Pre Year Abroad Homesickness

Salut!

I've been told countless times that the Year Abroad is all about adjusting.
Adjusting to new food, adjusting to a different culture, different traditions, fashions, language, blah blah blah! This part of my Year Abroad is exciting to me. I want to learn about French life, start eating a whole load of cheese AFTER I've already had a delicious meal, get used to (and even embrace) shops not being open for 2 hours over dinner time, know which wine goes with what and when and why, and mostly, wear a scarf everyday and it be acceptable. I've read blog posts about reverse culture shock, where you can't get used to your own culture after your year abroad; I want that to be me. If I could, I would become French. 

BUT I can't get used to the idea of leaving behind everything I know. I'd love to say that I'm adventurous, and have got no problem with leaving my home, fiancé, family, friends and  rabbits, and that a year isn't a long time, but this isn't true. The very thought of any of this triggers my anxiety to the point that I have to concentrate so hard on taking a full, deep breath, that I can't think about it any more. The truth is, I'm a home bird, and it took me preparing to move abroad to realise this. 

Things would be so much easier if I could move to France with a suitcase full of everyone and everything I love. Like I said before, I'm so excited to learn about and enjoy the culture, but I'd be more excited if I know I could wake up next to my other half every morning, and pop to my parents' houses if I felt like it, or at the very least, know that all the shops are stocked up with Dairy Milk for days that I'm feeling miserable and missing home. 

No. The next year of my like will be lacking in Dairy Milk, gravy, tea (I don't even drink tea, but if I did...), chocolate digestive biscuits (see tea), affordable make up, red lippy (apparently this is a no no en France) and anything else that I can't think of right now. I know this is appears to be a pathetic shopping list of things that I can't have, but seriously, the thought of living without everyone I care about for 8 months is really hard for me to deal with. I'm sure I can't be the only person who feels like this, can I?

I've even put off looking for flights because that makes everything too definite. Don't get me wrong, I know how lucky I am, and 90% of the time I am beyond excited about the year ahead of me, but to quote Ronan, "life is a roller coaster". This Year Abroad is as much about me developing as a person as it is about me learning French, and all I can try to do is think positively and make the most of this 'once in a lifetime' adventure.

Okie doke. I think this post is miserable enough for me to leave it here. 
Thank you for reading!

A bientôt!

x

p.s. I really am excited about my year in Guingamp

p.p.s. I don't usually quote Ronan Keating and this quote will NOT be my year abroad tagline

p.p.s. I really will miss my family, friends, rabbits and of course Lewis so so much.

Routes Into Languages | Adopt A Class

Salut!

As many of you fellow 'year-abroaders' may be aware, the run up to your year abroad is a time of constantly checking emails, running for the post in the morning, and the like. A few weeks ago I received an email from uni about a scheme called Adopt A Class with is run by the organisation Routes into Languages.

I did a quick google search about the scheme which has been running in Wales for a few years now, and decided I'd like to be a part of it. The scheme involves students who are about to venture on their year abroad 'adopting' a class. During their time away, the student stays in touch with the class via emails, Skype, postcards and letters. The correspondence can include topics relating to the curriculum such as travel, places in the town and food and drink, or can simply be a humorous anecdote about something that happened in the week. The aim of the scheme is to encourage the ever falling number of students taking MFLs at lower levers (GCSE) to increase. This is something I am particularly interested in, with wanting to be a language teacher myself, and taking part in the scheme will provide some insight to the potential reasons why children aren't taking MFLs and how this can improve.

After agreeing to take part in the scheme, I attended a training day at Manchester Metropolitan University, where I was told that I was a part of the pilot scheme in the North West. I was assigned my school, and with quite limited information, I had to contact the school and make a presentation.

I managed to arrange a date that suited both the school and myself, and after a very early morning, three trains, a replacement bus and a half hour walk, I finally met my class. In all honesty I wasn't sure what to expect. I managed to sit down with the class teacher and discuss what we both thought would benefit the class, our ideas and thoughts about the scheme and so far, so good. Our ideas very much complemented each other's, and I'm really hopeful that the scheme will be a success.

My class are a mixture of Year 8s who have never done French before, and Year 9s who are about to start their GCSE years. Fingers crossed I can bring a bit of French life and culture into the classroom through my postcards and letters. I know when I was in school, I'd have loved the opportunity to speak to someone who was doing what I wanted to do. 

I shall leave it there for now, and keep you updated on whats happening with my adopted class.

Until next time,

Jess

x

A town called Guingamp (ooh yeah)

Salut,

Firstly, brownie points for those who get the title reference. Secondly, and probably more importantly, I have finally found out exactly where I'm going to be living from September.

