It's been a while..

It's been nearly a month since I last posted - oops! Aurillac life has been great though, I've been doing yoga and having English-French conversation sessions with our instructor and Amber, I'm tutoring a French girl in English (credit to JJ for giving her my details) and we've been to Clermont-Ferrand for a weekend. We've also been out in Aurillac finally which has been fun but it's always a long night if you don't leave to go out til gone 1am.. Aurillac has loads of Christmas lights up as well as a Christmas market and a ferris wheel in the main square so the last week here should be really fun!

View of the ferris wheel in Aurillac's main square

I have also made myself a Christmas tree for my flat, making use of the junk mail that comes through our door - cutting all the green bits out of a Decathlon catalog (among pthers) took some dedication!

Probably the most exciting part of the last few weeks has been skiing. Le Lioran is 1/2 an hour away by train then a navette ride/ 15 minute walk to the ski resort, so close that when we went for an afternoon of ice skating and the rink was closed, we hired skis on the spot and off we went! It's been 8 years since I skied, and 1 week of skiing 8 years ago didn't really prepare me that well - I went straight up the mountain on what is probably the easiest slope there although it turned out to be quite a long run and I fell over...three times. I got some advice from someone who saw me fall over after about 15 seconds so next time I'll be better prepared...

Le Lioran

Weird Weather Report 20.11.13

Dear readers, I will update you on what's been going on recently in more detail soon, suffice to say my year abroad has been keeping me busy!

It's quite incredible to me that it snowed here 6 days ago, again last night and was snowing this morning. Not a lot settled apart from on roofs and in the mountains but it's still really weird that it's snowing in mid-November when I've really only ever known proper snow in January. It stopped mid morning and now I can see bright blue sky with a few clouds and the sun is streaming through my French windows (I know right?) into the kitchen as I type. I am having to restrain my obsession with the weather forecast but am checking quite often to see if and when it will snow next - I'd love a proper covering  to make a snowman outside my flat.... If Meteo France is accurate we should get a decent bit this evening - here's hoping!

At the end of four weeks...

It is crazy to think I've been here for four weeks now! It's the school holidays here now so we haven't had anything to do for the schools except lesson planning but we've managed to do a few fun things as well...

When we visited the final primary school on Thursday we got to sit in on an actual English lesson which was great fun, especially as the teacher 'Mrs Jones' had given all the children an English name for when they learn English. Highlights include Jill, Margaret, Brian and our favourite: 'Tobby' (that will get fun when we start learning items of clothing). It's been beautiful weather here so we've managed to take advantage of it with walks along the Jordanne river and sitting in the park in the town centre. Among the many chocolate ones we've eaten, I tried a liquorice eclair (surprisingly nice) and have tried my hand at making aligot, a local delicacy which is essentially cheese stirred into mashed potato until it goes elastic and stringy. Mine did not get to the elastic stage but the taste wasn't far off the version I had in a restaurant so not bad for a first attempt!

On Monday night we went out for a meal as Sophie (one of the assistants here) had her boyfriend visiting. We meant to go to a riverside restaurant but they are closed on Monday evenings so wandered into a brasserie attached to a hotel which looked quite nice from the outside. When we were lead through to the main restaurant we couldn't quite believe it - it was the poshest place I think I've ever eaten! They didn't have anything veggie on the menu but I still got quite an impressive plate of food - summer vegetables in a pesto dressing on a rosti with a ramekin of risotto and salad... The others' meals looked and apparently tasted amazing too, especially the profiteroles stuffed with icecream and swamped in what looked like a whole bar's worth of melted chocolate. Needless to say it was definitely an evening to remember, and it's likely we'll go there again once we get paid!

http://www.brasserie-flo.fr/index.php/en/

I have been feeling quite homesick now and after toying with the idea of flying back to England (10 hours, at least 5 modes of transport and around £300) I have decided to go and visit my lovely little sister in Paris this weekend. We are also thinking of going to Clermont-Ferrand for a night out next week before my sister and parents come to stay for the weekend, so lots of exciting things ahead. It will also be great to start teaching (finally) on the 4th of November and actually start speaking French on a day to day basis, as Aurillac is severely lacking in 20 year olds we can socialise with (boo).. So far, the year abroad is going great!

