A Sheppey Girl in Paris

Although, this post is titled my last month in Paris, I actually spent the first three weeks of April travelling. 

Normandy

One of the English teachers kindly invited me to her house in Normandy for Easter weekend. The weekend consisted of lots (and I mean LOTS) of walking, an Easter egg hunt and seeing more animals in one day than during the whole of my year abroad. 

Country walks 

I found some!

Nantes

I spent the next weekend with Becci in Nantes. It’s a really nice city with plenty to see, including a pretty chateau, beautiful gardens and a mechanical elephant, There was also a carnival while I was there which was cool if also a bit bizarre in places (but that’s just France in general).

Fun Fact: I also learnt that BN (the biscuits) stands for Biscuiterie Nantaise. 

Mechanical elephant

View of Nantes

Berlin

The next weekend I was off to Berlin with Becci and Chris. We managed to see and visit quite a lot in a short weekend; the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Topography of Terror museum and Berlin Zoo. For me, the Reichstag building was the most impressive and the dome at the top was really cool. 

The Reichstag and an ominous-looking sky

Brandenburg Gate

My last two weeks in Paris

I managed to cram a lot into my last few weeks; some things I hadn't done yet and others I wanted to do again. 

I revisited Montmartre, this time though I went up the Sacre-Coeur and got some great views of Paris. I also revisited the Chateau of Versailles and enjoyed the gardens. 

View from the Sacre-Coeur

I visited a lot of museums and churches for the first time, including La Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Musée de l’Armée, Museée Carnavalet and Sainte Chapelle. ‘La Cité’ was my favourite- it had lots of replicas of pretty buildings and monuments in France (it also had games and things to build which is probably the main reason it’s my favourite).

I also managed to fit in one last trip to the Eiffel Tower with my parents. I couldn't leave without seeing it one last time. Unfortunately, we couldn't get all the way to the top, so that’s still on my bucket list. 

Somewhere in among all of that I also finished my contract at school. It was quite sad (for me, not so much for the pupils who are probably glad to see the back of me) but it was also quite anti-climatic. It didn't feel like my last day at all, it felt like I’d be back after the holidays. But, I have really enjoyed my year there and I was so lucky to get such a nice school. 

So there you have it, year abroad over! :( I will try and do a recap of my whole year but I tend to forget to write these things so don’t hold out too much hope. 

A la prochaine,

Beth

Since I got back to Paris I've been super busy. I've had 11 people come to stay, seen the Eiffel Tower three times, eaten too many sweet things and I officially turned 21.

The first week back was Bethday week. My Warwick friends came to stay and we went to Disneyland! A few of us also had tea and cakes at Ladurée where we were given free beauty gifts for International Women's Day. 

The next weekend, my mum and auntie came to stay. It was my auntie's first time in Paris so I showed her all the sights. My favourite place to take Paris newbies is the Eiffel Tower at night when it sparkles. We also found the miniature replica of the Statue of Liberty in the Luxembourg gardens that my mum really wanted to see. 

This week it was Becky's 21st birthday. Her friend from home came to stay and we all went out on the town to celebrate. Also during the week, the weather was beautiful so we had a picnic by the Seine.

Things are a bit quieter now but in a few weeks I’m going to Normandy for the weekend with some teachers from school, which I’m really looking forward to. Until then...

BISOUS

Beth 

The first half of my school holidays were spent at home where I celebrated my (very early) 21st birthday. I got lots of lovely presents and had a great get-together with my family and friends. I didn't want to leave but had plenty of things to look forward to....

Even at home, I'm never far from Paris.

During the second week of the holidays,  I took a little trip to Italy with Becky, Eli and Molly. We spent the first part of the week in Verona, made famous by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Of course, we visited Juliet's balcony and made a wish whilst rubbing her boob (a genuine superstition I promise). We then had great fun reenacting the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. I really liked Verona and it's a great nice city to wander around as there are plenty of pretty churches, castles and even an amphitheatre to admire. 

We make perfect Juliets 

Come on Juliet, bring me luck

The next part of the week we spent in Milan, It's more industrial and commercial than Verona and a great place to shop. The best part, however, is definitely the cathedral. It's absolutely stunning to look at and when you get to the top, you realise how much work has gone into building it. 

