I have successfully finished semester 1 of final year. To be honest, I have only had one assessment that is graded and counts towards my degree, which went quite well, even though I had hoped I would have gotten a higher mark.
At the moment I am back at home in Bristol with my parents. Because of my year abroad I havn't been at home a lot, and the most amount of time I had in this house since June was 4 hours, so it feels really strange to stay here.
On a good point, being at home means free food, fast and reliable internet connection, and a nice and warm house! And my bed is super-comfy.
I do have some work for uni to do over the Christmas period, but none of it is assessed. The modules I am doing this year are not really essay modules, which means that so far I am yet to even read a book for research. Most of my study has been learning new vocabulary words, grammar, and translation skills. I do however have a French interpreting exam in the second week of semester 2, so I need to revise phrases and word lists for that. Hopefully I will do well on it (I am aiming for at least a 2:1 grade).
I have no idea at what level my final degree will be. I know this final year is 75% of my degree, so I am trying to buckle down and study. My goal for all assessments is to get a minimum of 2:1 (at least 60%).
Wish me luck!
Saturday 19 December 2009
Thursday 12 November 2009
#58 - After Reading week
It is now week 7 in my term back at Birmingham for final year and it is quite a lot of work. Most of my classes are quite interesting and I enjoy them - such as translation and philology - but others are really quite difficult! Advanced Japanese is, well, advanced! I am having a little trouble understanding most of the classes, and there is a lot of learning of vocabulary and kanji.
French interpreting is also pretty stressful. It is interesting, but when you are given a sentence in English and have to translate it straight away into French (and vice versa) it is really tough. Often I forget what I was supposed to say so it is a little difficult! It made me think a bit about being an interpreter, which was something I considered after unviersity. I have decided it is not for me as it would be quite a high stress job. At the moment I am thinking about going into Translation, but I am still unsure.
Overall I really cannot predict how my degree will turn out. Translation either way is very difficult to grade as there is no definite right or wrong answer. Most of my studying has been just learning vocabulary and new words and trying to think of various ways to say things. It is tough but I think if I can keep it up then I will do quite well in my exams!
French interpreting is also pretty stressful. It is interesting, but when you are given a sentence in English and have to translate it straight away into French (and vice versa) it is really tough. Often I forget what I was supposed to say so it is a little difficult! It made me think a bit about being an interpreter, which was something I considered after unviersity. I have decided it is not for me as it would be quite a high stress job. At the moment I am thinking about going into Translation, but I am still unsure.
Overall I really cannot predict how my degree will turn out. Translation either way is very difficult to grade as there is no definite right or wrong answer. Most of my studying has been just learning vocabulary and new words and trying to think of various ways to say things. It is tough but I think if I can keep it up then I will do quite well in my exams!
Wednesday 7 October 2009
#57 - Return to England
My year abroad is now officially over. My last few days in Aachen were fun, and I was happy to spend some time with the friends there.
My journey back to England went smoothly. There were o big hiccups, so I still had everything on the other end! I had to go home and quickly pack up more clothes and book and all sorts to take straight up to uni and move in (as I had a meeting the next day). I am sharing a hosue with two other friends who do Japanese, and the house is actually quite good compared to the other houses inthe area we have seen.
It is currently week 2 in the semester and I have my timetable sorted. My classes are not too bad at the moment, apart from Japanese which is so very difficult! As my schedle stands at the moment, I have Mondays free! So I have an extra relaxing day which is great, and also mans I can get to work on some study things.
The next step is trying to find a part time job!
Although my year abroad is over, I will still update this blog about my studies and various things through the year. At this point in time I do not know what I want to do after I graduate (hopefully I will graduate!) so these entries could maybe help to think of the type of job I want to go into.
My journey back to England went smoothly. There were o big hiccups, so I still had everything on the other end! I had to go home and quickly pack up more clothes and book and all sorts to take straight up to uni and move in (as I had a meeting the next day). I am sharing a hosue with two other friends who do Japanese, and the house is actually quite good compared to the other houses inthe area we have seen.
It is currently week 2 in the semester and I have my timetable sorted. My classes are not too bad at the moment, apart from Japanese which is so very difficult! As my schedle stands at the moment, I have Mondays free! So I have an extra relaxing day which is great, and also mans I can get to work on some study things.
The next step is trying to find a part time job!
Although my year abroad is over, I will still update this blog about my studies and various things through the year. At this point in time I do not know what I want to do after I graduate (hopefully I will graduate!) so these entries could maybe help to think of the type of job I want to go into.
Monday 21 September 2009
#56 - Ruhrsee
This weekend me and a couple of friends decided to go on a small trip. As one of them was told by someone at their univeristy about a place with lakes and lovely scenery, we decided to go to Ruhrsee.
Although the weather was not the best (and thankfully it didn't rain) it was still a really nice place to visit. What I noticed the most was how quiet it seemed to be in the area. Just looking around makes you feel peaceful.
Ruhrsee is a small village on the bank of a river, which connects several lakes. We took a boat trip along one of them to a dam, which looked very interesting. It also had what looked like steps for a giant going down the side. Also, in the After higher area of the water stopped by the dam (I don't know the technical name for it) you could see the sun reflect in the water, and as it wasn't too bright and also because there were clouds, and also due to the stillness of the water, it looked as though there was something under the water glowing.
Going back and quickly having something to eat, we got on another boat and this time headed in an opposite direction, passing sailing boats and people swimming. Although the bus ride took almost 2 horus to get there, it was worth it. Perhaps I will visit there again for a week on holiday in the future, and swim and sail in the beauty!
Although the weather was not the best (and thankfully it didn't rain) it was still a really nice place to visit. What I noticed the most was how quiet it seemed to be in the area. Just looking around makes you feel peaceful.
Ruhrsee is a small village on the bank of a river, which connects several lakes. We took a boat trip along one of them to a dam, which looked very interesting. It also had what looked like steps for a giant going down the side. Also, in the After higher area of the water stopped by the dam (I don't know the technical name for it) you could see the sun reflect in the water, and as it wasn't too bright and also because there were clouds, and also due to the stillness of the water, it looked as though there was something under the water glowing.
Going back and quickly having something to eat, we got on another boat and this time headed in an opposite direction, passing sailing boats and people swimming. Although the bus ride took almost 2 horus to get there, it was worth it. Perhaps I will visit there again for a week on holiday in the future, and swim and sail in the beauty!Tuesday 15 September 2009
#55 - Berlin Weekend
As part of an excursion with the summercourse, I went on a trip this weekend to Berlin. I had never been to Berlin before, and so I wanted to see it as I had the chance.
On Friday morning at around 7am we left on the bus. The journey to Berlin took about 10 hours, so it felt very long! We arrived at our hostel in the east of Berlin which was actually quite nice. After a few rules from the hostel we shared out the rooms.
On Saturday there was a meeting at Checkpoint Charlie and then a tour organised for the afternoon. I missed otu on both of these due to getting lost on the train and then not being told where the meeting place for the tour was. Nevertheless I wandered around Berlin's 'centre' with a friend and saw most of what we wanted to see, and had fun too. In some ways I think going by ourselves was better, as we had more freedom than we would have on a 3 hour Stadtrundgang.
On Sunday we decided to go to Berlin Zoo. It is very big, and as we had no map of it we got lost very easily. It was quite relaxing to see all the animals, and in the Aquarium it was interesting to see the fish and other water creatures. Unfortunately my battery in my camera ran out just as we arrived at the aquarium so I have very little photos of that!
In the end we ended up having to rush both the Zoo and Aquarium because we were going to join the 4pm boat tour organised for us. Of course we missed this too, so spent a while sitting around Berlin Dome while a small brass band (possibly from a school) started to play music. We eventually
met up with the others who went on the tour and followed them (lead by one of the teachers) onto the train and to another part of Berlin. I do not know why we went there, as it consisted of an hour or more just walking around the streets. The only sights to see were Turkish restaurants and the odd quasi-interesting poster on the side of a building. So after reaching a U-Bahn station, I left the group, and because it was getting fairly late evening, went back to the hostel.
Monday morning we had to leave our rooms by 10. As the bus was arriving at 13, I went on a small walk around the area. We headed along the main street just to see what was there, and eventually found ourselves exploring a cemetery, which sounds really grim, but it was actually really interesting. There were of course headstones there, but a little further in and under the older trees and plants were big family graves. It also turned out that the little church in the middle I wanted to take a look at was not a church at all but another big (and no doubt expensive) family tomb!
The bus ride back to Aachen was so long and uncomfortable. It didn't help that the woman in front of me put her seat right back as far as it would go, basically giving me no space to sit. She didn't even lay back on the seat, but she led on the bottom part of it across 2 seats, so why she needed the extra flatness I do not know! And when she wasn't laying down, she sat upright and read magazines!
On Friday morning at around 7am we left on the bus. The journey to Berlin took about 10 hours, so it felt very long! We arrived at our hostel in the east of Berlin which was actually quite nice. After a few rules from the hostel we shared out the rooms.
On Saturday there was a meeting at Checkpoint Charlie and then a tour organised for the afternoon. I missed otu on both of these due to getting lost on the train and then not being told where the meeting place for the tour was. Nevertheless I wandered around Berlin's 'centre' with a friend and saw most of what we wanted to see, and had fun too. In some ways I think going by ourselves was better, as we had more freedom than we would have on a 3 hour Stadtrundgang.
On Sunday we decided to go to Berlin Zoo. It is very big, and as we had no map of it we got lost very easily. It was quite relaxing to see all the animals, and in the Aquarium it was interesting to see the fish and other water creatures. Unfortunately my battery in my camera ran out just as we arrived at the aquarium so I have very little photos of that!In the end we ended up having to rush both the Zoo and Aquarium because we were going to join the 4pm boat tour organised for us. Of course we missed this too, so spent a while sitting around Berlin Dome while a small brass band (possibly from a school) started to play music. We eventually
met up with the others who went on the tour and followed them (lead by one of the teachers) onto the train and to another part of Berlin. I do not know why we went there, as it consisted of an hour or more just walking around the streets. The only sights to see were Turkish restaurants and the odd quasi-interesting poster on the side of a building. So after reaching a U-Bahn station, I left the group, and because it was getting fairly late evening, went back to the hostel.Monday morning we had to leave our rooms by 10. As the bus was arriving at 13, I went on a small walk around the area. We headed along the main street just to see what was there, and eventually found ourselves exploring a cemetery, which sounds really grim, but it was actually really interesting. There were of course headstones there, but a little further in and under the older trees and plants were big family graves. It also turned out that the little church in the middle I wanted to take a look at was not a church at all but another big (and no doubt expensive) family tomb!
The bus ride back to Aachen was so long and uncomfortable. It didn't help that the woman in front of me put her seat right back as far as it would go, basically giving me no space to sit. She didn't even lay back on the seat, but she led on the bottom part of it across 2 seats, so why she needed the extra flatness I do not know! And when she wasn't laying down, she sat upright and read magazines!
Wednesday 9 September 2009
#54 - Maastricht
On the weekend I went with a small group of us from the summer course on a day trip to Maastricht. It doesn't take very long on the bus, and the return ticket only costs 5 Euro so it was quite cheap!
Maastricht Main Train Station
Maastricht as a town was very nice. There are quite a lot old building facades and the river is also a nice sight. The weather helped a lot by being very sunny and warm! We took a walk around the centre and town area, looking at the lots of shops they have. Most of them are quite expensive though so nobody bought anything!
We did have some waffles there, and they were delicious! I asked for a chocolate one, and basically to make that you take a normal waffle and push chocolate sticks into the middle of it, and the heat from the waffle melts it a little after a while. The smell of them as you walk down the street is amazing!
Maastricht Main Train Station
We did have some waffles there, and they were delicious! I asked for a chocolate one, and basically to make that you take a normal waffle and push chocolate sticks into the middle of it, and the heat from the waffle melts it a little after a while. The smell of them as you walk down the street is amazing!