Weird Weather Report 18.10.13

It's beautifully sunny in Aurillac for the second day in a row. That's weird enough for me...

Weird Weather Report 17.10.13

I have decided that as Aurillac's weather is so unlike anywhere I've ever been in terms of odd weather that it deserves its own weather report..

For today: At 9am it was overcast but with signs of brightness in the distance, by half past 10 the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining from a clear bright blue sky. An hour later, the sun in still shining but Aurillac is bathed in fog to an extent that I can't see half the town or the hills that lay behind it... I can tell this is going to take some getting used to..

Three weeks in Aurillac...

Its been three weeks! In the 10 days since the last post, probably the most important thing that has happened is that last Thursday Amber (the other language assistant for primary schools here) and I went to visit the schools we'll be working in with our contact Veronique. We only went for a brief visit but it was good to see where we would be working for the next few months, and as well as finding out about our schools we found out a bit more about Aurillac - apparently it snows November to February!. This week we've been for longer visits, starting with the school closest to me on Monday. Apart from not being able to find the directrice (headteacher) for half an hour it was a good visit and we got introduced to all the classes. The youngest ones were especially enthusiastic when we met them so it feels like it's going to be a good year here, although we don't know when we'll be teaching there yet. On Tuesday afternoon we went to the second school but that visit was not a structured as the directrice was with a class that afternoon. We did get our time organised and got to sit in on a class to see how the teacher taught. At the end of that lesson three of the girls ran up to us and chanted in unison 'Vous etes belles' - so cute! This afternoon we're going to the final primary school for a visit and after that we have over two weeks until we actually start teaching as French schools have two weeks of holidays!

Over the next two weeks the plan is to try and visit a few towns and cities in the southern part of France, Clermont-Ferrand, Bordeaux and maybe Toulouse or Lyon too if we can, although I should probably also start getting on with my research project which is effectively my dissertation for my degree (eek). As well as keeping up with this blog I've got a journal I'm writing which need a lot of catching up on but I should find time with two weeks until things get busy... More updates to come soon :)

I've survived 11 days!

This blog post marks everything being sorted here in Aurillac as I finally have an internet connection in my flat! This is not the only accomplishment I have made - on the first day here (Thurs 26th Sep) I managed to open a bank account, get home insurance, sort my French sim card and sort my gas and electricity which felt like big achievements. I have been very lucky too with my landlady, who picked me up from the station when I arrived and took me to a big supermarket to get what I needed on the first day. Of course I got straight on with making the flat my own, so with all my stuff in it definitely feels more like home!

 I've enjoyed having big windows that open out onto my balcony, especially over the first couple of days when it was really hot here (Aurillac didn't exceed expectations for long on the weather front...)

 One of the best parts of being here has been the other assistants in Aurillac - we all get on so, so well and after a week and a half it feels like we've known each other for ages already. 3 of 4 of the other Aurillac assistants live at the Lycee down the hill from my flat which is great because they're only 5 minutes away. I did get the opportunity to move in with them but it made more sense to stay put as I was already settled here and had set up everything I needed here (take a minute to appreciate having to do that in a foreign language). I don't think I'd cope too well having to move out and settle somewhere else, plus the others are so close by it's hardly inconvenient. I haven't started teaching yet as we (primary school assistants) have been told we don't have to start working until after the French school holidays which end at the beginning of November! We will be meeting the teachers we'll be working with in Aurillac and planning lessons over the next two weeks so hopefully we'll have more of a routine going soon. We also found out that although we'll be based in Aurillac, we'll be teaching some long-distance lessons via Skype!