It was also Milan Fashion Week while we were in the city. Unfortunately, we didn't bump into Kendall or Cara, however (as the title of the post suggests), we did bump into some Celtic fans. And by some I mean hundreds, I've never seen so many (to be honest I'm not sure if I'd ever seen one up until that point). Oh well, hopefully I'll have better luck on the model front this week during Paris Fashion Week.

Language-wise, it was really strange going to a country where I couldn't speak the language at all. I made sure I mastered all the pleasantries- Buongiorno, grazie, ciao bella!- but it was still a bit of a struggle. Apparently, once you've mastered French it's not a big leap to Italian (or so they say), so I might try and learn Italian properly so I can go back and not look like such an idiot. 

Duomo

This week the fun continues as it's my BIRTHDAY! No really, my actual birthday. I have Faz (http://livinglikeaparisienne.com/) staying with me for the week and other Warwick friends coming at the weekend so we should have a great time. 

Bisous,

The title may seem odd but it is what of my pupils said to me the other day. I don't know where this expression has come from and I can only hope she didn't learn it from her teacher but I think I like it and I might start using it. In fact if anyone wants to ask me about my year abroad, this is the question they should use. At the start it may have been a bit like a finger in the nose (figuratively speaking only), but since Christmas things have got much better (much to my surprise, no January blues in sight). 

The term started off with a trip to Bordeaux to see my lovely friends Olivia, Becci and Chris. The weekend was spent wandering around Bordeaux centre, eating my first (and hopefully not last) Wok to Walk and just generally having a great time. 

Literally the only picture I have of all four of us from the weekend.

Back in Paris, the language assistants and I hit the sales, saw The Riot Club at the cinema and visited the Louvre. The Riot Club was both very enjoyable and very uncomfortable viewing. It's all fun and games until all the characters become completely unlikable. It was still a good watch and highly recommended. The Louvre was beautiful as always and I finally got a glimpse of the (very small in real life) Mona Lisa. I've only been to the Louvre once before this time but it's somewhere you could go a hundred times and still not see everything. 

Mona, why so small?

What am I forgetting? Oh yeah, school! The pupils continue to amuse with their English, as seen by the corker of a question in the title. It really helps when the pupils are enthusiastic, if they can't be bothered, quite frankly I can't be bothered. My job is really to listen to them speak about something in English and give them corrections. If they don't say anything, I can't give them any corrections. Also, I can always tell who has taken the time to look at the corrections I've given them. Mainly because they're the only pupils who want to come and speak with me a second time. 

We're halfway through the term now and I'm over halfway through my 'year' abroad. It has gone so quickly so far and I have so many more things to look forward to. So watch this space. 

BISOUS

As I guessed would happen, I have been a bit lax with my blog writing. But it does means I have a lot to update you on. 

At the end of my last post I said Becci was coming to stay. I had a great weekend with her. We explored the area around the Notre Dame, walked around the Christmas market, went up the Arc de Triomphe, to the Eiffel Tower and we also went to a part of Paris I'd never been before, Canal Saint Martin. It was a good opportunity for me to perfect my tour guide skills for when my sister Kelly, a first-time Parisian, came to stay. 

I took Kelly to most of the same places I went with Becci. I think she really enjoyed her first time in Paris and I know she definitely enjoyed seeing the Eiffel Tower at night. I love taking people there for the first time because it is so beautiful at night, more so than in the day and it's one monument in Paris that I could see again and again and it wouldn't get boring. 

Last weekend, I went out with my language assistant friends for a night on the town, which was fun. We also booked a trip to Italy for February; two nights in Milan and two nights in Verona. I've never been to Italy before so I'm really excited to go. 

As for school, well, I only worked five hours this week (out of the 12 I'm contracted for). My responsable said that this normally happens at the end of term because the teachers don't need me as much, their classes might have tests or they are moving on to something new and the pupils aren't prepared for speaking practice with me. However, with the classes I do have I think I'm making progress. One class in particular will ask their teacher if I can come back the next day so they can practice again and the majority of them will remember the corrections I gave them the day before, which is encouraging. 

This week at school I attended a Soiree Raclette, which involves melting cheese and eating it with potatoes and various meats (charcuterie) oh and wine of course. It was really nice to experience something very French and I was able to meet other teachers who I hadn't spoken to before and to see them all in a more social setting. It was also a really good test of my French ;) 

In the last couple of weeks I haven't been able to think about anything but Christmas. I'm sure Christmas in France is very nice but hearing the teachers talking about eating foie gras and oysters for their Christmas meal, only makes me crave stuffing and Yorkshire puddings even more! Roll on Christmas!

