One month today I will be making
my journey to London, ready to conquer London – Paris – Chambéry via Eurostar
and TGV the following day. Things aren’t very far away at all now and this got
me thinking about the huge changes that are about to occur. Naturally, there
are things I’m excited about but of course, there’s also some apprehension. Let’s
start with the more negative and end on a positive..
One big question I have is can I actually
survive life speaking in French. Despite the fact I’ve now studied French for 9
years, I occasionally question my French ability. As is natural, sometimes I
can’t think of the most basic of words and just feel quite stupid. In fact, I
feel much more confident using Spanish which I’ve studied for a shorter time,
but I have always found Spanish easier and felt some sort of natural affinity
with it. That said, exam results often show the reverse of this, so who knows!
Either way, I’ve enrolled on a 2 week language preparatory course for Erasmus
students which will get me accustomed to lectures. As far as I understand it,
there will be language based sessions each morning followed by afternoons of
cultural activities and exploring the region I’ll be spending the next few
months in which will also be a great opportunity to meet new people in the same
boat as myself. The first hour of the course does consist of a French language
test though, yay.....!!
I’m sure that speaking, hearing,
seeing and eventually thinking in French will become natural and part of normal
life but the first few weeks will no doubt be a challenging time of faux-pas and
misunderstood faux-amis (a word looks like something in English but actually
means something different) and idioms (a phrase which has no meaning if
directly translated from one language to another).
Secondly after a mere week and a
half on the continent, I will celebrate my 21st birthday. I’m happy that
some of my closest friends will be in Chambéry with me; I know others who are
going to locations not knowing a soul. Most people I’ve mentioned this to reply
with, “How cool that you’ll be abroad for your birthday!!!” However, I will
have the aforementioned language course to do. It’ll definitely be a shame not
to be at home with all my friends and family, but hopefully I’ll have a good
time in France. My friends and I are hoping to make a trip to Paris for a
weekend of celebration but this will all depend on when lectures start, but
fingers crossed! Similarly, I will be missing celebrations of many friends who
will be celebrating their 21st birthdays too. I’d like to hope that
some will fall on weekends or during holiday times in order to pop back and
celebrate with those closest to me but again I’ll have to wait to assess the
situation in France when I receive my timetable.
Another thing that will be
different in France is not working. I’ve worked at Animal for 3 years and a lot
of my free time at Uni and every weekend is spent at work: In a sense work is
my ‘break’ from University. What people do with their free time, and especially
weekends I have no idea but I’m sure there’ll be plenty of exploring and
travelling in France and as things get colder, some skiing! Of course I’m also
going to miss friends and family but in this modern age of Facebook, Twitter
and Skype, they’ll only be a message of phone call away. A year abroad in 2012
is no doubt drastically different to what it was ten years ago.
On the other hand, I’m looking
forward to putting the years of language study into practice and developing
what I already know. There will be opportunities to meet people from all walks
of life from all corners of the world, new foods to try and one thing I’m most
anticipating is the opportunity to travel and explore both France and Europe. I’ve
been doing some research into Fêtes in
the region to experience some traditional culture and come Valencia, I can’t
wait for tapas, tortilla and Spanish fiestas such as the San Fermín Bull Run
and La Tomatina (tomato fight.) The latter takes at the end of August and so
should I have returned back to the UK, I definitely hope to return to Spain for
it – What a great end to my Year Abroad! It’s fair to say there are many more
things I’m looking forward to than those that I’m apprehensive of!
In
other news, the Olympics cannot be avoided right now. I thought the Opening
Ceremony was spectacular with my personal highlights being Mr Bean playing “Chariots
of Fire,” the Queen in her acting debut as a Bond Girl and the numerous Mary
Poppins characters, a childhood favourite of mine. It was an entertainment show
and VERY British, compared to the Beijing show which for me was somewhat of a
display of power and might. I’ll
definitely have to re-watch the ceremony on iPlayer as there is probably so
much I missed. Anyone who knows me will know of my lifelong hate of Sport,
whether participating or spectating (the former, especially.) However, I am currently engrossed by the
Olympics and have been enjoyed watching a number of sports, especially those that
Team GB is performing well in. I wonder what the closing ceremony will bring...
J
One Month To Go!!
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