 We had our training day at Clermont-Ferrand on Wednesday (2nd Oct) which was really good because now we have an idea of how and what we'll be teaching. I decided to stay in Clermont the night before as it's 2 and a half hours from Aurillac by train (or 100 miles by road) and I didn't fancy being on a train before 6am and then having to concentrate for the rest of the day. It turned out quite well as the hotel was 2 mins from the CRDP where we had training and I got to talk to my parents and Dom over Skype using the hotel wifi. I also had quite a goof view of the Clermont-Ferrand cathedral from my window...

Although it's not the biggest of places, Aurillac is beautiful (that's the view walking down to see the other assistants) and it's amazing how you can be in the centre of town and see green hills all around. Apart from gigantic hills to walk up every day to get my apartment I really love it here and now everything is sorted out I really feel at home (yay).

I'm leaving tomorrow...

Tomorrow is the day. I'll get getting on a not too early train at St Pancras to begin a journey down to Aurillac which will take 12 hours. Oh the joy... I am however very lucky that just under 3 hours into the voyage I'll be meeting my litle sister Nerissa in Paris, as she has just started university there. An hour of those 12 will therefore be spent with her, although the journey from Gare du Nord to Paris Bercy is hardly the best way to spend an hour with your favourite person...

I'm nearly ready to go, except for the part where there is a very large suitcase packed to the brim, plus a rucksack, and I haven't fitted everything in yet.. Oops... At least I know there will be electricity and gas when I arrive so it doesn't matter that I have been so far unsuccessful in setting up my EDF account. Mobile contract is sorted but I am not looking forward to organising an internet connection when I arrive either. Have also just got an email from a French bank saying I have an appointment to open an account (yay) but it's at 9am the day after I arrive (boo) and I have to dig up my 3 most recent bank statements, goodness knows where they are! Other than that I've got to sort what I want to have on the train to entertain me for 12 hours and perhaps sorting what I can leave behind so that I can actually move my suitcase.

Updates to follow on how the treacherous journey went...

3 and a half days to go...

It's getting very real now. In 84 hours I will already be on the Eurostar speeding towards Paris, destination: Aurillac. I have just spent an unforgettable week in St Ives in Cornwall with Dom which I did not want to end, especially as we had to say a goodbye on the train knowing we wouldn't see each other for three months.

Now I've got A LOT to do to prepare for my departure early on Wednesday morning including last minute packing and buying, trying to choose an internet provider and remember documents etc before I go so I'm not trapped with few options in a sea of French bureaucracy.... My little sister left for Paris this morning to start university on Monday - this is all VERY scary. I'm so grateful my landlady is fetching me from the station on Wednesday and have been very pleased to learn there are other assistants in Aurillac this year so I will no be all alone.. We'll see how things pan out...

Take 1...

This is Aurillac! More specifically, a view of the Jordanne river which I can see after a 10 minute walk from my apartment which will be my new home for the next 9 (or so) months while I work as an English language assistant in a primary school.

I'm not moved out there quite yet but a trip two weeks ago meant I have somewhere to live when I arrive which was a huge relief! I have a great apartment with a view to live in, which wasn't too hard to find as the town is quite small therefore has none of the competition there is in larger cities in France. The town itself is relatively hard to get to though, as the Auvergne doesn't have motorways running through it and there are no high-speed train links to Aurillac despite it being the main town in the department of Cantal... So, to get there in 2 and a half weeks, my train journey will be about 12 hours long in total.. Eek!

I'll probably be one of the last, if not the last, to embark on the year abroad as I'm going on holiday with my lovely boyfriend before I go, in the only week possible once we both finished working for the summer. This now feels essential as we won't see each other afterwards for about 3 months.. Lucky then, I have my apartment ready to move into save for gas, electricity and internet - two of which are pretty essential so there's a bit of stress left to go before I leave, plus packing - wish me luck!