JOYEUX NOEL A TOUS!!

BISOUS

As if by magic, after mentioning in my last post that I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of my niece, the next day she was born! Her name is Callie and she's perfect. Needless to say, I spent the rest of my holidays with her.

Unsurprisingly, I came back to French reality with a bit of a thud. However, I've tried to keep myself busy, spending time with my language assistant friends and also with my Warwick friends. 

Last Saturday, the language assistants, and I wandered around near Opera and Galaries Lafayette. They have their Christmas displays up in the window which made me really excited for Christmas, not just at home but also in Paris. I'm really looking forward to the Christmas market down the Champs Elysées. (More on that in a later post probably ;) )

Christmas display at Printemps

On Sunday, Georgie and I went to the Arab World Institute, which I had ever even heard of (whoops) but Georgie assured me it was a must see! It was really interesting and also nice to walk around a Parisian museum without loads of tourists. The best part though was the Moroccan restaurant in a tee-pee outside. Sitting in there, we could have actually been in Morocco and the food was absolutely amazing! I will definitely be going back there and Morocco is now on my list of places I want to go. 

As far as school goes (I bet you'd all forgotten I actually have a job), it's still quite hard as the pupils' level of English varies drastically. But the things they come out with never fail to amuse me. 'Do you like pole dancing?' 'Will you marry me?'

On Monday, I was trusted with the task of marking their oral exams which was harder than I thought it was going to be. I don't know the pupils that well so I don't know their individual level and what sort of marks they should be getting. But the teacher said I gave them the same sort of marks she would have given them so I guess I did alright. It was just nice to do something different.

This weekend I have Becci coming to stay, so I'm really looking forward to that and I'll let you know what we get up to. 

A bientôt,

It’s been almost two weeks since my last post and I’ve been super busy; meeting up with old friends, making new ones and trying to perfect the english skills of french school children. (Only the first two seem to be going well)

Meeting up with old friends

As I mentioned in my last post, some Warwick friends came to stay with me last weekend for Georgie’s birthday. We had a great weekend catching up, eating a lot of food, seeing the sights and dancing the night away in Paris ;)

Friday: Met up with the birthday girl at Cafe de Flore- a very fancy and very expensive cafe. Spent the evening in a great bar, then headed to Bastille for some dancing ;)

Saturday: Rachel and I met up will fellow Warwick go-er Elliot for a hangover brunch and a walk through Les Invalides.

Making new ones

On Wednesday, I met up with some other language assistants in the area. We went to the Notre Dame and to the famous bookshop, Shakespeare and Company (where I could not find a single french book). We then walked around the Pompidou and admired all the modern art.

Shakespeare and Co.

Modern art

Perfecting the English skills of French children

I had to introduce myself to some more new classes this week, which meant I had to answer more questions about myself.

My favourite question of the week: Do you like wild pigs?

But in some other classes I’ve actually started talking to the students individually, which with some classes is like pulling teeth. Their English is, in some cases, very broken but most of them at least try to talk to me in English. At the moment, the students are telling me about themselves and their family. After three straight hours of having the same conversation, giving the same corrections and doing more talking than the students, I’m very tired and slightly brain dead. But my hope is by the end of my assistantship, they will all talk to me in full sentences that make some, if not complete,sense. 

So that’s it for the moment. It’s the school holidays in France now so I’ve come home for a few weeks to spend some time with my family and eagerly (and impatiently) await the arrival of my first baby niece.

Till next time, 

BISOUS

Technically I'm going to talk about my second week in Paris but because my first week was so horrific I'm going to pretend it didn't happen. What I will say about that though is, I'm very grateful to all of my friends and family who supported me through one of the most difficult weeks of my life. I don't think I would have got through it without them. 

But onto better things... Last week got a whole lot better mainly because my mum came out to see me and to help me find somewhere to live. After a couple of stressful days we found somewhere and I am no longer homeless! Woo! As that was my main source of stress the previous week it was such a relief when I finally moved in somewhere. After moving in, my mum and I explored the area where I will be living, got some food (but no marmite, still fuming) and turned on the tv to watch Friends dubbed in French, i.e. the weirdest thing I have ever watched in my life.

