper deodorant and it looked alright to me… I worked out I could almost get 2 of those deodorants for the same price as one of the others (buy one get second half price) so I plumped for 2 hoping I wasn’t making a mistake. I got them home and started using one after my other ran out. Normally I only have one deodorant going at any given time (like you, I suppose?) but one day I thought ‘I fancy seeing what the other one smells like’ so sprayed it on and realised to my dismay that it’s a rather masculine smell and I have in fact bought a manly deodorant as well as one with a more feminine odour!! (I had another look at the can, and it’s blue, so that should’ve been all I needed to know, right?!) I left it on thinking that it wasn’t that bad, but smelt the manliness a fair number of times later on in the day. I don’t know whether it was just me being sensitive to it. Anyway, I don’t know whether I’ll be using it again…maybe it’ll come in handy if I get desperate with my Dad’s Christmas present?!
I have seen some interesting school bags in France. It’s mainly primary school aged children I’ve seen with them. They’re normal back packs except for the fact that they have a set of wheels and a handle you can pull out, like for wheelie suitcases! And there’s more…one boy was pulling his along after school and it had light up wheels! Very cool and very practical in my opinion! I think the secondary school kids think they’re ‘too cool’ for them, or maybe they don’t make the handles long enough!
I hadn’t thought that coming to a new country would mean the discovery of other cultures as well as the French one, perhaps naively. But it does mean mixing with other internationals sometimes and it’s very interesting. I enjoyed my first Thanksgiving meal last night with the GBU (Christian Union). We invited friends and ate different traditional dishes together round a big table in a church. Can’t say pumpkin pie shoots to the top of my list of favourite puddings but it was pleasant. I helped Frances, my Canadian-American friend make a dish with sweet potatoes, pecans and marshmallows on Wednesday evening, which was fun.
I’m going in to work at school tomorrow, which is a bit of a shock to the system…school on Saturday?! But there’s an open morning and lucky-old-I get to sing Christmas songs with the 11 year olds whilst prospective parents are looking round. I’m a bit nervous as we’ve not had much time to prepare, but one if the teachers assures me all will be fine! I know I’ve not said much about my teaching experiences at the moment…I apologise if you’ve been wanting to hear more about that. I’ll be back within a week hopefully to say more as this post is already quite full.
Love to you,
Fiona x
Friday, 27 November 2009
Sunday, 22 November 2009
French Church
Three weeks ago now I tried out a fourth French-speaking church and went along with someone I know who goes there so that he could introduce me to people. He wasn’t that good at introducing me but it didn’t matter. I managed to get talking to some people and we were standing in the passageway which was the way out of the church, and lots of people said hello and greeted me with kisses even though they’d never seen me before. One lady came over, found out that I was a student and asked if I’d like to come round for lunch! I was a bit taken aback by the offer, after my previous experiences of not speaking to anyone in French churches, but thought ‘why not?’, thanked her and accepted the invitation. It turned out she was having all the students to lunch - 12 of us - by herself, and had prepared a lovely 3-course meal! It was a lot for a lady (in her 60s) to take on! But I for one certainly appreciated it and was inspired to see how much time and care one lady had put in for us.
After lunch some people left quite promptly and then Nicole (the lady) asked those who remained if we’d like to play a board game. Out came a choice and the others chose Trivial Pursuit (in French of course)! Normally I avoid this game in English, as it’s so hard, but I thought it might develop my language so didn’t protest! It wasn’t actually that bad playing, because they didn’t expect me to know the answers and there was a smaller group of us (7, split into 3 teams). I managed to win 2 triangles, called ‘slices of camembert’ in French, for my team, one was a maths question and the other a question about French grammar which my native French team mates would’ve got wrong! I was glad they trusted the English girl on a matter of French grammar and quite pleased with myself too!
This is the church I now go to and I enjoyed seeing two baptisms last week.