#53 - first week of second month in Aachen
The new classes began on the 3rd of September. That also happened to be my birthday. What a lovely way to celebrate!
There are much less people on the course this year, and almost everyone will be continuing to study in Aachen or another german city for a semester or longer (as part of ERASMUS etc). There are a lot of French here! There were none last month.
The course seemed to have given up using the language grading system for classes (for example, I was in M2 which is basically middle level). Instead we have groups - gruppe 1, gruppe 2 and so on up to gruppe 5. I was placed into gruppe 4 even though the course directer said she would put me into Oberstufe, but today I switched from Gruppe 4 into Gruppe 5, which is much more of my level and similar to university now (reading texts, listening exercises etc).
There are a few more people that have stayed from the first month into this one than I had originally thought! It helps a lot to already know some people, so I don't have to completely have a new circle of friends/acquaintances.
So far the course is going well, there are no problems. I am going on one of the excursions offered for this month, as the other two are the same as in last month. On Friday morning I will be leaving (with a surprisingly small group of students) to travel to Berlin by bus. I think the journey is about 10 hours, so it seems further from Aachen than Paris! I do not yet know what the course is planned to offer in terms of tours or activities for Berlin, but we will be there a few days so it should be a good time. I am looking forward to it, I've not been in Berlin before!
There are much less people on the course this year, and almost everyone will be continuing to study in Aachen or another german city for a semester or longer (as part of ERASMUS etc). There are a lot of French here! There were none last month.
The course seemed to have given up using the language grading system for classes (for example, I was in M2 which is basically middle level). Instead we have groups - gruppe 1, gruppe 2 and so on up to gruppe 5. I was placed into gruppe 4 even though the course directer said she would put me into Oberstufe, but today I switched from Gruppe 4 into Gruppe 5, which is much more of my level and similar to university now (reading texts, listening exercises etc).
There are a few more people that have stayed from the first month into this one than I had originally thought! It helps a lot to already know some people, so I don't have to completely have a new circle of friends/acquaintances.
So far the course is going well, there are no problems. I am going on one of the excursions offered for this month, as the other two are the same as in last month. On Friday morning I will be leaving (with a surprisingly small group of students) to travel to Berlin by bus. I think the journey is about 10 hours, so it seems further from Aachen than Paris! I do not yet know what the course is planned to offer in terms of tours or activities for Berlin, but we will be there a few days so it should be a good time. I am looking forward to it, I've not been in Berlin before!
Tuesday 25 August 2009
#52 - end of the first month
Today was the last day that I will see most of the people from the summer course this month, as they are leaving. Classes have ended, and today most of our groups met in a cafe near the centre to eat breakfast. I also recieved a certificate from my teacher with my grade on for this month (A 1,0 :D ) and also a copy of our class diary.
After we had finished there and said some goodbyes to people, I went shopping for clothes! I have no washing machine in my building for me and no laudrette is near me...so I bought new clothes instead, to avoid washing. Does that make me an awfully lazy person?
After we had finished there and said some goodbyes to people, I went shopping for clothes! I have no washing machine in my building for me and no laudrette is near me...so I bought new clothes instead, to avoid washing. Does that make me an awfully lazy person?
#51 - A German Paris
On the weekend of 22 and 23 August we went on our last excursion for this month's summer course to Paris. It was a fairly long bus journey but we got there safely. We had to share rooms in groups of 3 in a hotel room which went alright.
Birds fly by the church at Les Invalides
When we arrived on the bus in the first day we straightaway picked up a guide and then proceeded to drive around the city having a tour, which was kind of interesting but I would have really preferred to maybe get off the bus seeing as we had bee on it all morning! After we had finished that and put our things in our rooms then I went with a small group to the centre area Ile de Paris. We then walked aroud to all major monuments (even though we had a day ticket for the metro but nobody wanted to listen to me the several times I brought this up). It was alright, but I had seen all this before, and we basically did exactly the same as we had done earlier on the bus! It was a little useful however because as it got dark the monuments were lit up so I had an opportuity to photograph them!
Sacré-Cœur Basilica
On the Sunday I went north to Monmartre because this was an area I hadn't visited before, and I wanted to visit the Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge. They were both very interesting but it was so hot and sunny out! And of course that means I got a little burnt - but not too much!
The ride back felt a lot shorter but maybe it was because I wasn't tired as much. Lots of people were making noise though, and the younger ones playing loud music for a few hours and past midnight, much to the annoyance of the guy I was sat next to!
This is the second time I have visited Paris now, and I think I have seen all I want to see. I know the layout fairly well now!
Birds fly by the church at Les Invalides
Sacré-Cœur BasilicaOn the Sunday I went north to Monmartre because this was an area I hadn't visited before, and I wanted to visit the Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge. They were both very interesting but it was so hot and sunny out! And of course that means I got a little burnt - but not too much!
The ride back felt a lot shorter but maybe it was because I wasn't tired as much. Lots of people were making noise though, and the younger ones playing loud music for a few hours and past midnight, much to the annoyance of the guy I was sat next to!
This is the second time I have visited Paris now, and I think I have seen all I want to see. I know the layout fairly well now!
Tuesday 18 August 2009
#50 - Öcher Bend
On Monday evening I went with most of my class and another to meet at Bendplatz in Aachen. Here Öcher Bend was being held. Öcher Bend is a fairground that happens about twice a year in Aachen (Öcher means Aachener in Aachen dialect). It was a really good time even though I only went on two rides!
There were various food stalls too and I had this long meat on a stick that they called Piratespeiss which was nice, but unfortunatly when I went back later they had run out!There was one ride (the one you can see in the second piture on the left hand side) which was great fun, but also really scary - not because it was intense, but because it was kinda of extremely dangerous! It spins around fast and tilts, and then also bounces, so you are thrown in the air. The only way to stay on the ride is to grip tightly to the railings...
Sunday 16 August 2009
#49 - Second excursion: Amsterdam
After some self deliberation, I decided to move into a higher group in my lessons. It is much more difficult and mainly consists of reading passages and answering questions, which I think is good. As fun as the other group was, it was just too easy and slow for me.
On Saturday was the excursion to Amsterdam. Leaving on a bus in the morning from Aachen, we arrived at about midday near Amsterdam main train station. There were a few options we could choose to dο - various museum visits - and I ended up going to the Van Gogh Museum. I wasn't terribly interested in it but I went inside, but was disappointed when I found out that you are not allowed to take any pictures inside.
Later in the afternoon we went on a boat cruise around the canals with some information about the city (in German, of course). It was a nice trip, although the boat had no solid roof so I was in the sun almost the whole time and now I am a little more tanned around my neck! After the boat trip I went with a few other students to eat and then to wander around a few of the shops still open.
I am not sure what to make of Amsterdam. It did have some nice parts to it, but I think I was put off by the museums - or especially the ones told to us by the summercourse. I didn't really have an interest in them. Also there were lots of people so it was a bit claustrophobic at times. Nevertheless I would like another chance to go and spend more than one day there to really get to know the place, as our time was very limited.
On Saturday was the excursion to Amsterdam. Leaving on a bus in the morning from Aachen, we arrived at about midday near Amsterdam main train station. There were a few options we could choose to dο - various museum visits - and I ended up going to the Van Gogh Museum. I wasn't terribly interested in it but I went inside, but was disappointed when I found out that you are not allowed to take any pictures inside.
Later in the afternoon we went on a boat cruise around the canals with some information about the city (in German, of course). It was a nice trip, although the boat had no solid roof so I was in the sun almost the whole time and now I am a little more tanned around my neck! After the boat trip I went with a few other students to eat and then to wander around a few of the shops still open.
I am not sure what to make of Amsterdam. It did have some nice parts to it, but I think I was put off by the museums - or especially the ones told to us by the summercourse. I didn't really have an interest in them. Also there were lots of people so it was a bit claustrophobic at times. Nevertheless I would like another chance to go and spend more than one day there to really get to know the place, as our time was very limited.
Sunday 9 August 2009
#48 - First excursion: Cologne and Bonn
Yesterday, Saturday, we had our first organised excursion with the summercourse. We have to arrive at the FH and wait for a bus to come to drive us to Cologne, which takes somewhere around an hour. When we arrived there, we were presented with two options: we could either decide to climb to the top of the Koelner Dom (Cologne's giant catherderale) or we could go to the Schokolade Museum, as there was not enough time to do both activities.Naturally, I chose to go to the chocolate museum.
It was quite interesting and had all the usual
information about how chocolate is made, where it comes from, a history of chocolate making. No free smaples though, apart from a small square when you enter, and some melted chocoalte on a wafer. I took quite a few pictures here, until I had ran my battery out!After we leaft the museum I wandered around outside where they had a small market like thing, and so I bought and ate some tarte flambee/flammenkueche and also had a crepe, although it wasn't very nice.
After a short bus ride we arrived in Bonn. We didn't see much/any of the city, but we went to the Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. This is a huge museum all about the history of Germany from 1945 to present day. We had a guided tour (in German of course) and we wore little headsets. I thought it would be a bit boring, but it turned out to be quite interesting so I am glad.
I will upload some pictures to this entry later on after I have charged my camera a bit to get them onto my computer!
Friday 7 August 2009
#47 - end of Aachen first week
This week I had various things to do. One of the first things was the placement test. When I applied I suggested I would be in group B2 but after my test the lady suggested I should be in M1 which I agreed to try because I think they do more speaking in class which is what I need to work on. My writing is absolutely fine!
I have met a lot of cool and interesting people so far, from various countries, much like when I was in Nancy. We have had a couple of welcome party like things which is cool. We also went on a game around the town where we had to find out information about various sites and buidlings etc! Here are some photos I took of Aachen:
The lessons are ok, but the class I am in is too easy for me, and I have learned all the grammar we are doing before. If it doesn't get harder next week then I am going to move up a set.
Tomorrow is our first excursions to Cologne and to Bonn, which should be interesting. The forecast says it might rain, but at any rate it seems as if it will be cooler than it is now! It is too hot! At least I can see clouds outside my window now, I havn't seen clouds in days.
I have met a lot of cool and interesting people so far, from various countries, much like when I was in Nancy. We have had a couple of welcome party like things which is cool. We also went on a game around the town where we had to find out information about various sites and buidlings etc! Here are some photos I took of Aachen:
The lessons are ok, but the class I am in is too easy for me, and I have learned all the grammar we are doing before. If it doesn't get harder next week then I am going to move up a set.Tomorrow is our first excursions to Cologne and to Bonn, which should be interesting. The forecast says it might rain, but at any rate it seems as if it will be cooler than it is now! It is too hot! At least I can see clouds outside my window now, I havn't seen clouds in days.
Tuesday 4 August 2009
#46 - Aachen, Germany!
I am now in Aachen for the start of my German summer course! I will be here for 2 months so I hope it will be a good time!
I have not started lessons yet as we will be having a placement test on Wednesday, where I will hopfully meet other students of the course. For today and yesterday, I was taken to where I will be staying. They told me I was in a special room, because I was going to be there for 2 months. I thought it would be student accommodation - it turns out I am staying in a room in a flat that a girl rented out for 2 months when she is not here, sharing with 2 Germans! I don't know if we will be close, but my room is fairly big and its nice, so I am happy.
I have been given a form that has the different trips for each weekend planned, and I have to tick whether I want to go or not (for an extra cost of course). There are 3 trips planned: to Cologne and Bonn, to Amsterdam, and to Paris. I havn't made up my mind yet if I want to do them all, but I think I will end up doing them anyway!
Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the placement test, and after a reception and lunch, there is a "Rallye" planned around Aachen. From what I can make out, it is a kind of game where we will walk around the city and look for different things, which sounds quite fun. Then classes will begin on Thursday.
Seeing as I have internet in my room, I will have enough time to update this I think!
I have not started lessons yet as we will be having a placement test on Wednesday, where I will hopfully meet other students of the course. For today and yesterday, I was taken to where I will be staying. They told me I was in a special room, because I was going to be there for 2 months. I thought it would be student accommodation - it turns out I am staying in a room in a flat that a girl rented out for 2 months when she is not here, sharing with 2 Germans! I don't know if we will be close, but my room is fairly big and its nice, so I am happy.