I went to a language assistant orientation day last Wednesday which was both terrifying and encouraging at the same time. The first three hours was basically them bombarding us with the many, many, many forms that we have to fill in and submit. I think everyone else's panic and stress rubbed off on me and I started to worry. But lucky me, I sat next to the one person who had been a language assistant in France before. He told me what was urgent and what could wait and gave me really good advice about the year. 

Last Thursday was my first day at the school I will be teaching at. It's called College Pablo Picasso and it's in Montesson, Yvelines. All of the teachers are lovely and I really like the school . I went back for my second day today. It involved six hours of me answering questions about myself, which is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I obviously don't know myself that well.

The most insulting question I got asked: Do you have any children? (Do I look like I have any children?)

The most original question I got asked: Do you like kebabs? (The answer is no, in case you were wondering)

The most hilarious question I got asked: Do you have to get a boat to the island you live on? (If I had a pound for everytime someone has asked me that...)

My biggest achievement so far though has been opening a bank account. Anyone who knows French bureaucracy will understand that you basically have to promise your first born to get anything done around here, so that was a big deal. It also means I will get paid! Woo!

I still feel homesick now and again but I'm starting to get so busy now that there really isn't time for that. I have another orientation day tomorrow, followed by two more days at school. Then I have Warwick friends, Rachel, Libby and Flora, staying at the weekend and we're all going out to celebrate Georgie's birthday. Busy, busy, busy!

A bientôt,

Beth

In my opinion, the one prospect of the year abroad that worries students the most is the accommodation problem. For those of us who aren't lucky enough to have been offered accommodation, either by a university or by a school, the search for the perfect place can be hard. I learnt this first hand this weekend as I, with parents in tow, traveled to Paris to try and find somewhere to live for my year abroad as an English Language Assistant in France. 

The school I will be teaching at is in a small town called Montesson, which is in the Yvelines département of the Ile-de-France. The town itself is very much like a suburb, i.e. it's mainly houses and schools and is not close to a metro at all. So, I looked further afield for somewhere to live. I prefer the hustle bustle of a busy town and would like to be near a metro so I can take full advantage of my proximity to Paris.

Saturday morning, my parents and I set off, enthusiastic about our day of viewings. We had three places to look at and a lot of bus/metro hopping to do. The first place was quite far from my school and a long bus journey. Already minus some points. The place itself looked almost like a large shed that had been thrown together. The front door was wide open and the garden was so overgrown it almost covered the house. Minus a few more points. When I asked for the landlord, I was told he would not be back until 1pm even though I had scheduled to meet him at 11am. So we decided this wasn't the place for me and left.

Apartment number 2 was in the very nice town of Chatou. It definitely has the hustle bustle I am looking for and very near to my school. From the pictures online I thought this apartment was going to be perfect, however it was just too small for the price they were asking.  

The last accommodation we went to see was a room to rent in family house. The house was located in the town of Houilles-Carrieres-sur-Seine and was right next to the metro station. It was a lovely family home and I think ultimately that was why I decided not to take it. I think I would feel too much like an intruder in someone else's home.

Although this sounds like an unsuccessful trip, I did learn a few things that will help me in my search for the perfect year abroad accommodation.

1) Location, location, location. While it may be tempting the more desperate I get, to take any apartment going, proximity to my school or a metro that will get me there is important.

2) Size matters. I don't need a huge place to live but if they are asking for big bucks it has to be value for money.

3) The suburbs are not for me. I want to live somewhere where there are places to see and things to do. Especially if I am only working for 12 hours in the week. 

4) Pictures can be deceiving. Landlords will spruce up the rooms for the photos or they will purposefully not post a photo of a particular room to make their property seem more appealing. You should always see the place in person and meet the landlord before agreeing to anything.

5) Finding the perfect place takes time. I was never going to find somewhere perfect in one weekend. It will be much easier to house hunt when I move here permanently, however daunting that sounds. I am lucky that I have a lovely friend who is willing to put me up while I search, which has certainly eased my stress. 

If anything else, it put my mum's mind at ease as I actually can navigate the metro and converse with other French people (even if it is in very broken French at the moment).

All in all, I've had a great weekend gallivanting around Paris and the Ile-de-France with my parents and my research has definitely improved my house hunting skills. Hopefully you'll hear from me again in about a month telling you all about my perfect year abroad accommodation and my big move to France. 

But for now bisous!