Fiona x
After lunch some people left quite promptly and then Nicole (the lady) asked those who remained if we’d like to play a board game. Out came a choice and the others chose Trivial Pursuit (in French of course)! Normally I avoid this game in English, as it’s so hard, but I thought it might develop my language so didn’t protest! It wasn’t actually that bad playing, because they didn’t expect me to know the answers and there was a smaller group of us (7, split into 3 teams). I managed to win 2 triangles, called ‘slices of camembert’ in French, for my team, one was a maths question and the other a question about French grammar which my native French team mates would’ve got wrong! I was glad they trusted the English girl on a matter of French grammar and quite pleased with myself too!
This is the church I now go to and I enjoyed seeing two baptisms last week.
Fiona x
Sunday, 15 November 2009
Transport troubles
So, since the holidays things have been quite eventful and not always in a good way. The French transport system and I have an interesting relationship, sometimes I appreciate it a lot, other times I want to curse it! There have been at least 5 mishaps I could tell you about, but I shall tell you the two most recent to save you from boredom.
Just over a week ago I was making my way to work as usual on the train. It was a Friday so I was off to Pérenchies. The announcement of the stops the train was going to make on its journey came over the tannoy, and either I misheard, or the train guard slipped up. It seemed that he announced the stops I would expect - bar one - the stop before mine. So I thought ‘we mustn’t be stopping there today for some reason, so I’d better make sure I don’t miss my stop’. So I got off at the stop before mine without checking the name of the station (I was looking for it but it wasn’t visible on my side). I realised I had got off too early when I was standing on the platform, and swiftly moved back towards the train to re-open the door, but it was too late, the train was departing. Oh dear. I was stranded in some small French village I didn’t know. And I was going to be late for work.
I looked at the train timetable and the next train stopping there was going to be four hours later!! Panic starts to set in. ‘How am I going to get to work?’ The station was closed, so I couldn’t ask anyone there. There was a man in the car park who I asked and he said he didn’t know, but maybe there was a bus, pointing me in the general direction of the bus stop. I also stupidly didn’t have the school’s phone number on me, so I phoned Mum to ask her go on the Internet to find it. She was a good calming influence.
I walked over to the bus stop and found which number bus would take me within walking distance of the school, then phoned the secretary and explained everything to her, she was very nice about it. I then looked at the timetable and ‘L’ was marked next to the time for the next bus. ’What does ‘L’ mean?’, I wondered. It means that the bus has a shortened route at these times, meaning it was only going a few stops on from the one I was at, and not within walking distance of the school! Back to square one. I walked into the small village high street to see if there was any sign of a taxi company or something which might help me. I realised that there was a bus which goes quite frequently to and from Lille city centre. So that was my only option, to go back to the city on the bus in order to take the metro to the end of the line and then either go by bus or by foot for the last part. Complicated and frustrating (where I had to go to take the metro is less than 10 minutes walk from my flat!), but it had to be done. I got into school in break time, with 5 minutes to spare before the next lesson. Phew!
The following Monday, just 3 days later, I had further transport issues. This time I was going to the other school, which is even further out of town. I got to the station and found to my dismay that there was a strike which I didn’t know about and my train was not running, the next one being over an hour later and the previous one having gone hours before. Cue - panick! I looked up the bus timetable for the bus which could take me from the end of the metro line to Armentières, but worked out that if I went that way I’d be late. So I decided in my haste to get some cash out and take a taxi…big mistake! I think I only made such a hasty decision because of my trouble on Friday. I asked the driver to take me to the station at Armentières because I knew it was closer than the school and I could walk from there. It took a long time in the taxi and I was thinking ‘This can’t be good’ (in terms of cost). We got to the station and I asked him how much, and he said 40€!! Ouch. I didn’t have the time, the guts or the language to dispute, so paid up and went on my way. To add insult to injury, I got to school and the lesson I’d made all that effort for didn’t happen because the teacher was off ill! I was out the house 7 hours to teach for one (Me and my colleague had to wait ages to get a train home)! These things happen I suppose, and I’ve learnt from it at least!
