Bienvenue en France

Bonjour de France et bienvenue sur mon blog! So here I am, sitting in my little studio apartment in Chambéry as day three comes to a close and they’ve been a crazy three days! There is a lot to tell.

I experienced a little mishap in London when my suitcase decided to break (better it be in Paris than London though?) Alas, I had to go back out and buy myself some new luggage and £85 later I had a new suitcase and a large hiking-style sort of bag. I was staying with my friend Rachel for the night and we’d come to the conclusion that my second case had been too heavy and so thought it was best to spread the weight out. We went to a lovely Italian restaurant where I had bruschetta followed by a chicken and mushroom risotto accompanied by some white wine and it was a lovely dish to be the final on British soil for quite a while!

That night I didn’t sleep very well at all. All of my nerves and excitement of previous nights had all vanished and now I just wanted to get out on the road and complete the journey. I met another Cardiff student, Jaime, at Kings Cross St Pancras and we boarded our 8.30am London – Paris gare du Nord Eurostar service where I was very excited!

 

Departure Time!

 

Somehow, our Eurostar was 15 minutes late into Paris which meant that our already short hour to travel between train stations there was cut down to 45. As we were getting off the Eurostar we were talking to 2 American girls who were also coming to Chambéry but we lost them at the station while there was another girl from Liverpool who was making her way to Martinique for her year abroad! We jumped into a taxi and here came the first French words to be uttered... “Gare de Lyon, s’il vous plaît.” The taxi driver was such a cool guy and being the first person I’d talked to in French, put me at so much ease and built some confidence. We discussed where we were from, where we were going and what we were studying. He had French rap music on and asked if we could understand, to which I replied ‘only the odd word.’ He then put American rap music on and asked the same question, to which I provided the same response. He said this song by Jay-Z and Kanye West but didn’t know what a certain word meant. He wrote it down; it said ‘church’ to which I told him it’s an ‘église.’ I’d only been speaking French for 5 minutes and was already translating for native French speaks.. Amazing!

We eventually arrived into Chambéry to the sight of glorious rain. London and Paris had been so sunny, I couldn’t believe we’d come all this way to be greeted with the same weather Wales treated us to all year around. Nevertheless, we took another taxi to Arpej, the name of the private University halls which would be home for the next 5 months. “Mr Arpej,” as I like to call the man on the reception desk showed me around and to my room, filled in the inventory for me and then left me to make myself at home. It was so surreal to actually be here, after the weeks, months and years of waiting. I first went to find Alex, Hannah & Anya as I hadn’t seen them in several weeks and I then unpacked and began to make the place feel like home with some photos and the Welsh flag given to me by the Animals. Luckily, the previous tenant had left behind some cutlery and crockery. I inspected which I would be willing to use and after washing them, they were good as new, and that saved me some Euros! My room is large and spacious with a balcony and various mountains can be seen between other buildings – a beautiful sight. I bet it’ll be spectacular when the snow starts to fall!  

 

 

 

 

That evening Alex, her dad (Mr Hine,) Jaime, Hannah and I went to an Italian restaurant for dinner; A salad, a hugeeeee pizza and chocolate profiteroles – yummy! It was time to go and get some much needed sleep...

Saturday started out with Alex, Jaime and I having a little wander and getting breakfast from a patisserie followed by a trip with Hannah to Carrefour, a HUGE supermarket and the French equivalent of a Tesco Extra store where I bought some food and more items for my room such as a knife, another pillow, a blanket and cushion and some stationary. One thing I have noticed here is things are weirdly priced. For example, a litre of milk cost me 40p while 15 black bags came to the grand total of £2.30... madness! I’m generally quite surprised of prices here though as I thought it’d be relatively cheaper than Paris for example, as Swansea is the cheaper cousin of London. We also took a quick visit to the local market which sold a plethora of meats and cheeses and vegetables and so will have to return next week for a proper look around. We also visited the tourist information office and took some leaflets on markets and events and other things that happen in and around the region.

Saturday evening Anya, Hannah & I took a spontaneous visit to Charly’s, the most popular student bar which just happens to be seconds across the road and opposite our accommodation. Seeing as most students are yet to arrive, the bar was filled to near capacity and it was quite daunting as Anya tried to order drinks but could barely be heard, let alone the fact it was all being done in French! We seemed to get by however, and it was not a bad first experience of French night life.

I didn’t sleep much on Sunday night due to being ill, I’d obviously eaten something bad during the day and my body didn’t like it too much. Hannah came to see if I was ok and i slept from around 9am until 3pm. I felt better than I had done but I was drained of all energy. I was so hungry but couldn’t move to cook. Another issue is that NOTHING opens on a Sunday, no shops nor pharmacies and so that didn’t help the situation either. Thankfully three of my best friends here. Alex, Han & Anya came down to my room to cheer me up and tell me everything would be ok as I really wanted to go home. Hannah made me some scrambled egg on bread (we have no way of toasting things..) and I managed to stomach it which was a good sign. I then slept some more and made myself some mushrooms on bread which filled me up a little more. The four girls did a test walk to University today which I am sad I couldn’t go on as the sun had actually come out too, but at least we’ll know the way tomorrow!!

 

It’s now Sunday evening and I’m feeling 100% better. We have a French language test at 9am tomorrow to put us into groups for the 2 weeks intensive language and cultural course which will hopefully be an opportunity to meet lots of new people from lots of different places. Halls have been quite quiet so far as lectures don’t start for another 3 weeks but perhaps things will slowly start to liven up.

I am already beginning to notice the stark contrast between British and French culture. It seems that it’s a faux-pas to speak on trains while the fashion here really is quite different, especially for a night out where everyone wears a hoody or something equivalent. A lot of people seem to be fascinated by my Vans shoes too, very few and far between compared to at home!

It’s 00.23am here in Chambéry and I have to be in Uni for 9am so I’d better get some sleep and ensure I’m 100% better. Here’s to the first full week in France!