I have been given a form that has the different trips for each weekend planned, and I have to tick whether I want to go or not (for an extra cost of course). There are 3 trips planned: to Cologne and Bonn, to Amsterdam, and to Paris. I havn't made up my mind yet if I want to do them all, but I think I will end up doing them anyway!
Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the placement test, and after a reception and lunch, there is a "Rallye" planned around Aachen. From what I can make out, it is a kind of game where we will walk around the city and look for different things, which sounds quite fun. Then classes will begin on Thursday.
Seeing as I have internet in my room, I will have enough time to update this I think!
#45 - Nancy, France
Excuse me for the massive delay in posting, but I didn't have proper internet access in France, and was never given time to use it anyway!
The summer course at Nancy was amazing. I met so many nice people from all over the globe and will try to stay in touch with all of them. The animateurs for the course were really friendly and fun to be around. The city of Nancy is also quite nice, with beautiful buildings, and Place Stanislas is a square in town surrounded by cafes and shops, and at night there is a light and sound display against the Hotel de Ville which is spectacular!
On the university main campus
The organisation of the course was well thought out. There were various trips and weekends away (such as to Paris, Luxembourg, Val d'Isere and Vittel and the European Parliament). It was really nice to get to do these! The classes themselves were not too difficult. I was in the top advanced group but because of the variety of levels of French, it was mostly like revision. I had a selection of classes I could do in different areas such as literature or language. The teachers were really nice and it was all very informal so I felt relaxed.
Hotel de Ville at night in Place Stanislas
I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn some, or to brush up on their French! Here is the website that I applied through:
The summer course at Nancy was amazing. I met so many nice people from all over the globe and will try to stay in touch with all of them. The animateurs for the course were really friendly and fun to be around. The city of Nancy is also quite nice, with beautiful buildings, and Place Stanislas is a square in town surrounded by cafes and shops, and at night there is a light and sound display against the Hotel de Ville which is spectacular!
On the university main campus
Hotel de Ville at night in Place Stanislashttp://www.france-summercourses.com/
One thing to note if you travel to France: take care travelling through Charles De Gaulle airport. I went through there twice for Nancy (and once for Strasbourg). 3 times out of 3 they lost my luggage or didn't put it on my flight, meaning I had no clothes for the first half a week in Nancy!
Thursday 25 June 2009
#44 - the wait is ... over?
I havn't had an e-mail or letter from my university yet about the board meeting.
But, under my results section when i log onto my uni page, I have got a 60 for my Japanese part of the year abroad, and a 40 (the minimum pass mark!) for the French part. And then above that it says that the Exam Board recommend that I continue into the next year.
So...I assume that I have been let into final year on the condition of completing my summer courses and been given a pass mark in exchange! Which would be good news!
Also, now I can apply for my student loans...if only they had a working website! There is no way for me to actually apply for anything there, and according to the council, the website will never work so I have no idea how people are supposed to apply for tuition and maintenance loans!
Going to Nancy on Saturday! Need to pack!!!
But, under my results section when i log onto my uni page, I have got a 60 for my Japanese part of the year abroad, and a 40 (the minimum pass mark!) for the French part. And then above that it says that the Exam Board recommend that I continue into the next year.
So...I assume that I have been let into final year on the condition of completing my summer courses and been given a pass mark in exchange! Which would be good news!
Also, now I can apply for my student loans...if only they had a working website! There is no way for me to actually apply for anything there, and according to the council, the website will never work so I have no idea how people are supposed to apply for tuition and maintenance loans!
Going to Nancy on Saturday! Need to pack!!!
Wednesday 17 June 2009
#43 - the wait goes on
I still havn't heard from Birmingham about the meeting yet, so I can assume it hasn't yet happened.
I am not sure whether I want to hear the news before I go to France for a summer course end of this month or not. If it is good news then I will have a great time away! If it is bad news then I might not.
This week would be a good time to book travel to Aachen and back, so I can be safe and not rush things in the week break I have between summer courses. Apparently my dad has enough air miles to get a flight for free so - good times!
I am not sure whether I want to hear the news before I go to France for a summer course end of this month or not. If it is good news then I will have a great time away! If it is bad news then I might not.
This week would be a good time to book travel to Aachen and back, so I can be safe and not rush things in the week break I have between summer courses. Apparently my dad has enough air miles to get a flight for free so - good times!
Thursday 4 June 2009
#42 - the wait
In a few weeks the meeting will be held at Birmigham in which the members will discuss my situation and decide whether it is acceptable for me to enter into final year or not, or if I would be required to once again study abroad in France. The guy in the French Department is going to recommend I be let in, after I complete my French and German summer courses, seeing as I have done my Japanese studies before and also completed all the essays and work I had to do.
I cannot stress enough how much I want his recommendation to be followed.
If I was not allowed to enter final year, then one of two things could happen.
The first would be having to the year abroad. This would mean at least 6 months study in France or another Francophonie country. Of course the downside with this is the cost. And also, because I already had an Erasmus grant and now am being told to pay it back (although they are investigating now due to some complications), I will not be allowed to apply for another one. Meaning I will have to fund this completely on my own.
The second option is to drop out of uni. Well, perhaps defer for a year or two or more. As I said, with no Erasmus grant it will make it harder on finances, especially considering the money that me and my parents are paying for the summer courses I will be doing, and of course not forgetting flights and travel. If I did defer, I am planning in my head to live in Birmingham somewhere and to get a job there, seeing as that is where I want to be and not in Bristol with parents. Plus, I really don't like Bristol...
Now just comes the wait.
Which is completely stressful.
I tend not to think about it, and I do feel quite scared that I might not be able to complete my degree.
Wish me luck.
I cannot stress enough how much I want his recommendation to be followed.
If I was not allowed to enter final year, then one of two things could happen.
The first would be having to the year abroad. This would mean at least 6 months study in France or another Francophonie country. Of course the downside with this is the cost. And also, because I already had an Erasmus grant and now am being told to pay it back (although they are investigating now due to some complications), I will not be allowed to apply for another one. Meaning I will have to fund this completely on my own.
The second option is to drop out of uni. Well, perhaps defer for a year or two or more. As I said, with no Erasmus grant it will make it harder on finances, especially considering the money that me and my parents are paying for the summer courses I will be doing, and of course not forgetting flights and travel. If I did defer, I am planning in my head to live in Birmingham somewhere and to get a job there, seeing as that is where I want to be and not in Bristol with parents. Plus, I really don't like Bristol...
Now just comes the wait.
Which is completely stressful.
I tend not to think about it, and I do feel quite scared that I might not be able to complete my degree.
Wish me luck.
Wednesday 13 May 2009
#41 - A way to Nancy
I have now booked my journey to and from Nancy. To get there I take a plane and then take the train from Paris, and the opposite on the way back! It will be a fairly long journey so I have to make sure I take enough to occupy myself !
Wednesday 6 May 2009
#40 - more confirmation
Today I received mail from Nancy! Yay! It basically says that my place has been reserved and some info about arriving and such things. If you want to look at the summer course I am doing, just click on the link below.
So now both my summer courses are confirmed, which is a good thing! All that is left is to make sure I have everything I need to go there!
Now I just have to be thinking about finding somewhere and somone to live with in Birmingham for next year...
So now both my summer courses are confirmed, which is a good thing! All that is left is to make sure I have everything I need to go there!
Now I just have to be thinking about finding somewhere and somone to live with in Birmingham for next year...
Tuesday 5 May 2009
#39 - Confirmation
I have recieved confirmation from the univeristy in Aachen and I have now completed the registration! I will be sent more information later on before I get to Germany. Click here if you want to find out more about the course: www.spraachen.de
As for France, I have applied online and sent off the initial deposit, but have heard nothing back (nothing at all) from Nancy. So I don't know if the online application worked. If I hear nothing by the end of the week then I am contacting them.
That's about it for now. Not much else has been happening concerning my year abroad other than that I have handed in and finished all my essays to Birmingham and hopefully I will get good marks!
That's about it for now. Not much else has been happening concerning my year abroad other than that I have handed in and finished all my essays to Birmingham and hopefully I will get good marks!
Thursday 23 April 2009
#38 - that was fast!
I have now got a place reserved at the summer course at Aachen. WOW! They responded the next day, so it was kind of really easy! Just a case of filling in a form! Now I just have to have my dad transfer money into the school's account and it will be all sorted! So in August I'm going to Germany - along with some cool weekend trips around Europe included in the course!
Also tonight we filled out the form for Nancy summer course. It was a simple form online and we paid a deposit. I hope that I will have a reply in my email by tomorrow, or at the very least by the end of the week.
During the next week I need to focus on some essays for my Japanese department. It is an essay of 3000 words in English and a project of 2000 Japanese characters. I have more or less done the first essay, I just have to think up what I want to write about for the Japanese one (comparing something in Japan to something in England). It is kind of hard to think about...
Also tonight we filled out the form for Nancy summer course. It was a simple form online and we paid a deposit. I hope that I will have a reply in my email by tomorrow, or at the very least by the end of the week.
During the next week I need to focus on some essays for my Japanese department. It is an essay of 3000 words in English and a project of 2000 Japanese characters. I have more or less done the first essay, I just have to think up what I want to write about for the Japanese one (comparing something in Japan to something in England). It is kind of hard to think about...
Monday 20 April 2009
#37 - Now we're getting somewhere...
Finally I am beginning to piece together how to actually do summer courses. I am going to be sent information from my uni about a summer course in Nancy in France, so I am just waiting for that.
As for German, it is a real pain. I have repeatedly asked the woman in charge in my German department and found nothing out except that I have to do everything on my own and apply to German universities. That is as much information as I have. I don't know if there are any time requirements or class requirements or anything. But I have written to a place in Aachen and I recieved an email back today saying they have a few places left, and I have an application form! So I will be filling this out today and hopefully getting a place! If not...well then there isn't any other courses I have foudn that I can do... So I really really really really really want to get into this one. I have been talking to a friend who is in Aachen at the moment and she seems to be having a good time, but did say that it is mainly a student town and not very touristy.
So. Things are generally starting to move. I jsut hope it goes more smoothly and nothing bad happens, because if it does, then it really will end my degree.
Wish me luck!
As for German, it is a real pain. I have repeatedly asked the woman in charge in my German department and found nothing out except that I have to do everything on my own and apply to German universities. That is as much information as I have. I don't know if there are any time requirements or class requirements or anything. But I have written to a place in Aachen and I recieved an email back today saying they have a few places left, and I have an application form! So I will be filling this out today and hopefully getting a place! If not...well then there isn't any other courses I have foudn that I can do... So I really really really really really want to get into this one. I have been talking to a friend who is in Aachen at the moment and she seems to be having a good time, but did say that it is mainly a student town and not very touristy.
So. Things are generally starting to move. I jsut hope it goes more smoothly and nothing bad happens, because if it does, then it really will end my degree.
Wish me luck!
Saturday 4 April 2009
#36 - checklist!
I have just today finished off and sent off in the post the essay and project I had to do for French for my year abroad. Which is great! I tried to spend as much time as I could thinking of valid points to put in and to make it good but we shall see how it turns out! Now I can relax a while before the end of the month when I have to send off my Japanese essay and project!!!
I should shortly receive information about a summer course in Nancy from my tutor. I thought it would be a good idea to go back to France for a little while (not back to Strasbourg) to make sure that my level of French is nice and steady.
I still havn't heard anything about applying for German summer course.
I should shortly receive information about a summer course in Nancy from my tutor. I thought it would be a good idea to go back to France for a little while (not back to Strasbourg) to make sure that my level of French is nice and steady.I still havn't heard anything about applying for German summer course.
Wednesday 18 March 2009
#35 - some good news
Following a meeting with a couple of people at Birmingham and with my dad also, I may have some assuring news! I am filing mitigations for my time in France with the doctor's note that will be ready tomorrow. My good news is that my French residency requirement could be waived, meaning that not going to Strasbourg not mean that I can't go into final year.
