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!