Fiona x
Just over a week ago I was making my way to work as usual on the train. It was a Friday so I was off to Pérenchies. The announcement of the stops the train was going to make on its journey came over the tannoy, and either I misheard, or the train guard slipped up. It seemed that he announced the stops I would expect - bar one - the stop before mine. So I thought ‘we mustn’t be stopping there today for some reason, so I’d better make sure I don’t miss my stop’. So I got off at the stop before mine without checking the name of the station (I was looking for it but it wasn’t visible on my side). I realised I had got off too early when I was standing on the platform, and swiftly moved back towards the train to re-open the door, but it was too late, the train was departing. Oh dear. I was stranded in some small French village I didn’t know. And I was going to be late for work.
I looked at the train timetable and the next train stopping there was going to be four hours later!! Panic starts to set in. ‘How am I going to get to work?’ The station was closed, so I couldn’t ask anyone there. There was a man in the car park who I asked and he said he didn’t know, but maybe there was a bus, pointing me in the general direction of the bus stop. I also stupidly didn’t have the school’s phone number on me, so I phoned Mum to ask her go on the Internet to find it. She was a good calming influence.
I walked over to the bus stop and found which number bus would take me within walking distance of the school, then phoned the secretary and explained everything to her, she was very nice about it. I then looked at the timetable and ‘L’ was marked next to the time for the next bus. ’What does ‘L’ mean?’, I wondered. It means that the bus has a shortened route at these times, meaning it was only going a few stops on from the one I was at, and not within walking distance of the school! Back to square one. I walked into the small village high street to see if there was any sign of a taxi company or something which might help me. I realised that there was a bus which goes quite frequently to and from Lille city centre. So that was my only option, to go back to the city on the bus in order to take the metro to the end of the line and then either go by bus or by foot for the last part. Complicated and frustrating (where I had to go to take the metro is less than 10 minutes walk from my flat!), but it had to be done. I got into school in break time, with 5 minutes to spare before the next lesson. Phew!
The following Monday, just 3 days later, I had further transport issues. This time I was going to the other school, which is even further out of town. I got to the station and found to my dismay that there was a strike which I didn’t know about and my train was not running, the next one being over an hour later and the previous one having gone hours before. Cue - panick! I looked up the bus timetable for the bus which could take me from the end of the metro line to Armentières, but worked out that if I went that way I’d be late. So I decided in my haste to get some cash out and take a taxi…big mistake! I think I only made such a hasty decision because of my trouble on Friday. I asked the driver to take me to the station at Armentières because I knew it was closer than the school and I could walk from there. It took a long time in the taxi and I was thinking ‘This can’t be good’ (in terms of cost). We got to the station and I asked him how much, and he said 40€!! Ouch. I didn’t have the time, the guts or the language to dispute, so paid up and went on my way. To add insult to injury, I got to school and the lesson I’d made all that effort for didn’t happen because the teacher was off ill! I was out the house 7 hours to teach for one (Me and my colleague had to wait ages to get a train home)! These things happen I suppose, and I’ve learnt from it at least!
Fiona x
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
A visit from my parents
Hi all,
Following my trip to Besançson, Mum and Dad came to visit me from Monday lunchtime to Wednesday evening. They came on the Eurostar train from London to Lille and they said it was a pleasant journey. On the Monday afternoon and early evening, we chatted a lot, ate and went out for a walk to what I thought was going to be a lovely big park, but which wasn’t at all, to our disappointment. Thankfully Mum and Dad were very understanding!