We have also been discussing whether or not I could or should do a summer course for France as well as Germany. I think it would be goodas I hardly spoke any French in Strasbourg and also to get hopefully a more happier end to 'France'. I should decide this week whether I would like to do one or not.
I also have a form for extension on my essay deadline which is Friday! I didn't have access to anything relevant in Strasborug as well, so I may request up to a month. In any case, I will not be able to finish it by then!
We have also been discussing whether or not I could or should do a summer course for France as well as Germany. I think it would be goodas I hardly spoke any French in Strasbourg and also to get hopefully a more happier end to 'France'. I should decide this week whether I would like to do one or not.
I also have a form for extension on my essay deadline which is Friday! I didn't have access to anything relevant in Strasborug as well, so I may request up to a month. In any case, I will not be able to finish it by then!
Monday 16 March 2009
#34 - woi!
I have been to see the doctor this morning about possible anxiety or depresseion. It runs in the family unfortunately. But he is going to write me a note that I can show to Birmingham uni about my time for France which helps because I am going to submit some mitigations, and hopefully have the French residency requirement waived. If not then it's almost certain that I will not be able to finish my degree. I am going back to Birmingham again tomorrow to speak with someone else in the French department and see if anything else has happened.
Essay deadline for French is soon, on Friday. I have done almost 500 words out of 3000. It is going slowly...but I am pleased with what I have written so far - even though it is only a very well written introduction to my essay!
Essay deadline for French is soon, on Friday. I have done almost 500 words out of 3000. It is going slowly...but I am pleased with what I have written so far - even though it is only a very well written introduction to my essay!
Friday 6 March 2009
#33 - Hmmmmnnnnn
I saw my French tutor to discuss what is going on at the moment regarding my degree. The possibility that is the most likely - almost certain is that I will not be allwoed to carry on French into next year, and will lose French from my degree completely. The effects on my German are not known yet. Some people are against me passing the year abroad as a whole (meaning if I wanted to get my degree I would have to take another year out and pay back all my grant and whatever else which is not something I particularly want to do).
Another small possiblity is that I am allowed to do a French summer course as well as the German one I was originally goign to do. However, various people are very much against me doing this - the main reason being that if I stop semester 2 as I have, and do a summer course instead then it would 'apparently' make other people in the future do this too, which does not really hold water.
I left because I did not like the place at all, spent the vast majority of my days alone and was becoming depressed. That is very different from people who leave France just because they are lazy or don't want to stay there in exam period.
So at this moment, nothing is happening for sure too. The French essay deadline is in a couple of weeks. I plan to work hard on this essay to ensure a good mark. Maybe it would help my case...
Another small possiblity is that I am allowed to do a French summer course as well as the German one I was originally goign to do. However, various people are very much against me doing this - the main reason being that if I stop semester 2 as I have, and do a summer course instead then it would 'apparently' make other people in the future do this too, which does not really hold water.
I left because I did not like the place at all, spent the vast majority of my days alone and was becoming depressed. That is very different from people who leave France just because they are lazy or don't want to stay there in exam period.
So at this moment, nothing is happening for sure too. The French essay deadline is in a couple of weeks. I plan to work hard on this essay to ensure a good mark. Maybe it would help my case...
Thursday 5 March 2009
#32 - In Bham
I am in Birmingham right now. I was supposed to come yesteday to see my tutor but I could not make it to the train station so I couldn't get to Bham. But I am here today, should have some time to talk with my tutor about things.
But until then I have nothing to do as anyone I know here is not free until this afternoon or later! So I'm just at uni on the computers looking at all the students I don't know. It's odd to not randomly see people I know. They aren't here because they are abroad too!
On a seperate note, my hair seems to grow faster/longer when I am in France, so now it is too long to stick up like it usually is. Instead I have no choice but to shamelessly let it flop down on a fringe. This means I will need a haircut.
But until then I have nothing to do as anyone I know here is not free until this afternoon or later! So I'm just at uni on the computers looking at all the students I don't know. It's odd to not randomly see people I know. They aren't here because they are abroad too!
On a seperate note, my hair seems to grow faster/longer when I am in France, so now it is too long to stick up like it usually is. Instead I have no choice but to shamelessly let it flop down on a fringe. This means I will need a haircut.
Tuesday 3 March 2009
#31 - Back home
I am back from France for now and it feels great! But as always there were a few problems.
The first problem came when I got to the airport and found my flight was cancelled. Not delayed, cancelled. I was supposed to fly from Strasbourg Entzheim to London City Airport. Instead I had to go from Entzheim to Paris Charles de Gaulle, and then from there to London Heathrow.
The next (not really a problem but more of an) annoyance was on the second flight. I was sat next to a couple. The guy told a few bad jokes and wouldn't leave the girl alone, and then proceeded to read poems that he had written from his book about Jesus, and then started on some sermons. The girl would randomly interject by reading passages from the Bible she was carrying.
The last problem was kind of expected. I knew Air France would do something wrong. I was waiting to get my luggage from the conveyor thingamabob and I heard my name called over the speakers along with some mumbling which was repeated. So I headed towards the desk where I was informed that my suitcase was in France. Oops. It seems that Air France didn't want to transfer my suitcase to the next flight. I had even asked the office there if I needed to get my suitcase my self etc. But no, they said it was fine. It wasn't too much of a problem - I filled out a form and they sent my suitcase by mail, which arrived the next day. Brilliant.
So all in all it was a bit of an adventure! Oh! And because we flew over, I saw the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe in real life for the first time in my life!
The first problem came when I got to the airport and found my flight was cancelled. Not delayed, cancelled. I was supposed to fly from Strasbourg Entzheim to London City Airport. Instead I had to go from Entzheim to Paris Charles de Gaulle, and then from there to London Heathrow.
The next (not really a problem but more of an) annoyance was on the second flight. I was sat next to a couple. The guy told a few bad jokes and wouldn't leave the girl alone, and then proceeded to read poems that he had written from his book about Jesus, and then started on some sermons. The girl would randomly interject by reading passages from the Bible she was carrying.
The last problem was kind of expected. I knew Air France would do something wrong. I was waiting to get my luggage from the conveyor thingamabob and I heard my name called over the speakers along with some mumbling which was repeated. So I headed towards the desk where I was informed that my suitcase was in France. Oops. It seems that Air France didn't want to transfer my suitcase to the next flight. I had even asked the office there if I needed to get my suitcase my self etc. But no, they said it was fine. It wasn't too much of a problem - I filled out a form and they sent my suitcase by mail, which arrived the next day. Brilliant.
So all in all it was a bit of an adventure! Oh! And because we flew over, I saw the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe in real life for the first time in my life!
Friday 27 February 2009
#30 - Packing and a package
I am going home for a week tomorrow for spring break! And considering I probably wont come back, I have to pack EVERYTHING. I did a lot of it yesterday i.e. all my clothes so today is left with books and electrical stuff. Hopefully I will be done by early this evening, and then I will reward myself with a nice set for 2 from Pizza Hut.
Hopefully, my suitcase packing is lighter this time too. I had to pay overweight prices for it when I flew out of London, even having to take things out of my suitcase and put them in a big bag to be put on seperate because the suitcase was so over the weight limit's limit that the staff could injure themselves while picking it up. So new plan : fit all the books I can into my laptop case (I had them before in the suitcase...which I am guessing caused so much weight).
Secondly, my dad has told me that the package with loads of presents and all the manga I bought (I love Bookoff!!!) and other such japan paraphenalia has arrived at our house today. Which is great news! It took so long because I had to send it by sea to still be affordable, as air travel and train were so expensive because the box is so big and heavy! So as the post office lady said, it took about 2 months :D My dad has put it in my room (i assume) and it's being left for me to open when I get home tomorrow.
Next will come the part where I forgot which presents I assigned to which friends...I really should have kept the uncompleted list I made. There are probably almost 200 bits of things in that box...
Hopefully, my suitcase packing is lighter this time too. I had to pay overweight prices for it when I flew out of London, even having to take things out of my suitcase and put them in a big bag to be put on seperate because the suitcase was so over the weight limit's limit that the staff could injure themselves while picking it up. So new plan : fit all the books I can into my laptop case (I had them before in the suitcase...which I am guessing caused so much weight).
Secondly, my dad has told me that the package with loads of presents and all the manga I bought (I love Bookoff!!!) and other such japan paraphenalia has arrived at our house today. Which is great news! It took so long because I had to send it by sea to still be affordable, as air travel and train were so expensive because the box is so big and heavy! So as the post office lady said, it took about 2 months :D My dad has put it in my room (i assume) and it's being left for me to open when I get home tomorrow.
Next will come the part where I forgot which presents I assigned to which friends...I really should have kept the uncompleted list I made. There are probably almost 200 bits of things in that box...
Wednesday 25 February 2009
#29 - DAAD website - German courses
Today I thought I would take a look at the DAAD website. This is a website where you can view courses about studying in Germany. My German department back at home use this website, and because I am set to do a summer course in Germany, this is the website we are told to research courses.
So I have been looking through it today, at various German courses, and there are quite a few that I would like to do. The best one that I think at the moment is in Aachen, which is right next to the german-dutch-belgium border, and that would be in August. I have also saved a few others, such as ones in Berlin and Munich which also look interesting.
Of course, I am still waiting (like all other german summer course students) for more information from Birmingham about things such as the length of the course and other requirements. Hopefully if all goes well I would be able to apply for the course in Aachen.
The website doesn't only have summer courses. It also has information on various German universities and articles about living and studying abroad. So if anyone reading this is wanting to study in Germany (and not necessarily just the language!) then check out the website. Just click on the link or picture above!
So I have been looking through it today, at various German courses, and there are quite a few that I would like to do. The best one that I think at the moment is in Aachen, which is right next to the german-dutch-belgium border, and that would be in August. I have also saved a few others, such as ones in Berlin and Munich which also look interesting.
Of course, I am still waiting (like all other german summer course students) for more information from Birmingham about things such as the length of the course and other requirements. Hopefully if all goes well I would be able to apply for the course in Aachen.
The website doesn't only have summer courses. It also has information on various German universities and articles about living and studying abroad. So if anyone reading this is wanting to study in Germany (and not necessarily just the language!) then check out the website. Just click on the link or picture above!
Monday 23 February 2009
#28 - and another one...
Yep, this is yet another entry about leaving Strasbourg.
I have been in contact with both the French department and the German department back home. Both of them seem to want me to think more about this decision over spring break which is next week (and which I will be home in England for). I can appreciate that they want me to think about this, but seriously I have. Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I am one of those people who think about EVERYTHING before I make a decision. And I mean everything. I have thought about everything to do with university requirement for Birmingham, fincancial stuff including the possiblility of having to pay back my grants, that I would probably have to pay the CROUS here for the rest of the semester, about how this would impact my other parts of my course, about all the work I have put into my degree the past few years...just about everything.
Sometimes I try to think "maybe if I do this then it might be better" but in the end, I am just plain unhappy about my situation. I understand that this is a "great experience" but frankly, it just isn't so great. I am unhappy here. Isn't that reason enough to leave?
There is the chance that I might be able to enroll in one of the French summer courses by Birmingham, but only if there is movement quickly. But then, it also depends when these courses are as I still have to apply for a summer course in Germany.
Staying in Strasbourg for the next few months would undoubtedly be the easiest option. Leaving causes big problems for not jsut French, but the rest of my degree. It might sound arrogant, weak, or just plain stupid that I want to leave.
The easiest decision is not always the right decision.
I have been in contact with both the French department and the German department back home. Both of them seem to want me to think more about this decision over spring break which is next week (and which I will be home in England for). I can appreciate that they want me to think about this, but seriously I have. Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I am one of those people who think about EVERYTHING before I make a decision. And I mean everything. I have thought about everything to do with university requirement for Birmingham, fincancial stuff including the possiblility of having to pay back my grants, that I would probably have to pay the CROUS here for the rest of the semester, about how this would impact my other parts of my course, about all the work I have put into my degree the past few years...just about everything.
