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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