On the Tuesday, Mum and I went shopping for boots and Dad took himself off to an art gallery which he found was closed. We crossed paths and decided to go for a coffee together. As a treat we decided to go into a really posh, old patisserie. There was a staff member on the phone who waved us on past into a pretty, but deserted, tea room (except for a few used plates and cups on a couple of tables), where we proceeded to wait without any sign of even being given a menu for 15 minutes!! There were plenty of staff busying themselves attending to the shop and goodness knows what else. There were even some who looked like they weren’t doing anything at certain points. It was weird, as if we’d been forgotten, even though we were in plain view. A French couple walked in after we’d been waiting a while and sat down. After they’d waited for about two minutes they got up to leave! At this point we were separately coming to the same conclusion, so there were 5 of us who walked out at the same time, with Dad saying a rather loud “Pas de service, Monsieur?” on the way out! So we went somewhere else and were definitely ready for a drink and a bite to eat by the time we got there. Afterwards, Mum and I carried on with the boots search (and were successful, returning to the very first shop for Mum!) and Dad had a wander round elsewhere. In the evening we had a meal out which was lovely. Mum and Dad ate mussels and chips and I ate roast duck with chips and salad.
On Wednesday mid-morning we went to the local market. We all like going to the French markets but Dad loves them. We bought a roast chicken for lunch and the roast chicken man asked if we wanted a loyalty card for his stand...I thought this was quite funny - to have a loyalty card for one little stand - but it makes sense, as he’s not the only man who sells roast chickens! In the afternoon I had my French class and Mum and Dad occupied themselves. Afterwards I met up with them for a light meal and we popped to the supermarket, then back to the hotel for their suitcases before going to wait for the train in a freezing cold station!
I had such a great time with them. It was good to chat about so many things and for them to get a better picture of where I am and what I’m doing. Their visit made me miss England and my family and friends more, but that’s something that can’t be helped I think.
Thank you for the post and electronic messages you’ve been sending recently, I really appreciate them and feel very loved!
Back soon with post-holiday tales,
Fiona x
Following my trip to Besançson, Mum and Dad came to visit me from Monday lunchtime to Wednesday evening. They came on the Eurostar train from London to Lille and they said it was a pleasant journey. On the Monday afternoon and early evening, we chatted a lot, ate and went out for a walk to what I thought was going to be a lovely big park, but which wasn’t at all, to our disappointment. Thankfully Mum and Dad were very understanding!
On the Tuesday, Mum and I went shopping for boots and Dad took himself off to an art gallery which he found was closed. We crossed paths and decided to go for a coffee together. As a treat we decided to go into a really posh, old patisserie. There was a staff member on the phone who waved us on past into a pretty, but deserted, tea room (except for a few used plates and cups on a couple of tables), where we proceeded to wait without any sign of even being given a menu for 15 minutes!! There were plenty of staff busying themselves attending to the shop and goodness knows what else. There were even some who looked like they weren’t doing anything at certain points. It was weird, as if we’d been forgotten, even though we were in plain view. A French couple walked in after we’d been waiting a while and sat down. After they’d waited for about two minutes they got up to leave! At this point we were separately coming to the same conclusion, so there were 5 of us who walked out at the same time, with Dad saying a rather loud “Pas de service, Monsieur?” on the way out! So we went somewhere else and were definitely ready for a drink and a bite to eat by the time we got there. Afterwards, Mum and I carried on with the boots search (and were successful, returning to the very first shop for Mum!) and Dad had a wander round elsewhere. In the evening we had a meal out which was lovely. Mum and Dad ate mussels and chips and I ate roast duck with chips and salad.
On Wednesday mid-morning we went to the local market. We all like going to the French markets but Dad loves them. We bought a roast chicken for lunch and the roast chicken man asked if we wanted a loyalty card for his stand...I thought this was quite funny - to have a loyalty card for one little stand - but it makes sense, as he’s not the only man who sells roast chickens! In the afternoon I had my French class and Mum and Dad occupied themselves. Afterwards I met up with them for a light meal and we popped to the supermarket, then back to the hotel for their suitcases before going to wait for the train in a freezing cold station!