Sometimes I try to think "maybe if I do this then it might be better" but in the end, I am just plain unhappy about my situation. I understand that this is a "great experience" but frankly, it just isn't so great. I am unhappy here. Isn't that reason enough to leave?
There is the chance that I might be able to enroll in one of the French summer courses by Birmingham, but only if there is movement quickly. But then, it also depends when these courses are as I still have to apply for a summer course in Germany.
Staying in Strasbourg for the next few months would undoubtedly be the easiest option. Leaving causes big problems for not jsut French, but the rest of my degree. It might sound arrogant, weak, or just plain stupid that I want to leave.
The easiest decision is not always the right decision.
Sunday 22 February 2009
#27 - Decisions
I have spoken with someone in the French department at Birmingham quite a bit who has said he will try to find out what effects leaving France would have on my degree. For sure I won't be able to study French anymore because I havn't met the living abroad or academic requirements to enter final year. I have also emailed the German department because it's more than likely that I will be doing German as a major (to fill the French gap) and Japanese minor.
It's a bit unfortunate that I was stuck with Strasbourg. It wasn't my first choice, or my second. I can't help feeling that if I was somewhere else in France then I would be having a better time. Strasbourg university has not helped me in any way even from the start - no information sent to me over the course of a year, no information when I got here, no sort of introduction to France or the university, nothing for Erasmus students including no kind of Erasmus meeting for that semester, troubles with accommodation, and finally the strikes and troubles with not having lessons. Because of all this it has been stressful and not very nice. And because all this has happened it has meant I havn't met very many people, hardly any in fact. As far as French friends (which I hoped to make in class but we havn't had any...) I havn't met any.
As I said, another city in a different part of France would have probably been better. Since I have been in Strasbourg I have wanted to leave, but at the beginning I was trying to think of the ways it is good for me and how to have a good time. There wasn't many. Even long before I got to Strasbourg I didn't want to be here.
All in all I am not happy in Strasbourg and have no interest in the university here. I still want to study French if possible at Birmingham, but that's more than likely not going to happen, which would then mean I wasted 2 or so years doing work I didn't need to do.
It is very sad that I have not had a good time here. I was hoping for adfrenchture but Strasbourg falls hopelessly short. If anyone reading this is thinking about a year abroad in France - avoid Strasbourg. The city is dull and depressing, and you will be on your own - a problem which was shared by my friend who was here the semester before me. I'm not the only one...
So now I am left wondering if I am makign the right choice to leave. On one hand it will severly impact my degree, on the other I am incredibly lonely and almsot depressed here. It's not exactly and easy choice...
It's a bit unfortunate that I was stuck with Strasbourg. It wasn't my first choice, or my second. I can't help feeling that if I was somewhere else in France then I would be having a better time. Strasbourg university has not helped me in any way even from the start - no information sent to me over the course of a year, no information when I got here, no sort of introduction to France or the university, nothing for Erasmus students including no kind of Erasmus meeting for that semester, troubles with accommodation, and finally the strikes and troubles with not having lessons. Because of all this it has been stressful and not very nice. And because all this has happened it has meant I havn't met very many people, hardly any in fact. As far as French friends (which I hoped to make in class but we havn't had any...) I havn't met any.
As I said, another city in a different part of France would have probably been better. Since I have been in Strasbourg I have wanted to leave, but at the beginning I was trying to think of the ways it is good for me and how to have a good time. There wasn't many. Even long before I got to Strasbourg I didn't want to be here.
All in all I am not happy in Strasbourg and have no interest in the university here. I still want to study French if possible at Birmingham, but that's more than likely not going to happen, which would then mean I wasted 2 or so years doing work I didn't need to do.
It is very sad that I have not had a good time here. I was hoping for adfrenchture but Strasbourg falls hopelessly short. If anyone reading this is thinking about a year abroad in France - avoid Strasbourg. The city is dull and depressing, and you will be on your own - a problem which was shared by my friend who was here the semester before me. I'm not the only one...
So now I am left wondering if I am makign the right choice to leave. On one hand it will severly impact my degree, on the other I am incredibly lonely and almsot depressed here. It's not exactly and easy choice...
Thursday 19 February 2009
#26 - It didn't work
I have jus sent an email to Birmingham saying that I do not want to be in France anymore. Also text my dad the same thing.
I am not going into university tomorrow (/today, it is almost 6am) because frankly I don't care. I'm done with it. Not been happy since I have been here and I have been thinking about leaving for a long time now.
So I don't know what's going to happen now. Not entirly sure if I will be allowed to study French into my final year, but to be completely honest I have lost interest in French and German over the past couple years. All I really want to study is Japanese. Initially I did it because it was different or soemthing to that extent, but going to Japan just showed me that I really do love the country and especially the language, and that's all I really want to be doing. But of course, with only about another year of study until graduation it does feel like a waste of time (and especially money) if I don't get a degree in French. But if I don't then I will still be happy - because I won't be here.
I am not going into university tomorrow (/today, it is almost 6am) because frankly I don't care. I'm done with it. Not been happy since I have been here and I have been thinking about leaving for a long time now.
So I don't know what's going to happen now. Not entirly sure if I will be allowed to study French into my final year, but to be completely honest I have lost interest in French and German over the past couple years. All I really want to study is Japanese. Initially I did it because it was different or soemthing to that extent, but going to Japan just showed me that I really do love the country and especially the language, and that's all I really want to be doing. But of course, with only about another year of study until graduation it does feel like a waste of time (and especially money) if I don't get a degree in French. But if I don't then I will still be happy - because I won't be here.
Wednesday 18 February 2009
#25 - Is this a French thing?
You know how when you go into the toilet stall, and you have the toilet? There's the white bowl and then above that there is the toilet seat? Well, apparently not in France.
All the toilets I have used in France have not had a toilet seat! And I find this kind of strange. I wonder, is it a French thing? Maybe it's jsut a Strasbourg thing.
Who knows!?
All the toilets I have used in France have not had a toilet seat! And I find this kind of strange. I wonder, is it a French thing? Maybe it's jsut a Strasbourg thing.
Who knows!?
Monday 16 February 2009
#24 - Monday
I awoke this morning after going to bed needlessly late after doing nothing on my laptop. The air was cold, and as I got up from my bed to turn off the annoying sound that was my alarm, I saw through the window blankets of whiteness. It had snowed again.
I wasn't sure if I could be bothered to go into university today, because it was early, and also because I wasn't sure if I would have lessons yet, or if the strike would be partially over. But I decided to go in anyway. I also took my camera and during the day took a few photos of Strasborug in the snow.
I went to the first class I should have. The teacher and the rest of the class came too! It was a French Literature class. Because I hadn't been there in the first week I hadn't recieved the copies of extracts of various things. It didn't matter too much, as we basically had to write down what the teacher was saying.
This surprised me a little. It wasn't jsut writing down notes, it was a dictation. Suddenly, as if some unheard starting signal went off, everybody's heads went down to their paper and starting writing. I sat there thinking "what..?" and then "oh, I should be writing this down!" and then trying to recover the first half of the sentence that she said, and then forgetting what I was writing while trying to write the next parts. In all it did not go too well for my dictation skills.
At the end of the class, a few students came in to say some things about the strikes. From what I understood they mentioned a blog online where they were keeping up the latest information, and also various meetings and lunches to discuss action to be taken, and such other things. From this small talk and what I have tried to look up online, it all has to do with Sarkozy (President of France) and the economic crisis. There are reforms that are trying to be pushed through to change a lot of things in France. The latest (possibly) is to do with universities and research procedures, and uprooting the whole "disasterous" system (as Sarkozy put it) and going drastically against the way organisations are run in France. Then again, I don't have much of a head for politics so I could be completely wrong.
I decided to stop in the building at my department of Letters to check some class times and
places and things. As I was walking around, there were lots of signs and posters saying "GREVE" (strike) and "OCCUPATION ACTIVE". At the time I was there around midday, they were jsut about to start a big meeting of the occupation activein one of the bigger rooms. I walked around, looked at the signs a bit, and took a few photos. I didn't join in because I am not French(!) and I don't really know what is going on so I don't want to brainlessly follow a certain standpoint.
In any case, although the strikes have been a bit inconvenient for me, I tink I now have the luxury of enjoying the time off of studying!
I wasn't sure if I could be bothered to go into university today, because it was early, and also because I wasn't sure if I would have lessons yet, or if the strike would be partially over. But I decided to go in anyway. I also took my camera and during the day took a few photos of Strasborug in the snow.I went to the first class I should have. The teacher and the rest of the class came too! It was a French Literature class. Because I hadn't been there in the first week I hadn't recieved the copies of extracts of various things. It didn't matter too much, as we basically had to write down what the teacher was saying.
This surprised me a little. It wasn't jsut writing down notes, it was a dictation. Suddenly, as if some unheard starting signal went off, everybody's heads went down to their paper and starting writing. I sat there thinking "what..?" and then "oh, I should be writing this down!" and then trying to recover the first half of the sentence that she said, and then forgetting what I was writing while trying to write the next parts. In all it did not go too well for my dictation skills.
At the end of the class, a few students came in to say some things about the strikes. From what I understood they mentioned a blog online where they were keeping up the latest information, and also various meetings and lunches to discuss action to be taken, and such other things. From this small talk and what I have tried to look up online, it all has to do with Sarkozy (President of France) and the economic crisis. There are reforms that are trying to be pushed through to change a lot of things in France. The latest (possibly) is to do with universities and research procedures, and uprooting the whole "disasterous" system (as Sarkozy put it) and going drastically against the way organisations are run in France. Then again, I don't have much of a head for politics so I could be completely wrong.
I decided to stop in the building at my department of Letters to check some class times and
places and things. As I was walking around, there were lots of signs and posters saying "GREVE" (strike) and "OCCUPATION ACTIVE". At the time I was there around midday, they were jsut about to start a big meeting of the occupation activein one of the bigger rooms. I walked around, looked at the signs a bit, and took a few photos. I didn't join in because I am not French(!) and I don't really know what is going on so I don't want to brainlessly follow a certain standpoint.In any case, although the strikes have been a bit inconvenient for me, I tink I now have the luxury of enjoying the time off of studying!
Sunday 15 February 2009
#23 - A New Leaf?
It appears that I can now access the internet in my room! I discovered this while changing almost every setting on my laptop. And now I am not connected to 1, but 5 networks. No, I don't understand it, either.
So it seems as if things are getting better. After my latest Strasbourg Diaries that I wrote, life was pretty horrible. I was contemplating not coming back after my visit home if things would not improve. But, now life is bearable, I have the internet, and I can do a myriad of things! So for today, I am happy!!!
:)
So it seems as if things are getting better. After my latest Strasbourg Diaries that I wrote, life was pretty horrible. I was contemplating not coming back after my visit home if things would not improve. But, now life is bearable, I have the internet, and I can do a myriad of things! So for today, I am happy!!!
:)
#22 - Strasbourg Diary #7
I can't remember when I wrote these but anything called "Strasbourg Diary ##" was written when I didn't have interent access.
I've had it with France. I am so close to contacting Birmingham and saying you know what, I don't want to do French anymore. With no exaggeration this is the worst time in my life. And if someone has the audacity to say to me "oh, but it should be an adventure. You are just not trying hard enough" or "oh it's just culture shock" that will just push me over the top and I will seriously be hurting them. It is not culture shock at all. I have lived in France before, I do know how things work. And I have tried jsut about all I can to get things sorted by myself and to even meet the people who live next to me. I have tried everything I can to be comfortable here and it hasn't worked.
