La Fin De Ma Vie Chambérienne

My final week in France began with dinner with Beth, Alice and Ailie. Alice would be heading back to Italy for a few weeks and upon her return, I would have left Chambéry for Valencia while Beth would be Paris-bound. I had prepared some slices of fresh baguette with an assortment of pesto and meats, Ailie brought along a delicious pasta dish, Alice provided a chocolate fondant cake and Beth came along with a bottle of wine. We had a great chat about all that had happened over the Christmas period but saying goodbye to Alice was horribly sad and was the string of many over the next few days.

The final few days in Chambéry were uneventful – packing, cleaning, arranging paperwork for France and Spain and waiting for my final exam: French to English Translation. The morning of the exam (Tuesday,) I awoke rather early and noticed that it was lightly snowing, but did not think much of it. Soon after, the snow began to pour and pour and Chambéry was soon blanketed in 3 or 4 inches. As much as I wanted to walk over to Buisson Rond and sledge down the hill, I had to finish packing before getting ready for the exam.

On The Way To The Exam

Snow Covered Campus

Over Christmas, Hannah had a severe knee injury while skiing and so has had limited mobility. We left for the exam in plenty of time and caught the bus as there was no chance she would be able to walk up the hill and the snow didn’t help the situation either. The campus, being on top of a steep hill (near mountain?!) and though picturesque, it was challenging to navigate along to the sports hall where our exam was taking place. As most of my clothes and shoes had been taken home at Christmas, I had to resort to wearing a pair of Vans, meaning my feet were freezing and wet and the exam hall wasn’t much warmer either.

The exam system in France (or at least in Chambéry) is ridiculously relaxed compared to what I am used to in Cardiff. We were told to put our coats on the backs of our chairs and our bags to our sides and everybody was chatting away as if they were in a café or a social event – nothing compared to the strict silence of Cardiff. Even during the exam, there was an obvious hum of chat while the ‘invigilators’ were themselves chatting, reading or using their mobile phones – there was a distinct lack of importance. I also saw students leaving the exam within minutes of it starting. Whether it was because they found it impossible to complete or they had finished within minutes I don’t know, but the fact people were leaving so soon seemed weird, especially as there are set times in Cardiff when a student can leave the exam hall. Indeed, it was all a bit strange and it didn’t feel like an exam at all. It would be interesting to see the opinions of a French Student who spends some time in Cardiff – a shock to the system I would’ve thought, with regards to exam etiquette.

Following the exam and navigating ourselves back down the hill, I returned to my room to pack up my final bits and begin a deep clean of my little room. Despite the fact the apartment had been far from immaculate upon arrival, I didn’t want to leave anything that they could charge me for – I paid them 550eur prior to my arrival and this would be welcomed back while in Spain! After cooking my final meal and freshening up, I made my way to Pia’s room where everybody had decided to gather for some drinks as the first group of people leaving Chambéry were departing the next morning. While great to chill with everyone, it suddenly hit me that I was ACTUALLY leaving – Five months ago I had arrived and met all of these new people and now, after building such strong bonds and creating so many memories, I had to say goodbye and go to Spain to do it all again. It was sad, very sad. I just hope to see everyone again whether it be in France, Spain or back home in the UK- there’re some very special friendships that I want to maintain.  It was especially weird saying goodbye to Alex, Hannah and Anya. We had met up in Bath over the summer and when saying goodbye, we realised the next time we’d see each other would be in France. Now we were saying goodbye to reconvene in Valencia – time has passed so quickly!

 

With Alex

 

Me, Lauren & Beth

After a mere 3 hours sleep, I awoke on Wednesday morning to pack my final bits, ensure my room was spotless and I hadn’t forgotten anything before locking up my room for the last time. Ailie, Jessie and Pia had awoken to say goodbye to Catrin and so I had the chance to say bye to them again, I popped my keys in Anya’s mailbox (she would be witnessing my room inspection as I wouldn’t be around,) and at 6.30am Beth, Jaime, Catrin and I began our journey. There was a thick layer of ice on the pavements, causing Beth to slip and fall in a dramatic but hilarious fashion and the image kept me continually amused during the hour bus journey to Geneva airport while the others slept. At Check-In, I discovered that my suitcase was 2kg overweight (even though Hannah’s scales had given the rough idea that it was 3kg underweight!) The lady asked me if I wanted to take anything out bit I said that I would rather pay as my backpack was already full with books and my laptop (I thought putting heavy books in there would lighten my case...) and she seemed baffled that I wouldn’t even try and make my case later even though my bag was full too – I don’t know where she expected me to put things?! Catrin then came over and saw the problem, shouting at a man behind my check-in assistant to ‘Stop, Stop that bag!’ In a scene reminiscent of some emergency situation in a film, everybody turned to look as he stopped the conveyor belt behind the desks that carried the luggage away. Catrin had paid for extra weight which she had not used and so I was able to transfer a few items to her case and the weight of mine fell below the upper limit – success!  Thankfully the weather conditions had not affected our flight and after security we ate an American Breakfast before boarding our flight. There were some incredible views of the snow-capped mountains, a picturesque final image for this half of my Year Abroad.

 Beth Sleeping - Journey To Geneva 

 

View From The Plane

No sooner had we taken off than it was time to land in Bristol. We said goodbye to Jaime and Catrin, Beth and I made our way to Bristol Temple Meads. Time was tight but Beth’s scheduled train was delayed by a few minutes so we managed to get there just in time. Saying goodbye to her at Bristol was horrible as she was the last of the non-Cardiff group. Catrin and I then caught a train to Cardiff where we said goodbye to each other and she left the station while I caught a connecting service back home to Swansea.