I had such a great time with them. It was good to chat about so many things and for them to get a better picture of where I am and what I’m doing. Their visit made me miss England and my family and friends more, but that’s something that can’t be helped I think.
Thank you for the post and electronic messages you’ve been sending recently, I really appreciate them and feel very loved!
Back soon with post-holiday tales,
Fiona x
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Besançon/Maîche
I had a fantastic time in Besançon with Emilie and her family. On the Monday I arrived and had a French dish called ‘tartiflette’ for the first time (made of potatoes, cheese and lardons). We went out to the cinema to see a film called ‘Le Petit Nicholas’ in the evening too. The next day, Emilie showed me around Besançon which is a very pretty town and we briefly saw her University campus. Afterwards we went by car to her parents’ house, which takes about an hour and they live in a small town called Maîche. Emilie spends Monday-Friday in Besançon, where she lives in a flat with her two brothers and sister, and then they all travel home for the weekend on a Friday afternoon/evening. This is normal for French students, living near their place of study during the week and travelling back home to be with their family at the weekend (they normally go to the University or college nearest their home though).
The family home
is a good size but still feels very homely. I was given a warm welcome by all the family and loved staying there. On the Tuesday evening we ate a meal called a ‘raclette’, Emilie had requested it especially because I had never tried it. There is a special raclette cooker and you melt portions of cheese underneath the heat but can also cook meat on top of the heat. You pour your melted cheese (which you can cook with onion and/or lardons at the same time) over potatoes and eat cold meats with it too. It was very good!
On Wednesday, I had the treat of going to Switzerland for the first time! The Gigons’ house is very close to the Swiss border, so Emilie drove for around an hour up and down windy hilly roads and we found ourselves in a Swiss town. We had a look around a shopping centre and a supermarket, then a church which was painted red. After this we went for lunch with a family friend of the Gigons and had a very authentic Swiss cheese fondue! I had such a good time there. After that we went for a walk part way round a lake and came away in time to have dinner back at the family home. So a short-but-sweet visit to Switzerland. That evening there was a music practise for church at the family home with amps and mics and everything – good job it’s detached! I enjoyed hearing the French praise and joined in a bit while surfing the Internet.
On the following day, Thursday, I tried honey from the comb for the first time for breakfast - nice! Emilie showed me around the family’s farm which I very much enjoyed and t
hen in the afternoon we went with a couple of her cousins and took a walk to a good viewpoint up in the hills. I learnt that Emilie has around 90 family members (she has LOADS of cousins!) and they all live within two hours of each other, and obviously some much closer. It’s amazing! We would be driving by somewhere and she’d say ‘that’s my Aunty’s house’ and then a few minutes later ‘another Aunty lives there’, etc!
On Thursday evening we travelled back to the flat in Besançon, ate dinner, and I helped Emilie translate her CV into English because she’s looking for work experience for two months in the UK for May and June. We played a few board games with her sister and cousin, who had also travelled with us, and went to bed. The next morning we had a final chat and I left, we were very sad to part.
Unfortunately I was ill with a sore throat/cold/headache most of the week which was frustrating, but we didn’t let it stop us enjoying ourselves. Thanks Emilie for a great week!
Fiona x
P.S. Sorry I’m a bit behind with my news. This was 26th – 30th Oct.
The family home
is a good size but still feels very homely. I was given a warm welcome by all the family and loved staying there. On the Tuesday evening we ate a meal called a ‘raclette’, Emilie had requested it especially because I had never tried it. There is a special raclette cooker and you melt portions of cheese underneath the heat but can also cook meat on top of the heat. You pour your melted cheese (which you can cook with onion and/or lardons at the same time) over potatoes and eat cold meats with it too. It was very good!On Wednesday, I had the treat of going to Switzerland for the first time! The Gigons’ house is very close to the Swiss border, so Emilie drove for around an hour up and down windy hilly roads and we found ourselves in a Swiss town. We had a look around a shopping centre and a supermarket, then a church which was painted red. After this we went for lunch with a family friend of the Gigons and had a very authentic Swiss cheese fondue! I had such a good time there. After that we went for a walk part way round a lake and came away in time to have dinner back at the family home. So a short-but-sweet visit to Switzerland. That evening there was a music practise for church at the family home with amps and mics and everything – good job it’s detached! I enjoyed hearing the French praise and joined in a bit while surfing the Internet.
