(no subject)
Today I'm staying inside. The last two days I've been outside suffering extreme weather conditions!!
On Sunday Suzi and I met up with Drew, a guy from Manchester who will be on our training trip, and we set off around Paris to visit the landmarks we have to know about. We underestimated the rain and the cold, it was freezing! We discovered that Suzi's shoes are not appropriate for the wet, we stopped for lunch and she stood outside and wrung out her socks, her feet were so cold and wet!! Drew had a hole in his boot so he also had one very wet foot, I was the only one with dry feet, in my trusty blochs - yay multipurpose shoes! Anyway we got halfway through our landmarks when we were decided we'd seen enough for one day and we came back to our hostel for some food and we sat at our table and exchanged notes and looked like real little smarties at our table with lots of paperwork and writing!
So yesterday we were more prepared for braving the weather, we wore more layers, and Suzi tied plastic bags around her feet before we left to keep them dry!! I wore jeans with tights underneath, a shirt over another (like your normal layering style) with the big snuggly hoodie I got in Dublin, with my trench coat and a warm hat... and frequently during the day I ended up pulling my hood up over my hat also - hot. But yesterday it wasn't just cold and wet, it was SO SO WINDY. The three of us had umbrellas that whipped around in the wind and were turning inside out, we thought that we just had cheapo umbrellas, but everyone's was doing it! And we noticed more and more umbrellas shoved in bins and tangles of metal and fabric lying on the side of the road. We'd only been outdoors for about an hour and my umbrella was tugging away Mary-Poppins style... when the rod snapped clean in half, and the canopy sailed away and I was left holding half of the rod on the handle!! It was hilarious, I was standing in the rain and just laughed and laughed! Suzi gave me another umbrella she had, she had bought a new one that morning because the one she was using the day before kept turning inside out and she wanted to start afresh, but pretty soon that one began twisting around too, and by the time we reached the end of the street and decided we were going to escape the wind in a cafe, the frame was such a mangled mess that I couldn't fold it back up and had to leave it on the pavement outside. So I destroyed two umbrellas within an hour. So then Suzi and I shared one for the rest of the day!!
Later that day we were walking down the Champs Elysees and in this fashionable, famous, stylish street of French culture we decided to have Maccas... its the only Maccas which doesn't have the golden arches outside its entrance, because it would ruin the chracter of the street, apparently. So it has a subtle pair of silver arches. We had a 'Royale Cheese meal' - otherwise known as a Quarter Pounder meal and while there we met up with 5 other Contiki trainee people, who we ended up spending the rest of the day with - and despite the cold it was a really good afternoon, we went to all the other sites, and then came back to our hostel (cos ours is the coolest) and had a few drinks and dinner, and again we had our notes out and were adding to things and sharing ideas and stuff... at the end of our meal we gave the waiter a nice tip so he came and brought us some free shots... they were vodka and grenadine, but then he came around and poured tobasco sauce in them as well!!! He really wouldn't take no for an answer... so we threw them back and some people had their eyes watering but I was actually okay... maybe its cos the tobasco kind of warmed you up after such a cold day outdoors!!
It was really good to talk to more people about their interviews and assignment and preparation. I think everyone knows about my interview, about how I was embarrassingly pathetic at the European knowledge quiz, and that because I seemed reserved they asked me to sing to them. I was pretty polite and although I was firm about some things, I didn't argue with them, more like I laughed/giggled through the whole thing cos I laugh when I'm nervous, whereas Suzi full told them what she thought when they tried to push her buttons, she had balls! The interviewers told me that they were quite mild to me and it seems very true, hearing about other peoples interviews yesterday, the interviewers told people they were arrogant, questioned their sexuality, hassed them for their career choice, accused them of pretending to be someone they're not cos they were wearing coloured contacts, condemning people who laughed because they weren't taking the interview seriously... gosh I don't know what I would have done if they did some of that stuff to me! One girl did get told to teach them a dance, since she's a salsa teacher, so thats somewhat like my instructions. And for 8 people who had been chosen we all seem quite different, although the main common denominator is that we went out of our way to stand up for ourselves or do something unusual - like dance or sing!