And that was it. After nearly 5 incredible months in France, I am back at home and it is all over. I can honestly say I have had the BEST time, more so because I had very few expectations for my time there. Since being home, I’ve really been missing everyone back in Chambéry and I’ve also learnt that despite negatives which may have arisen from time to time, these are unimportant in the grand scheme of things and it is not them I will remember when I think back to my time in Chambéry – this is a feeling I hope to take with me to Spain and so when something does go wrong, I shouldn’t dwell on it too much and I have to just take it as a small drop in an ocean of amazing memories. With a blog consisting of 29,000 words and over 1000 photos from France, there’s plenty to remember fondly.

I have 11 days left at home before I catch a train to London to stay with Rachel the night before my departure to Spain. This is exactly what I did before going to France and it will no doubt be some sort of déjà-vu experience. Getting up at a ridiculous hour on the 1^st February, I am scheduled to catch a 04.30am train to Gatwick Airport where I will fly to Valencia, arriving at 11am. As with France, I am now ensuring I have all of my documents, bookings and plans are set and eventually, I will have to pack my suitcase. The temperature is currently late teens/early 20s in Valencia – there’ll be little need for any jumpers or winter clothing and so hopefully my suitcase won’t be too early.

I’m trying not to get too settled back into British life as I’ll be jetting off in just a few days but as I’m not working, I am just seeing friends and saying goodbye, again, for the second part of my Year Abroad. Naturally there are a few nerves, mainly with regards to my flatmates but I know once I have safely arrived and am in my little Spanish room, I can relax and commence my Spanish life.

12 Days and Counting – Spain has a lot to live up to...

Adieu 2012, Salut 2013.

Bonne Année à tous!

After a relatively mild 2 weeks in the UK for Christmas, Chambéry is feeling particularly chilly – especially taking into consideration that the majority of my warm winter clothing is now hanging in my wardrobe at home while I am back in France.

I had a great Christmas at home – I worked most days and it was great to be back with the gang, it’s as if I had never been away and I spent many evenings catching up with friends having drinks, meals or just chilled evenings. Work was hectic, as Christmas always is, but I seem to thrive off the running around and I spent New Year’s Eve in Cardiff with Kelly, complete with Fish and Chips & Dominos Pizza. Nobody I spoke to wanted to come back to France, not because life is bad, but simply because they were settled back home, as was I. You can enjoy any place on earth, but perhaps, cliché excused, there really is no place like home. 

Four months after submitting my application, I returned to Chambs to find that I have FINALLY received CAF and saved some money from rent. They paid back the past few months which means I don’t have to pay a single euro this month – success! Ironically, Yesterday I went to CAF to tell them I’m leaving and no longer require the money from January... I’ve also arranged my room inspection with Arpej and spoken to the bank about how I close my account from Spain once I have received my deposit back from Arpej. A few days ago, Anya visited Virgin Mobile and the man working there wrote a letter for her to send, requesting that her contract be stopped. I visited yesterday and was greeted by the lady who I always see there, who told me it is not her job to write such letters and to go and way and do it myself – not exactly wonderful customer service, but I’ve sent an email and hopefully everything will be sorted quickly.

Over the past few days, I have received a few emails from second year language students at Cardiff asking me questions about my year abroad, studying at a university and Chambéry itself. I’ve sent detailed replies along with a link to my blog for a wider picture of all things Chambérienne.. I’ve hopefully told them lots of things I would’ve liked to have known before selecting my Year Abroad choices, and perhaps made Chambéry more appealing than I thought it was this time last year. It’s crazy to think this time last year I’d never heard of this place, and now I have been living here for 5 months.

On Monday, Anya, Naomi and I had lunch in a restaurant at Les Halles. We had probably passed hundreds of times over the past few months, but it wasn’t until Monday that we decided to try it out – it was incredible. Anya had the most attractive salad I had ever seen while a steak filled me up as I had no food in my room. I had a dessert which consisted of several elements: crème anglaise (a light custard,) a chocolate fondant cake, cream, mango coulis, kiwi fruit and meringue – Incredible! 

That evening we decided to eat out too – a trip to Bangkok, a Thai Restaurant. I enjoyed my meal though Anya had a slight altercation with the waitress. She asked for sweet chilli sauce but was provided with sweet and sour sauce with her salad starter. She then requested soy sauce twice with her main meal, to which the lady replied she would go and get it.... but it never came. After asking a third time, the waitress informed Anya that they did not have soy sauce as they do not use it in Thailand. In response, Anya said she had visited several times, and each time had been provided with soy sauce. A few minutes later, the waitress returned with soy sauce. Weird... perhaps they were running low that day?!

The rest of this week will consist of admin, emails, letters, and paperwork for both France and Spain. My last exam is next Tuesday (translation) and I am flying back to the UK Wednesday morning with Catrin, Jaime and Beth. Everyone has their last exam on Tuesday and hopefully we’ll all gather in the evening to say goodbyes as some of us leave for our next Year Abroad country while the others spend another semester in France.

While it’s weird to think that 5 months have passed and my time here is nearly over, the thought that I will be living in Spain in a mere 3 weeks time is even more alien a concept. However with temperatures of 18 degrees in early January, I’m sure it’ll be appealing enough!

Here’s to the final week of ma vie française.
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