If the French university can't be bothered to tell me any information at all about them or how I should do things, or even what the things I need to be doing are, then I can't be bothered either. If the accommodation doesn't care enough to respond to my various emails about my moving in date, then I don't care about it either. If the teachers at university have decided not to teach lessons, then I have decided not to apply for them or go. If the accommodation doesn't respect their own time frames and procedures, then I can't respect them either. If nothing improves in the place I am staying, the outcome is simple - I'm not paying. If they kick me out, still not paying. If that results in not being able to come back to France because of debts or something, I'm hardly bothered about that, because frankly, I don't ever want to come here again.
I am frustrated, bored, bordering on clinically depressed, cold, and just had about enough of everything, that soon I really will lose it.
"Study at university in France, it's fun." Yeah, right.
I've had it with France. I am so close to contacting Birmingham and saying you know what, I don't want to do French anymore. With no exaggeration this is the worst time in my life. And if someone has the audacity to say to me "oh, but it should be an adventure. You are just not trying hard enough" or "oh it's just culture shock" that will just push me over the top and I will seriously be hurting them. It is not culture shock at all. I have lived in France before, I do know how things work. And I have tried jsut about all I can to get things sorted by myself and to even meet the people who live next to me. I have tried everything I can to be comfortable here and it hasn't worked.
If the French university can't be bothered to tell me any information at all about them or how I should do things, or even what the things I need to be doing are, then I can't be bothered either. If the accommodation doesn't care enough to respond to my various emails about my moving in date, then I don't care about it either. If the teachers at university have decided not to teach lessons, then I have decided not to apply for them or go. If the accommodation doesn't respect their own time frames and procedures, then I can't respect them either. If nothing improves in the place I am staying, the outcome is simple - I'm not paying. If they kick me out, still not paying. If that results in not being able to come back to France because of debts or something, I'm hardly bothered about that, because frankly, I don't ever want to come here again.
I am frustrated, bored, bordering on clinically depressed, cold, and just had about enough of everything, that soon I really will lose it.
"Study at university in France, it's fun." Yeah, right.
#21 - Strasbourg Diary #6
I can't remember when I wrote these but anything called "Strasbourg Diary ##" was written when I didn't have interent access.
Well at the moment I am in McDonalds. I came to use the internet and to eat. I have now eaten, and I want to use the internet...but I can't find the connection. I think it might be off today but I don't know... at any rate I am not very happy about that as this is the whole reason I came here so I can check to see if I have any mail from uni or from anyone else, and to look up some things that I want to find out. Apparently I won't do that now ! So that's wasted my day. As you can probably tell I still don't have internet in my room so I don't know what to do. I don't know if I am being charged with internet included or whatever, but if I am then I should refuse to pay or ask for money back because it has been over sous 7 jours and evidently I do not have a connection. Yay for France...
I have now ran out of things to do for entertainment alone in my room. I have played DS until the battery ran out, I have played all the games I have on my laptop, and replaying some, I have over listened to the music I have, I have been sleeping probably a bit too much. I can’t do any work for lessons because I don’t have either work or lessons. I can’t do my essay for Birmingham because I can’t look at websites. I can’t go out to do things because there is not much interesting to do in Strasbourg apart from shop and that costs too much money. I can’t go visit people because I don’t really know people here. So it looks like I will be back here on Monday to hopefully do the things I need to do.
The other night when I went out to go to buy food I came across some people speaking English so I asked if they were Erasmus students too and they were, and live at Robertsau. There is one who lives in my building on a different storey, and she also said that no-one talks to each other in the building and that there is nowhere to meet anyone in the building (no room or anywhere with chairs). She also said that she went to one of the other buildings and within 10 minutes she had met more people there than she had met in our building in 2 weeks. Typical. I get stuck with the worst room in the worst building, in one of the furthest away accommodations.
I keep refreshing internet connections hoping McWifi will show up but it doesn’t. I’m wondering if I should move seats and try somewhere else just in case there is no reception in this part for some reason... The chair in the corner with the plug opened up so I guess I’ll go over there for now......
...It didn’t work. If anything, less networks are available. I read the sign on the wall about wifi, it said it’s free and unlimited except for construction purposes, from 2-4 and some time in the evening like 8 o something. Well it is now 17.21. I see no reason why it is not on. Maybe it’s just because it’s a Saturday. I think I’ll just waste time for a few hours to see whether it turns on or not...
I am so sick of France now. I keep looking for good things about Strasbourg and trying to feel positive, but I can’t find any and I can say for sure that this is the worst time I’ve ever had in my life.
Add: Ok there was a really strange man walking about here, and he sat behind me before. I moved seat, and just now he walked around again and is now sat two tables in front of me, and is being very annoying by sitting and tapping his empty cup “to the beat” of the music playing...Now he said something to a little girl in the play area... Creepy.
Well at the moment I am in McDonalds. I came to use the internet and to eat. I have now eaten, and I want to use the internet...but I can't find the connection. I think it might be off today but I don't know... at any rate I am not very happy about that as this is the whole reason I came here so I can check to see if I have any mail from uni or from anyone else, and to look up some things that I want to find out. Apparently I won't do that now ! So that's wasted my day. As you can probably tell I still don't have internet in my room so I don't know what to do. I don't know if I am being charged with internet included or whatever, but if I am then I should refuse to pay or ask for money back because it has been over sous 7 jours and evidently I do not have a connection. Yay for France...
I have now ran out of things to do for entertainment alone in my room. I have played DS until the battery ran out, I have played all the games I have on my laptop, and replaying some, I have over listened to the music I have, I have been sleeping probably a bit too much. I can’t do any work for lessons because I don’t have either work or lessons. I can’t do my essay for Birmingham because I can’t look at websites. I can’t go out to do things because there is not much interesting to do in Strasbourg apart from shop and that costs too much money. I can’t go visit people because I don’t really know people here. So it looks like I will be back here on Monday to hopefully do the things I need to do.
The other night when I went out to go to buy food I came across some people speaking English so I asked if they were Erasmus students too and they were, and live at Robertsau. There is one who lives in my building on a different storey, and she also said that no-one talks to each other in the building and that there is nowhere to meet anyone in the building (no room or anywhere with chairs). She also said that she went to one of the other buildings and within 10 minutes she had met more people there than she had met in our building in 2 weeks. Typical. I get stuck with the worst room in the worst building, in one of the furthest away accommodations.
I keep refreshing internet connections hoping McWifi will show up but it doesn’t. I’m wondering if I should move seats and try somewhere else just in case there is no reception in this part for some reason... The chair in the corner with the plug opened up so I guess I’ll go over there for now......
...It didn’t work. If anything, less networks are available. I read the sign on the wall about wifi, it said it’s free and unlimited except for construction purposes, from 2-4 and some time in the evening like 8 o something. Well it is now 17.21. I see no reason why it is not on. Maybe it’s just because it’s a Saturday. I think I’ll just waste time for a few hours to see whether it turns on or not...
I am so sick of France now. I keep looking for good things about Strasbourg and trying to feel positive, but I can’t find any and I can say for sure that this is the worst time I’ve ever had in my life.
Add: Ok there was a really strange man walking about here, and he sat behind me before. I moved seat, and just now he walked around again and is now sat two tables in front of me, and is being very annoying by sitting and tapping his empty cup “to the beat” of the music playing...Now he said something to a little girl in the play area... Creepy.
#20 - Strasbourg Diary #5 - A Gift From the Fairies
I can't remember when I wrote these but anything called "Strasbourg Diary ##" was written when I didn't have interent access.
Yesterday I was going to go into university to see if I had lessons, but in the end I didn't because I wouldn't have had any and I would have wasted another 3 Euros. Instead I just stayed in my room and did various things on my computer. I also didn't go because, as I was about to get ready, I noticed it was snowing outside, so I made an excuse for myself. A few minutes later though it had stopped snowing. But throughout the day there were little snowflakes just floating through the air slowly. Not heavy enough to set on the ground.
I am becoming more annoyed about the strike. I have had no lessons since I have been here which is just under a month. I am also very annoyed that I still do not have an internet connection in my room. It is supposed to take under 7 days. It has been longer than that. I have tried connecting before as it says you can sometimes do, but I can't even find a connection to the network most times, let alone keep it for more than 5 minutes. I am wondering if the lack of progress is also due to the strikes, or if it is because they had sent a form back that I forgot to date (there were two forms).
I have flights booked to go home. I am going on Saturday 28th February, and returning to Strasbourg Sunday 8th of March. I am not skipping term as you may think (not that it matters much anyway with no classes) but it is spring break. I also will take that chance to finish my essays for Birmingham which need to be in March 20th at the latest, and I will have access to resources i.e. internet, and I might try and stay at a friend's for a night in Birmingham so I can use the library at uni. Other perks of England include having a hot meal that is not McDonalds and being able to cook something, having people to talk to, television, being able to switch on a light when it is dark and not French.
Yesterday I was going to go into university to see if I had lessons, but in the end I didn't because I wouldn't have had any and I would have wasted another 3 Euros. Instead I just stayed in my room and did various things on my computer. I also didn't go because, as I was about to get ready, I noticed it was snowing outside, so I made an excuse for myself. A few minutes later though it had stopped snowing. But throughout the day there were little snowflakes just floating through the air slowly. Not heavy enough to set on the ground.
I am becoming more annoyed about the strike. I have had no lessons since I have been here which is just under a month. I am also very annoyed that I still do not have an internet connection in my room. It is supposed to take under 7 days. It has been longer than that. I have tried connecting before as it says you can sometimes do, but I can't even find a connection to the network most times, let alone keep it for more than 5 minutes. I am wondering if the lack of progress is also due to the strikes, or if it is because they had sent a form back that I forgot to date (there were two forms).
I have flights booked to go home. I am going on Saturday 28th February, and returning to Strasbourg Sunday 8th of March. I am not skipping term as you may think (not that it matters much anyway with no classes) but it is spring break. I also will take that chance to finish my essays for Birmingham which need to be in March 20th at the latest, and I will have access to resources i.e. internet, and I might try and stay at a friend's for a night in Birmingham so I can use the library at uni. Other perks of England include having a hot meal that is not McDonalds and being able to cook something, having people to talk to, television, being able to switch on a light when it is dark and not French.
#19 - Strasbourg Diary #4
I can't remember when I wrote these but anything called "Strasbourg Diary ##" was written when I didn't have interent access.
I finally got a straight answer from the Lettres department today. I was asking about taking a certain course and if it would clash with another class I wanted to take. She was like, blah blah blah blah blah no you can't - unless you are Erasmus and then you can do blah. And I was like....I am Erasmus. And then she continued to explain things in detail for a few minutes and then added "but if you are Erasmus you can do whatever you like". So basically, I can choose whatever I feel like. But somehow now I have to try and register with the actual German department too.
So about my classes. I had a hard time trying to work this out, and I still haven't worked it out either. You would think that I would be given at least some help or information about how to do it. Not that it matters anyway, as the teachers are on strike (at least most of the 'french' ones are). So in the almost 4 weeks that I have been here, I have had 1 hour of classes - which was German. The one class that I had was the one cours that I was the most unsure about if I was even allowed to do.
I still haven't met any French people! It's too scary to talk to them by myself. When classes kind of 'start' though I am sure I will get to know some people. I talked a little last week with some people who were waiting for the same cancelled class as me but that's about it.
Apart from that, on Wednesday I happened to come across some internationals as I was going to go home, and got invited to go ice skating with them that evening. It was great! I hadn't been in ages but at least I didn't fall over! But I did tear my glove on the wall...And I still failed to get their phone numbers into my phone! So I am kind of still cut off, all lonely in my accommodation which none of them live right at the end of a tram line up north with no internet yet.
I finally got a straight answer from the Lettres department today. I was asking about taking a certain course and if it would clash with another class I wanted to take. She was like, blah blah blah blah blah no you can't - unless you are Erasmus and then you can do blah. And I was like....I am Erasmus. And then she continued to explain things in detail for a few minutes and then added "but if you are Erasmus you can do whatever you like". So basically, I can choose whatever I feel like. But somehow now I have to try and register with the actual German department too.