On the following day, Thursday, I tried honey from the comb for the first time for breakfast - nice! Emilie showed me around the family’s farm which I very much enjoyed and t
hen in the afternoon we went with a couple of her cousins and took a walk to a good viewpoint up in the hills. I learnt that Emilie has around 90 family members (she has LOADS of cousins!) and they all live within two hours of each other, and obviously some much closer. It’s amazing! We would be driving by somewhere and she’d say ‘that’s my Aunty’s house’ and then a few minutes later ‘another Aunty lives there’, etc!On Thursday evening we travelled back to the flat in Besançon, ate dinner, and I helped Emilie translate her CV into English because she’s looking for work experience for two months in the UK for May and June. We played a few board games with her sister and cousin, who had also travelled with us, and went to bed. The next morning we had a final chat and I left, we were very sad to part.
Unfortunately I was ill with a sore throat/cold/headache most of the week which was frustrating, but we didn’t let it stop us enjoying ourselves. Thanks Emilie for a great week!
Fiona x
P.S. Sorry I’m a bit behind with my news. This was 26th – 30th Oct.
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Christian Union (GBU) weekend away
I had my reservations about going to the weekend away as I knew the people there didn’t need to feel any loyalty towards me as I’m only around for one academic year and don’t live in the same place as them (it was a weekend for all the groups in the North of France), but everyone was very welcoming and I managed to speak to a lot of different people. I also built up more of a relationship with the two guys I went with from Lille. It’s hard to describe the atmosphere, but it was really loving and I felt at home there. It’s a real shame some of them don’t live closer.
There were some difficult points in the weekend. For example, hardly understanding a word of one of the speaker’s talks because he was talking quickly and the ideas were complicated even if you were a French native (I could tell from the many facial expressions around me and a handout he gave to us)! At this point I was very tired so could happily have dropped off to sleep, but thought this would be rude so I had to do some doodling in my notepad to stop me napping!
Thankfully the games they chose to play were very accessible and non-embarrassing, which was nice for me. There was one game with names of famous people in, however, which I decided not to join in with and I’m glad. It was one of those games with fast description for the first round, one word description second time round and then miming after that, and I would’ve been completely lost had I joined in. While they were playing, I ended up chatting to a Czech man who has lived in France for 10 years and he was showing me some of the cards which weren’t in use, trying to explain various famous people to me. Suffice to say, I have a long way to go in my knowledge of French actors/musicians/etc!
Back soon with news of Besancon. Got Mum and Dad with me for a few days which is great!
Fiona x
There were some difficult points in the weekend. For example, hardly understanding a word of one of the speaker’s talks because he was talking quickly and the ideas were complicated even if you were a French native (I could tell from the many facial expressions around me and a handout he gave to us)! At this point I was very tired so could happily have dropped off to sleep, but thought this would be rude so I had to do some doodling in my notepad to stop me napping!
Thankfully the games they chose to play were very accessible and non-embarrassing, which was nice for me. There was one game with names of famous people in, however, which I decided not to join in with and I’m glad. It was one of those games with fast description for the first round, one word description second time round and then miming after that, and I would’ve been completely lost had I joined in. While they were playing, I ended up chatting to a Czech man who has lived in France for 10 years and he was showing me some of the cards which weren’t in use, trying to explain various famous people to me. Suffice to say, I have a long way to go in my knowledge of French actors/musicians/etc!
Back soon with news of Besancon. Got Mum and Dad with me for a few days which is great!
Fiona x
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