Getting into the spirit

So, as Fran pointed out to me the other day, it’s been almost a month and a half since I last blogged! It’s about time I updated you all on my life in an instalment which promises to certainly be bigger and better than before!

So for two of these 6 weeks I was back in the motherland enjoying consuming my weight in food and alcohol almost daily, indulging in the home comforts that I’d missed so dearly! I spent most of my time in Leicester where it was dominated by my loved ones, hockey and getting utterly smashed on the regular. It was as if I’d never left! But of course, quicker than it’d take me to fall flat on my arse in Red Leicester, it was time to go back to France.

Notre dame de Fourvière

Leaving everybody again was ridiculously hard, but once I was back, I decided to just get on with it and that keeping myself busy would help time fly. Although I still haven’t succeeded in achieving the jam-packed lifestyle of an explorer in a different country, I have managed to experience quite a lot of new things. The last 3 weekends have been spent in Lyon. Each time I go I become even more lost but consequently even more in love with the place! I may not necessarily know where I am half the time, but I’ve successfully managed to stumble across the free zoo, parc de la tête d’or, and see some elephants and tigers (which I definitely didn’t expect); visit the beautiful buildings at the top in Vieux Lyon; and shop in one of the biggest shopping centres I’ve ever seen. Despite this, the quest for snails and frogs legs continues. I’m not exactly sure why I’m finding it so difficult because, as my students tell me, you can apparently find them everywhere. Perhaps it’s my student-on-a-budget attitude that naturally veers me away from any classy establishments willing to provide me with these national delicacies!

Despite the visit from my lovely boyfriend (who travelled at 4am in the morning to see me after a day full of hockey and a night out cross-dressing for hockey funds…), the highlight of my term so far has been meeting even more new people. Again, when waiting at the bus stop after a day in Lyon, I was surprised to see one of my pupils, a student from Belgium who is here until December to improve her French. We’re both in quite similar situations, and after chatting all the way home, she invited me to meet her French host family for lunch the next day. I willingly accepted and spent the afternoon speaking lots of French (rather than just the usual passing conversation), consuming even more cheese and wine and just enjoying some really great company. Coincidentally, the father of the family has a sister that lives in Leicester, so conversation was very easy and when I left I was told that I was welcome any time. That chance meeting at the bus stop opened up a lot of opportunities for me, and gave me another glimpse of French culture at its very core - the family life.

 

Getting into the festive spirit has been a little been harder this year. Whereas usually I would have already donned the Christmas onesie and santa hat, and sung each Christmas song to beyond exhaustion, I’ve only gone as far as a Christmas jumper this year – a huge step back for me. But the French don’t really over-commercialise the event like in England. Their shops and streets have only really been filled with decorations rather recently and the Christmas fayres give it a more traditional air which I quite like. I went to explore my town today and witnessed the set-up of tonight’s events which include some kind of light spectacle at the Abbaye and of course a fayre. I tried the French version of mulled wine, vin chaud, which was beautiful, and had a quick gander at the stalls while classic Christmas tunes were being blasted from speakers all over the village. I think it’s safe to say that this little trip out, the glacial weather, and the promise of the events tonight has finally put me in the spirit! Now all I can think about is getting home and stuffing my face with mince pies and turkey. Mmmm!