So about my classes. I had a hard time trying to work this out, and I still haven't worked it out either. You would think that I would be given at least some help or information about how to do it. Not that it matters anyway, as the teachers are on strike (at least most of the 'french' ones are). So in the almost 4 weeks that I have been here, I have had 1 hour of classes - which was German. The one class that I had was the one cours that I was the most unsure about if I was even allowed to do.
I still haven't met any French people! It's too scary to talk to them by myself. When classes kind of 'start' though I am sure I will get to know some people. I talked a little last week with some people who were waiting for the same cancelled class as me but that's about it.
Apart from that, on Wednesday I happened to come across some internationals as I was going to go home, and got invited to go ice skating with them that evening. It was great! I hadn't been in ages but at least I didn't fall over! But I did tear my glove on the wall...And I still failed to get their phone numbers into my phone! So I am kind of still cut off, all lonely in my accommodation which none of them live right at the end of a tram line up north with no internet yet.
Monday 2 February 2009
#18 - French Randomity
Once again I am back in McDonalds! I sitll don't have access to the internet in my room yet, I shoudl ave it in a week though so I can't wait. It means my evenings will be more interesting as I can actually do things apart from playing Freecell while listening to my music (which I was doing for 2 weeks).
I thought I would write a little bit about the random happenings that I have found in Strasbourg. Firstly, I should mention that on the tram stops, each one has their own little jingle. For example, one is some music, another is the soudn of children and so on. But approaching the European Parliament I thought I heard it say sugi no eki 過ぎの駅 and I kind of sat there for a minute thinking "was that really just Japanese, or has my time in Japan got me thinking and translating things into Japanese in my head?"
Last night, after a long time on McWifi (as I will now call it) I left to go home. When I stepped outside there was a girl who came up to me and she asked "Do you speak English?" How lucky she was. She had literally just got off of the tram from the airport and was looking for an accommodation. The trouble is she didn't speak French. So being the nice person I am I helped her find the place and get to her room and things (it was complicated to get into the building...) and so I made a new friend! Albeit randomly.
The last piece of randomity I want to mention happened today. Because there has been so much confusion and lack of information from my university in Strasbourg, I havn't yet chosen classes for sure. And I havn't been to any. So I thought new week, new start to a happier Strasbourg life. So I went along to go to the class I want to take today and maybe talk to the teacher a bit. So I went there, went in, spoke a little with the French girls sat there and waited. The teacher didn't show up. Another girl who takes the class came in and basically told us there is no class because the teachers are on strike. So...I have no class. And of course no one knows how long this strike will go on so I might not have class next week either. But, I at least managed to get the names of the novels I need to buy/read for that class. They havn't started reading them yet in class though so it's all good!
Oh yes, it also snowed in the night so there is snow everywhere! And not like puny English snow but like a nice even blanket that is not melting or anything. So that means it's COLDer than it should be.
My final note, I just uploaded the latest video blog to youtube so check it out! It is my adventure trying to find where my university is. I embedded the video above but if you can't see it then the url is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYk05z6XZ8Y
I thought I would write a little bit about the random happenings that I have found in Strasbourg. Firstly, I should mention that on the tram stops, each one has their own little jingle. For example, one is some music, another is the soudn of children and so on. But approaching the European Parliament I thought I heard it say sugi no eki 過ぎの駅 and I kind of sat there for a minute thinking "was that really just Japanese, or has my time in Japan got me thinking and translating things into Japanese in my head?"
Last night, after a long time on McWifi (as I will now call it) I left to go home. When I stepped outside there was a girl who came up to me and she asked "Do you speak English?" How lucky she was. She had literally just got off of the tram from the airport and was looking for an accommodation. The trouble is she didn't speak French. So being the nice person I am I helped her find the place and get to her room and things (it was complicated to get into the building...) and so I made a new friend! Albeit randomly.
The last piece of randomity I want to mention happened today. Because there has been so much confusion and lack of information from my university in Strasbourg, I havn't yet chosen classes for sure. And I havn't been to any. So I thought new week, new start to a happier Strasbourg life. So I went along to go to the class I want to take today and maybe talk to the teacher a bit. So I went there, went in, spoke a little with the French girls sat there and waited. The teacher didn't show up. Another girl who takes the class came in and basically told us there is no class because the teachers are on strike. So...I have no class. And of course no one knows how long this strike will go on so I might not have class next week either. But, I at least managed to get the names of the novels I need to buy/read for that class. They havn't started reading them yet in class though so it's all good!
Oh yes, it also snowed in the night so there is snow everywhere! And not like puny English snow but like a nice even blanket that is not melting or anything. So that means it's COLDer than it should be.
My final note, I just uploaded the latest video blog to youtube so check it out! It is my adventure trying to find where my university is. I embedded the video above but if you can't see it then the url is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYk05z6XZ8Y
Tuesday 27 January 2009
#17 - strasbourg diary #3
So last night was fun. I did go out to the bar. I met with the Oklahoma girl Cherry who was meeting a small group of foreign students at McDonald's to go to le Mosquito. So we chatted a little bit before heading off to the place.
Along the way I met so many people. It was like Monday night is like Erasmus night so lots of English speaking people. After the bar most people decided to go to a club so we ended in la Java for a while. I should have went home earlier about 12 when the trams stopped but I thought I would try to stay longer but it didn't work as I was tired, had no money (drinks are too expensive! like 5 quid just for a Smirnoff ice! Started the night with about 50 euros, had about 5 or 6 drinks and have 5 Euros left...) but because the trams were not running again I was going to walk. But then a lovely German girl named Caroline (Karoline?) offered me a lift back to Robertsau, which was probably a good idea as there was frost all around and it was freezing and I would have probably died...
Anyway, I am meeting a small group at McDonalds again today to talk about a weekend to Switzerland in April and because I want to go to Switzerland I need to go an bring my schedule...which I don't have one yet because I still don't have any classes at the moment. This university is so unhelpful.
Also, I need food! I thought I had bought a lot but obviously it didn’t last too long....I also need cutlery, plates, saucepan and whatever else, a bin for my room, an internet cable, coat hangers, someone to fix my light and radiator, and lots of other things...like a CLASS SCHEDULE and being told when lessons start. It might have been two weeks ago.
Along the way I met so many people. It was like Monday night is like Erasmus night so lots of English speaking people. After the bar most people decided to go to a club so we ended in la Java for a while. I should have went home earlier about 12 when the trams stopped but I thought I would try to stay longer but it didn't work as I was tired, had no money (drinks are too expensive! like 5 quid just for a Smirnoff ice! Started the night with about 50 euros, had about 5 or 6 drinks and have 5 Euros left...) but because the trams were not running again I was going to walk. But then a lovely German girl named Caroline (Karoline?) offered me a lift back to Robertsau, which was probably a good idea as there was frost all around and it was freezing and I would have probably died...
Anyway, I am meeting a small group at McDonalds again today to talk about a weekend to Switzerland in April and because I want to go to Switzerland I need to go an bring my schedule...which I don't have one yet because I still don't have any classes at the moment. This university is so unhelpful.
Also, I need food! I thought I had bought a lot but obviously it didn’t last too long....I also need cutlery, plates, saucepan and whatever else, a bin for my room, an internet cable, coat hangers, someone to fix my light and radiator, and lots of other things...like a CLASS SCHEDULE and being told when lessons start. It might have been two weeks ago.
Monday 26 January 2009
#16 - Strasbourg Diary #2
I asked the guy at reception how to turn on my light. He told me there was a light switch as soon as you walk into the door. There is...but it's hidden underneath a ledge at the back of the bookshelf. What??? Anyway, my light still doesn't work because...I don't know. I think either the light is dead, or the switch itself is dangerous. When I flip it to on (?) it makes a big crack of electrical sound so I think it's kind of dodgy... Also, the heater is not a heater. It does not heat. My room is cold and I am forced to use the itchy and irritating blankets when I sleep.
I have pretty much decided on what classes I want to take here. I have different sets to choose from in case I can't do some classes (so then I would do the other ones I decided on). I need to go and see my Departmental Tutor because I still haven't seen him. He is apparently only in on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. And even then it is 50 mins at the most. So I have to wait until Wednesday afternoon so I can see if I can do those classes. I have no idea how I would find out where these classes are or what room, let alone when classes actually begin. They may have began already, but typical France, I still no nothing more about it than before I even chose to study French at uni :/
Tonight there is a kind of party at a bar. I do not know where this is and nor do the people I met know. Nor the time :/ I know at least one of them is going with people from her cité but I don't know where that is either and she doesn't know when she is leaving. I'll probably end up not going because France just irritates me so I'm not really in the mood to go drink and I am not gonna walk about the streets in the cold looking like a tourist and not finding the place by myself. I tried texting Cherry but she hasn't text back so...I don't know what she is going or not.
It's not the easiest thing to meet people in this place. The accomm is basically a long corridor with rooms with doors that are all closed. I don't see anyone walking about them often, I don't know if people stay in their rooms or are all out or what. All I know is that for the whole day yesterday some idiots were playing music on their guitars in the room above me really loud and not all that great. And then when they finally stopped at about midnight, someone was playing a TV or something or jsut talking very loudly. So in all - CROUS is noisy. So anyway, I thought that maybe the best way to meet someone is to hang about in the small kitchen at the end of the corridor and quasi- cooking until someone comes in. How sad is this. But I might try it later.
I don't care about keeping up with learning French anymore. Not at all. I hate France and if I had the choice to live here for free I would not take it. This whole year abroad is going so slowly, I just want to go back to Birmingham so I can get on and finish my degree. The novelty of living abroad has very much worn off now.
And if I am denied entry into my final year for French then I really will cut someone.
Thanks France for giving me less interest in my degree.
I have pretty much decided on what classes I want to take here. I have different sets to choose from in case I can't do some classes (so then I would do the other ones I decided on). I need to go and see my Departmental Tutor because I still haven't seen him. He is apparently only in on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. And even then it is 50 mins at the most. So I have to wait until Wednesday afternoon so I can see if I can do those classes. I have no idea how I would find out where these classes are or what room, let alone when classes actually begin. They may have began already, but typical France, I still no nothing more about it than before I even chose to study French at uni :/
Tonight there is a kind of party at a bar. I do not know where this is and nor do the people I met know. Nor the time :/ I know at least one of them is going with people from her cité but I don't know where that is either and she doesn't know when she is leaving. I'll probably end up not going because France just irritates me so I'm not really in the mood to go drink and I am not gonna walk about the streets in the cold looking like a tourist and not finding the place by myself. I tried texting Cherry but she hasn't text back so...I don't know what she is going or not.
It's not the easiest thing to meet people in this place. The accomm is basically a long corridor with rooms with doors that are all closed. I don't see anyone walking about them often, I don't know if people stay in their rooms or are all out or what. All I know is that for the whole day yesterday some idiots were playing music on their guitars in the room above me really loud and not all that great. And then when they finally stopped at about midnight, someone was playing a TV or something or jsut talking very loudly. So in all - CROUS is noisy. So anyway, I thought that maybe the best way to meet someone is to hang about in the small kitchen at the end of the corridor and quasi- cooking until someone comes in. How sad is this. But I might try it later.
I don't care about keeping up with learning French anymore. Not at all. I hate France and if I had the choice to live here for free I would not take it. This whole year abroad is going so slowly, I just want to go back to Birmingham so I can get on and finish my degree. The novelty of living abroad has very much worn off now.
And if I am denied entry into my final year for French then I really will cut someone.
Thanks France for giving me less interest in my degree.
Saturday 24 January 2009
#15 - Strasbourg Diary #1
Well since I didn't have access to the internet for ages, I had written a couple of blog entries to post later when I had access. So now I am backdating them. Here is the first one :)
I am now in student accommodation. Yeah! The lady at the university rang them up and pulled some strings so I could move in straight away instead of waiting until February. The room itself is fine, if it was England then it would be a brilliant place to stay in but as it's France, people are not that social so I don't know if I will even meet my neighbours....
Also...I am pretty sure there is mould growing across all the corners of the ceiling. That or it's food.
