Belle

How beautiful is my home? Best end to a day chatting French with my teacher and neighbours :-) Bisous x

Je mange pas de la viande!!!!

Ok, so I knew that being a vegetarian in France would be a bit of a challenge. They are known for being meat eaters. They even eat snails and frogs rather than munch down on a tomato. But today my worst nightmare became a reality. The other assistants (Manuela and Guillermo) and I decided that today was the day we would all finally use our 3 euro canteen cards and break our eating in the canteen virginity. In France, however, lunch is never just a sandwich or a salad. Not even a baguette! Nope here it is a starter, a salad, a hot main meal and a dessert (with bread on the side évidemment). I can guess what you're thinking. "That's brilliant, Maisie! So much food and such amazing value!" Well a) I'm not sure how you knew how good value it was seeing as I forgot to mention that each meal costs 2.50 Euros. and b) not when the meal is ALWAYS meat. Now I'm not a fussy vegetarian. I'm, technically speaking, a pescatarian. I eat fish. I don't insist on things being cooked or kept in seperate areas to meat products. I'll even pick the meat out of a dish or eat around it. But when I smile amicably at the chef and he then hands me a plate with a steamiing RABBIT carcass on it, I draw the line. I have a rabbit at home. His name is Bertie. He hops around and eats carrots and does rabbity things. Needless to say I literally gagged my way through my salad and little bits of pasta before I gave up completely. The other assistants found this highly amusing. Therefore, it seems I will be surviving the rest of the year on my cheese, bread and rondelé stash. I still have 14.60 euros on my canteen card. I thought maybe I could just skip out the meat parts of the meals. That works fine...but tomorrow the meal is chciken and carrots. I'll stick with rondelé (which by the way is one of the best things about this country. Pure genius).

Bisous x

The first week

So this week (really it's only been 5 days but I'm bored so don't judge me) has been a bit up and down to say the very least! On the plus side I have met some really lovely people, managed to buy a French mobile, opened a French bank account and met a couple of my classes. I have been told I speak very good French twice by people. And I am speaking French regularly at my lycée and with the other assistants here. However, there have been some black times. They have mainly revolved around the fact that I have no internet until today. Not too serious, I know, but when the Ethernet cable is there and plugged in but it still won't work... frustrating to say the least. Then the IT lady says 'oh yeh I need to change the Proxy address...voila'. Well yes brilliant but how on earth was I supposed to know that?! Anyway it's working now and the sun is shining here so I am happy! However, after visiting Marseille for three days to attend an administration day I have decided that I do not really like this town. For several reasons: a) it smells. Mainly of drains. Everywhere. b) I can not understand the accent very well and so I had a couple of 'smile and nod' moments which we language students are so fond of c) It's really ugly! No offence but even the museum had scaffolding all over it and the port was covered up my maintenance works. d) I ate a four cheese pizza that was FAR too cheesy for any human. Although, that's not really Marseille's fault... But we visited a cathedral which was very pretty. See below...

And we got to do fun 'Look what I'm eating' tourist photos. See below...

I'm trying to speak a lot of French and I am feeling more confident but it is also nice because there is a group of English students living around the corner so I can talk to them in English too to discuss issues that I do not have the French vocab for (eg. relationship dilemnas and guess the animal games...). But I should really try to stop speaking English. But I can't help it, it comes naturally after all! Hey ho, the French lives on and I am speaking it everyday and people UNDERSTAND me and I UNDERSTAND them. So I must be doing something right! Bisous x

Ma Chambre

I told you pictures would arrive sooner or later. It has taken me a while to work out how to connect with the internet (don't ask) but at last here we are...

Voila! My pretty bed (complete with Clarence the resident teddy bear)

The little kitchen

The side (including lucky biscuits courtesy of the Fenwick Family)

My desk kitted out to remind me of all my lovely friends and family

And heres the best bit...THE VIEW! Bisous x