You can take the girl out of Britain...

Getting round to writing this week’s post has been a bit hard, as the task of compressing the events of the last 5 days to a sizeable length hasn’t been too appealing, but I’ll do my best to be brief on here!

I’m going to be honest; the day of travelling was a nightmare from start to finish. I had to stand up all the way from near Derby to Gatwick, despite reserving a seat, with people awkwardly having to climb over my 40 kilos of luggage every 2 minutes to go to the toilet, but fruit ninja helped to pass the time so that part wasn’t too bad. The flight went well and I arrived safely in Lyon, but that’s when the real problems started. I followed the signs out of the airport towards what I thought was the sign for the train, pretty confident in my own organisational skills and optimistically believing that all I had to do now was get on this train. I was very wrong. Before I reached what I thought was the train station, I faced my first real challenge – getting down the escalator with all 3 of my bags safely, as the lift was typically broken. I got on, and as the step came up, my 20 kg suitcase fell down a few, taking me with it. I managed to hold on though, but not without letting out a big yelp which made them look up at me disapprovingly! What felt like a near-death experience pretty much prefigured the rest of the journey, as I got told that my train was in fact a half an hour tram ride away, then I got lost at the train station trying to find my platform, and ultimately I was over an hour late meeting my tutor who had come to pick me up. Not quite the first impression I’d hoped for. Despite being unable to compose a sentence in either language, I was kindly taken to her house for dinner, before going onto my ‘studio’. The place is modest; it has a small kitchen in the same room as my bedroom and a little en-suite – everything I need is here, although having only one sink to wash both my face and my dishes in is still a little weird.

For the first few days my French was very shaky, but I’m starting to find my feet here already and I can see myself improving rapidly. So far I’ve managed to cheekily get the wifi code from my neighbour for free internet, opened a bank account, got a French phone, had a tour of the new school and blagged my way through many conversations that I’ve only understood half of - not too bad so far! It’s a very small town and nobody speaks English here which is great for me but difficult at times. Everyone has been so nice to me and patient with my language which has really helped me to settle in. I’ve got a lot to look forward to as I’ll be more involved at the school this week and although mainly observing classes, I may get to teach a few pupils as well. I’m already desperately craving some kind of exercise and as running really isn’t my thing and the French aren’t too fond of hockey, I think I’ll be taking up basketball which is pretty big around here. My tutor said she was going to get me in touch with her friend who played in the national team, which is quite daunting as I’ve only ever played a few times in PE at school! But maybe I’ll come back a pro too… you never know!

So, for everyone that’s worried about me, I am getting on well and I will make some friends soon (I hope!). Here are some of the observations I’ve made so far:

-          - Going a few days without the internet makes you feel like a caveman

-          - Smelling good is overrated (My deodorant has to be used sparingly as the last bottle  cost me €4.50!)

-          - Beer and wine is cheaper than pepsi max (maybe that’s a sign?!)

-          - The French version of a ‘drink’ is not the same as in England – having to drink a glass of straight vodka at lunch today with my tutor made me a little light headed to say the least

-          - I can speak a bit of French after all

That’s pretty much all for this week. I’m yet to try snails and frogs legs, but I’ll keep you updated. Pictures to follow!