So today is a Saturday, I don't know what to do. I have unpacked just about everything except my clothes which are still in my suitcase because it is always a big ordeal trying to sort out where you want which clothes to go. I'll probably do it tomorrow or Monday though. Later today I think I will probably go to the supermarket and buy some food and other things because I have nothing here, and it might be nice to eat today (hopefully I can remember the way to walk when I went with my friend who was here for first semester). Although, I'll probably stop at the pizza store on the way to the supermarket because I want pizza! And it's cheap and you get one free or something and I miss pepperoni. Oh no I shouldn't have said that...now I want a pepperoni stuffed crust! I had one at home I don't think I finished it all though...I could have taken it with me!!
I have a three lights in my room. One is by the sink, one by the bed which is small and only for the bed(?) and one that is along the window for the desk. However, I can find now switch or anything on how to turn this desk light on...so I don't know what I should do. For now, in the day with the blinds open there is enough light. But when it's night I'm guessing that doesn't really work well anymore.
My window looks out directly into the path of a building. So I should be careful about leaving my blinds open as I don't particularly want people to watch me in my room. I'll probably be seeing a lot of this building though, as you have to face directly out of the window when you sit at the desk. Maybe in time it will become my muse for when I do homework.
I think I will update this blog more about France than I did about Japan, as in Japan I was always around people so I was always doing something outside of my dorm. In France though, at least for now, I know nobody (I still don't even know when any lessons start) and I am in the accommodation the farthest away from the universities. I will also be trying to update on anything Japanese that I forgot or ran out of time to post, so watch this space!
I am now in student accommodation. Yeah! The lady at the university rang them up and pulled some strings so I could move in straight away instead of waiting until February. The room itself is fine, if it was England then it would be a brilliant place to stay in but as it's France, people are not that social so I don't know if I will even meet my neighbours....
Also...I am pretty sure there is mould growing across all the corners of the ceiling. That or it's food.
So today is a Saturday, I don't know what to do. I have unpacked just about everything except my clothes which are still in my suitcase because it is always a big ordeal trying to sort out where you want which clothes to go. I'll probably do it tomorrow or Monday though. Later today I think I will probably go to the supermarket and buy some food and other things because I have nothing here, and it might be nice to eat today (hopefully I can remember the way to walk when I went with my friend who was here for first semester). Although, I'll probably stop at the pizza store on the way to the supermarket because I want pizza! And it's cheap and you get one free or something and I miss pepperoni. Oh no I shouldn't have said that...now I want a pepperoni stuffed crust! I had one at home I don't think I finished it all though...I could have taken it with me!!
I have a three lights in my room. One is by the sink, one by the bed which is small and only for the bed(?) and one that is along the window for the desk. However, I can find now switch or anything on how to turn this desk light on...so I don't know what I should do. For now, in the day with the blinds open there is enough light. But when it's night I'm guessing that doesn't really work well anymore.
My window looks out directly into the path of a building. So I should be careful about leaving my blinds open as I don't particularly want people to watch me in my room. I'll probably be seeing a lot of this building though, as you have to face directly out of the window when you sit at the desk. Maybe in time it will become my muse for when I do homework.
I think I will update this blog more about France than I did about Japan, as in Japan I was always around people so I was always doing something outside of my dorm. In France though, at least for now, I know nobody (I still don't even know when any lessons start) and I am in the accommodation the farthest away from the universities. I will also be trying to update on anything Japanese that I forgot or ran out of time to post, so watch this space!
Friday 23 January 2009
#14 - I'm in France now!!!
The day I arrived to Strasbourg...what a mess. I had basically no information from the uni I'd be going to about my course or classes, and heard nothing back from the 3 e-mails I sent to the student accommodation place, so I generally had no idea what I was doing.
Helen met me at the airport which was very nice of her because otherwise I would have probably not have made it into Strasbourg. So first we went to the accommodation. When I talked to the people there about moving into any free room they have until my contract starts (February) but not only did they have no free rooms, there was a waiting list for them too. But that was irrelevant because I wasn't even on their database.
So now I am living in a hotel for a couple weeks until I can move in. Most of my time has been spent playing games on my laptop because I don't know anyone in Strasbourg and all the uni places I went/needed to go to were closed even though it was during their explicit opening hours.
I have very little sorted out so far. I need to take some photos of myself for various forms and things but I know where I can do that (it costs 4EUR I believe...) and today I managed to get a copy of the guide pedagogique for the year I am doing so now I have to somehow choose modules and lessons from it, which I don't understand because it has both a stupid layout, no clear information, and it's in French.
I have managed to meet a few ERASMUS or international students by accident. I was on the phone to my dad outside an office and after I hung up a girl came over and said she heard me speaking in English and asked if I was ERASMUS, which I am. And today I saw her on campus today as well and she invited me to go with her to a cafe to meet up with 2 other international girls, so I now know at least 3 people that are NOT French. Woo. (They are Hungarian, American (from Oklahoma!) and Japanese!). And apparently there is some sort of Erasmus party at a bar called Mosquito on Monday so I will probably go there and see who is there apart from the 3 girls! Also, I was told there is another American at least who is male and who also shares my non-interest in girls...but apparently he's not good looking!
So I guess for now I need to try and make sense of this guide and choose my course....I dunno. France sucks at helping you do anything.
I did walk around the area a bit and took some pictures of buildings and things that seem important but now my camera is out of battery, and because it is japanese it obviously has a Japanese charger. And the thing doesn't fit into the Japanese adapter that I bought so...I can't charge it :/ Maybe I could try and steal one off the Japanese girl Akie-chan....hmmmmn....
Also, the internet is expensive in my hotel (EUR4.50 for an hour) so I shall not be using this much if at all...which is why I have not updated anything since forever.
Helen met me at the airport which was very nice of her because otherwise I would have probably not have made it into Strasbourg. So first we went to the accommodation. When I talked to the people there about moving into any free room they have until my contract starts (February) but not only did they have no free rooms, there was a waiting list for them too. But that was irrelevant because I wasn't even on their database.
So now I am living in a hotel for a couple weeks until I can move in. Most of my time has been spent playing games on my laptop because I don't know anyone in Strasbourg and all the uni places I went/needed to go to were closed even though it was during their explicit opening hours.I have very little sorted out so far. I need to take some photos of myself for various forms and things but I know where I can do that (it costs 4EUR I believe...) and today I managed to get a copy of the guide pedagogique for the year I am doing so now I have to somehow choose modules and lessons from it, which I don't understand because it has both a stupid layout, no clear information, and it's in French.
I have managed to meet a few ERASMUS or international students by accident. I was on the phone to my dad outside an office and after I hung up a girl came over and said she heard me speaking in English and asked if I was ERASMUS, which I am. And today I saw her on campus today as well and she invited me to go with her to a cafe to meet up with 2 other international girls, so I now know at least 3 people that are NOT French. Woo. (They are Hungarian, American (from Oklahoma!) and Japanese!). And apparently there is some sort of Erasmus party at a bar called Mosquito on Monday so I will probably go there and see who is there apart from the 3 girls! Also, I was told there is another American at least who is male and who also shares my non-interest in girls...but apparently he's not good looking!
So I guess for now I need to try and make sense of this guide and choose my course....I dunno. France sucks at helping you do anything.
I did walk around the area a bit and took some pictures of buildings and things that seem important but now my camera is out of battery, and because it is japanese it obviously has a Japanese charger. And the thing doesn't fit into the Japanese adapter that I bought so...I can't charge it :/ Maybe I could try and steal one off the Japanese girl Akie-chan....hmmmmn....
Also, the internet is expensive in my hotel (EUR4.50 for an hour) so I shall not be using this much if at all...which is why I have not updated anything since forever.
Wednesday 7 January 2009
#13 - returning from Tokyo
Tokyo was ... interesting. But not in the sense that there was a lot to do, because there was hardl anything. Nor was it due to the people, and there were hardly any there. In fact, Tokyo has severely disappointed me.
For the first night we got there (31st) we did not have a hotel room because everything was booked. We had planned to stay up all night until the afternoon of the first but we were so tired from not sleeping on the night bus that we had to sleep somewhere, and we decided to try a comic park. A comic park is a place to go to read manga and/or use the internet for a certain amount of time. Most people tend to sleep in them as well so most have showers and sometimes beds. So we slept fro a few hours in a chair in out own private booths. It wasn't immensly satisfying but it was better than nothing. For the rest of the night and day we walked around Shinjuku until the point that we began to hate it. Both us us felt that Tokyo was stupid and I just wanted to go home. There was nothing to do :/
The night of the 31st, New Years Eve, I texted some of my friends that were in Tokyo and tried to find out where the best place to go to celebrate was. So we agreed to meet in the temple near Tokyo Tower, where they release hundreds of balloons at midnight. My friends did not show up on time so I didn't see them. It was also freezing cold so we were not in the best of moods. Hundreds of people pushing and shoving you is not much fun either. When the baloons were let go I did record it on my camera, only to find my camera had actually decided it would record nothing. So th whole reason we went there was lost.
Our hotel was in Ikebukuro which is quite a good location especially for trains and the subway. It was part of the Sakura Hotel group and not too bad. I don't remember exactly the order of where we went in Tokyo, but we also went to Shibuya where I met up with a friend from home and walked around and had Starbuck's over the biggest zebra crossing in the world. Shibuya is far better than Shinjuku in my opinion. My friend disagreed.
I met up with the other uni friends who are currently studying in Tokyo and we had a small meal which was nice. The food was good too so I was happy. It was nice to see everyone again as I hadn't seen them since June or July! and won't see them again until September or October.
We also went around Ikebukuro where our hotel was which was a nice little walk. On the day we left, Sunday, we went to Harajuku wanting to see all the costumes and cosplay, only to find out that nothing - and I mean nothing - was happening at all because if New Year's. Which was disappointing. We didn't see anyone in any costume, so we ended up waling around the area shopping and buying things.
So if I had any advice about Tokyo - don't go for New Year's.
For the first night we got there (31st) we did not have a hotel room because everything was booked. We had planned to stay up all night until the afternoon of the first but we were so tired from not sleeping on the night bus that we had to sleep somewhere, and we decided to try a comic park. A comic park is a place to go to read manga and/or use the internet for a certain amount of time. Most people tend to sleep in them as well so most have showers and sometimes beds. So we slept fro a few hours in a chair in out own private booths. It wasn't immensly satisfying but it was better than nothing. For the rest of the night and day we walked around Shinjuku until the point that we began to hate it. Both us us felt that Tokyo was stupid and I just wanted to go home. There was nothing to do :/
The night of the 31st, New Years Eve, I texted some of my friends that were in Tokyo and tried to find out where the best place to go to celebrate was. So we agreed to meet in the temple near Tokyo Tower, where they release hundreds of balloons at midnight. My friends did not show up on time so I didn't see them. It was also freezing cold so we were not in the best of moods. Hundreds of people pushing and shoving you is not much fun either. When the baloons were let go I did record it on my camera, only to find my camera had actually decided it would record nothing. So th whole reason we went there was lost.
Our hotel was in Ikebukuro which is quite a good location especially for trains and the subway. It was part of the Sakura Hotel group and not too bad. I don't remember exactly the order of where we went in Tokyo, but we also went to Shibuya where I met up with a friend from home and walked around and had Starbuck's over the biggest zebra crossing in the world. Shibuya is far better than Shinjuku in my opinion. My friend disagreed.
I met up with the other uni friends who are currently studying in Tokyo and we had a small meal which was nice. The food was good too so I was happy. It was nice to see everyone again as I hadn't seen them since June or July! and won't see them again until September or October.
We also went around Ikebukuro where our hotel was which was a nice little walk. On the day we left, Sunday, we went to Harajuku wanting to see all the costumes and cosplay, only to find out that nothing - and I mean nothing - was happening at all because if New Year's. Which was disappointing. We didn't see anyone in any costume, so we ended up waling around the area shopping and buying things.
So if I had any advice about Tokyo - don't go for New Year's.
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