“N’importe quoi!”

The title here is my favourite French phrase at the moment. It’s something which the kids at school say to each other and sometimes a teacher will say it to a pupil. It means ‘You’re not thinking before you speak, you’re just saying whatever comes into your head first and it’s annoying!’

Apparent name change

I got a letter last week which told me that I’ve been allocated a new social security number because they’ve decided to change my surname from being correct, to putting a gap in it! Crazy. My name has never had a gap and never will do thank you Mr French administration! It was clear on the copies of two identification documents, and why have you decided to change it now, after a couple of months of being happy with it? It now requires hassle one way or the other, to leave it changed and change other things, or to make it go back to how it was. This really confused the secretary at my school too when I showed her. She’s never seen anything like it and went on the phone to try and sort it out, but I have to go in person to an office, which is fortunately not that far from here but I could do without the hassle. The poor old Frenchies obviously aren’t used to dealing with Scottish names!

University project

I have to do a project this year for university, to keep that academic part of the brain ticking over! It’s 5000 words in French on a subject of our choice, but one which can only realistically be carried out in France and doing interviews with French people. I’ve chosen to look at the French way of eating as it interests me a lot because it’s so different, and it doesn’t seem that there are many fat French people! So I’m looking more specifically at 13-14 year olds and their attitudes towards food and sport, linking that to obesity.

Soirée de prière

I went to a prayer evening last night which was called ‘100 minutes for 100 000 students’. It was organised by the GBU (Christian Union) and another Christian student group, the FEU. People from churches in the area were invited to join us as well. So we prayed for around an hour and forty minutes about all manner of things student-related and it was great to be able to do this. It seems pretty daunting when you think that there are nearly 100 000 students in Lille, and not many of them know the life that can be found in Jesus, but God can bring great things out of small things. Please do pray for Christian and non-Christian students in Lille if you get the chance.

Holiday time

I have two weeks holiday starting this weekend – lucky me! I’m back to England for the first week and returning to France for the second. I’m going to do a little tour – first Southampton (University), next to Mum and Dad and then to Coventry (Some friends live there) :)

Fiona x