For the last few weeks, I've been getting a little bit envious of all my uni friends who have been celebrating through the medium of Facebook statuses about where they'll be heading for their year abroad. After somehow managing to get over this minor envy, I entered the realm of panic! (True to my over-anxious personality). What if my letter got lost in the post? What if no schools wanted me? What if I was never accepted in the first place? And so on...

Well, after weeks of worry, I was finally welcomed home from work with a brown A4 envelope lying face-down on my doormat. With all the excitement, I could not read a word. I flicked from page to page, not taking anything in. Eventually I got over the excitement, took a few deep breaths, and started from the top. 

As it turns out, I will be an assistant at two lycées in the town of Guingamp...

Nope, I hadn't heard of it either. And to be honest, my initial feeling was one of disappointment. What an anticlimax?! Everyone seemed so happy with their placements, and I'm stuck with a tiny town in the very north of Brittany. Well, after a good think, I decided that I was being completely irrational (what's new?) and that this little town will definitely be a blessing in disguise. 

It's true that in larger towns there will be more to do, but where better to learn the language than a place where practically no one will speak English? If anyone needs to improve their French, it's me, so I've been sent to the perfect place. Also, I heard from a friend, who'd driven through, that it was very pretty, and that the people there were so friendly. Win win. 

To top off the whole change of attitude, today I received an email from my responsable, who seems so lovely. And for once, I'm the first person to hear something!! I promptly replied asking a couple of questions, and thanking her for her help so far. There was also a suggestion that my lodgings may be free with the lycée which improved my attitude further still. 

So all in the space of a couple of days, I've gone from crying and disappointment, to excitement. I'm so lucky to have this opportunity, and the sacrifices that come with going on my year aboad mean that I should definitely be making the most of the next year, and even in bleak situations, finding the positives. (Although, I'm already getting anxious about how homesick I'll be!)

I'll leave this here. 

A bientôt.

xx

La Vie En Rennes?

Salut!

Well, long time no speak! I did plan on putting together a few weeks ago which looked a little bit like this...

"After waiting for what seems like FOREVER (6 months-ish), I have finally heard back from the British Council about my placement in France as a language assistant, and guess what... I've been accepted!!"

and now I shall bring you up to date...

As you'll know if you've read my previous posts, as of September I will become a Language Assistant in France through the British Council. I applied around October time, and finally heard back 11th April that I had been accepted. From this email I was told that I'd have to wait until mid-May to find out if I had been accepted by the French authorities, and if so, which académie I have been placed in.

However, this long, drawn out process only took a few weeks, and about an hour ago I received an email stating that I HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED and I will be in RENNES!!! Woohooo, got my first choice....

So after dancing about around the house, I took to the laptop to search for everything and anything Rennes-related! I have found flights, trains, ferries and any other possible mode of transport to get me there. Then of course, google images. 

Doesn't that just look beautiful? But here's the snag, my academie is Rennes, which does not mean I am going to the actual city. I could be placed anywhere in this region...

There are lots of places that could potentially be my home next year. On the plus side, I have had two of my first choices so far, the academie, and the age group that I'm teaching (secondary), so maybe I'll end up in a large town too. But as one of my emails from the British Council said, 90% opted for large town or city. 

This is where my doubt comes in. All I ever wanted was to be placed somewhere pretty, where I'll have optimum opportunity to improve my French. Unfortunately there was no option for this on the application form. And just as I had taken to Facebook with my celebratory/excited status about where I will be living come September, so have all my friends. Now it seems that they are all going to beautiful places, Reims, Nantes, Avignon, Nice, etc. and all I can think is, 'What if I would like it there more? What if I don't end up in a nice place in my academie?" Obviously this is silly and wherever I go I will grow to love, that's if I don't fall in love with it instantly!

This is my year abroad story so far! For the next few months I'll be trying to find out all I can and I'm going to start getting all of the documents that I need into some sort of order. I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now 

xx

Book Haul!

Salut!!

As I mentioned previously, I have a skill in procrastination, which usually reveals itself during assessment time. A week or so ago, I spent a good afternoon browsing Amazon for all the books I want to read, and I ended up buying a few, so I thought I'd just share them! I also have a couple of books on my 'to-read' list that I've had for a while, and one was a gift from a friend.

1. The Book of Tomorrow - Cecelia Ahern

This was a gift from a friend, that I have just never got around to reading, but I'm always desperate to have time to start it. Having read P.S. I Love You and The Gift by Cecelia Ahern, I really enjoy her books and I can't wait to get my teeth sunk into this!

2. 1000 Years of Annoying the French - Stephen Clarke

Being a French student, I have read a couple of extracts of Stephen Clarke's work, and I found them highly amusing. From what I've read about this book, it seems to be all about the love-hate relationship between the French and the British. 

3. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

This book is everywhere!! All of my friends seem to have read this and I want to be in on it, so I will be taking a huge leap onto the bandwagon to see what all the fuss is about.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

This is a CLASSIC!! I read this book in school as part of my GCSE English course, and I loved it. I need to read it again because it is absolutely brilliant, but I have not owned a copy of the book until now. 

5. How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff

This has recently been released as a film. I haven't watched the film yet, as I was completely frustrated that I recognised the title from a few years ago. I can't remember whether I read the book, or never got round to reading it/ ordering it, but I couldn't bring myself to watching the film without reading a book that I had known about for so long. I'm sure I'll watch the film once I've had a good read of the book.

6. The Reader - Bernhard Schlink

This was released as a film a few years ago but I never even realised it was based on a book! I'm really looking forward to giving this a read too, but if it is anything like the film, it will be quite hard going in parts!

 

I hope I can get all of my uni work out of the way ASAP so I can get reading!

See you soon 

xx

British Council Assistantship

Salut mes chéris!

As I mentioned in my last post, I will be moving to France in September to become a Language Assistant for little French children, or not so little French teenagers, and I just wanted to explain the things I have done so far because up until now I have searched every documented piece of information about the year abroad to find out EVERYTHING, which has been made easier by the likes of Third Year Abroad, but one more blog post may contain the information that YOU want to know. 

*Imagine drifty windchime-esq flashback music HERE*

Around October time I created an account with the British Council and I had to fill in the application forms and hand them in at university by the end of November. The forms asked the obvious, such as Why would you be good as a Language Assistant? To the not-so-obvious How have you adapted to different cultures before? (What do I say to this?!)
Then followed the complete basics, i.e. Level of French, Name, D.O.B, bla bla bla.
THEN I had to pick three places where I wanted to live. This was hard. Firstly, it seemed that everyone knew that you picked 3 places, but at no point had anyone mentioned that these places were categorised. 

• In Group A there were a number of départements from the North of France. 
• In Group B there were places from around the centre of France.
• Group C contained the popular places, darn sarfff (South of France), Paris, and the DOMs.

From these groups, I had to pick one place from A, one from B and the third from ANY of the groups.
After this I had to decide the size of the place I wanted to move to, (city, small town or rural) and the age group that I wanted to teach.

I found it so hard to make any decisions, not only because one department seemed like the size of Wales, but I just had no idea where I wanted to go. So, after many nights on google images, searching for the prettiest places, I decided upon Rennes, Poitiers and Amiens (in that order). I also stated my preference to be a city, so that it's easy for people to visit, and I chose the age group 11-14. I did this because I want to teach in Secondary School eventually and I thought that this would be perfect experience. 

By December time I received an email saying that my application had been received, and by April I should know if I have been accepted. Right now it's a waiting game, but as soon as I know, I will pass on the news!

Goodbye for now

xx

Exam Stress!

Salut!!

I once read that to be a successful blogger, you must prepare at least your first five blog posts, you should always carry around a note pad to fill up with ideas for amazing blogs, and you should be a generally interesting person. AND POST REGULARLY!

So after not managing to tick off any of the checklist, I shall begin again. A lot has happened since my first, absolutely awful and cringe-worthy first post, both good and bad. But I will start with now...

I am in my second year of uni studying French, which means I am currently in the middle of exam/essay/assessment season, and it's horrible. I have a million and one things to revise and even more essays to write and it's safe to say that I cannot cope! Yet again it is the time of year where I become Procrastinator Extraodinaire and in equal measure I am a nervous wreck. Honestly, I just jumped at the doorbell just in case it was the revision police checking to see I had done adequate revision. (No I haven't). When I am not hiding from the horrors that reside the other side of the door, I am rushed off my feet (procrastinating) doing the most important things:

• Teaching Ted and Betsy, my gorgeous, fluffy, new bunnies how to stand on their back legs, or run through tubes, or spin around. Important of course!
• Staring game with the TV, which is turned off. Manage a good half an hour sometimes!
• Ordering all the books off Amazon that I have NO TIME to read.
• Dipping in and out of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (another book I have no time to read.
• Watching endless YouTube videos of hair and make up tutorials, daily vlogs and nail art videos, just because I can.
• And finally, the one you have all been waiting for...getting around to writing my first proper blog post.

Anyhoo, after completing these next few months of hell, I start a TEFL course for my final 7 weeks of uni, which will hopefully be half decent, as from September I will be moving to France (assuming that my application is successful) to become an Assistante de Langue. I am absolutely terrified! But I am hoping to document my year, and the lead up to this in this blog, so keep your eyes peeled! 

I think I'll leave this post here as it is rather more substantial than the first one!

So until next time

xx