Everyone is also in the same boat about their assignment - having completed it but not KNOWING it yet, stressing about trying to learn it all, training starts next monday so its a week of study left for us now. The first week of training is in London, and apparently next week they'll be waking us up at THREE A.M to do tours of London, because its the only time there is no traffic. So umm perhaps I should start learning more about London's landmarks so I don't flunk that!
Some other things from the last few days...
* When Suzi and I tried to buy fruit and didn't understand how you make your own barcodes before you go to the register by weighing the fruit and pressing buttons and not knowing French and feeling so... foreign!
* We tried to find a lined notebook but they all had grids instead of lines. They look like normal notebooks and pads - but with grids instead of lines. Weird!
* We went on a night walking tour around Montmartre (near Moulin Rouge) which was really good - beforehand there was a huge Palestinian protest in the street and there were hundreds of Gendarme (policemen) in the streets and in vans and lining the street with those shield things. They were decked out as though ready for a massive rollerblading expedition, so much protection all over their bodies. And unflattering little hats.
* A few places down from the Moulin Rouge is the Museum Erotique - which apparently has a chair in which the seat is taken out, and there is a set of pedals which turn a wheel underneath the chair - and on the wheel is a variety of tongues - shapes, sizes and textures - use your imagination!!
* After the night tour Suzi and I spent a considerable amount of time making a Mr Hanky out of Scotch tape and napkins. He's awesome. And on Sunday I got a wicked pic of him with the Eiffel Tower.
* There are dogs EVERYWHERE and yesterday we went along a street filled with pet stores and so many cute puppies of all breeds!!
Okay, it's noon so I need to go upstairs and actually do some work. I'll probably come back later tonight tho, hehe. Tomorrow Suzi and I take the Eurostar back to London, we're staying at a hotel until the training starts, then we'll still be staying at that hotel but we won't be paying for it! This hostel has been really cool, not sure how much net access we'll get at the hotel, and as of next week hardly any, so I'll be milking it over the next 24 hours!
h x
On Sunday Suzi and I met up with Drew, a guy from Manchester who will be on our training trip, and we set off around Paris to visit the landmarks we have to know about. We underestimated the rain and the cold, it was freezing! We discovered that Suzi's shoes are not appropriate for the wet, we stopped for lunch and she stood outside and wrung out her socks, her feet were so cold and wet!! Drew had a hole in his boot so he also had one very wet foot, I was the only one with dry feet, in my trusty blochs - yay multipurpose shoes! Anyway we got halfway through our landmarks when we were decided we'd seen enough for one day and we came back to our hostel for some food and we sat at our table and exchanged notes and looked like real little smarties at our table with lots of paperwork and writing!
So yesterday we were more prepared for braving the weather, we wore more layers, and Suzi tied plastic bags around her feet before we left to keep them dry!! I wore jeans with tights underneath, a shirt over another (like your normal layering style) with the big snuggly hoodie I got in Dublin, with my trench coat and a warm hat... and frequently during the day I ended up pulling my hood up over my hat also - hot. But yesterday it wasn't just cold and wet, it was SO SO WINDY. The three of us had umbrellas that whipped around in the wind and were turning inside out, we thought that we just had cheapo umbrellas, but everyone's was doing it! And we noticed more and more umbrellas shoved in bins and tangles of metal and fabric lying on the side of the road. We'd only been outdoors for about an hour and my umbrella was tugging away Mary-Poppins style... when the rod snapped clean in half, and the canopy sailed away and I was left holding half of the rod on the handle!! It was hilarious, I was standing in the rain and just laughed and laughed! Suzi gave me another umbrella she had, she had bought a new one that morning because the one she was using the day before kept turning inside out and she wanted to start afresh, but pretty soon that one began twisting around too, and by the time we reached the end of the street and decided we were going to escape the wind in a cafe, the frame was such a mangled mess that I couldn't fold it back up and had to leave it on the pavement outside. So I destroyed two umbrellas within an hour. So then Suzi and I shared one for the rest of the day!!
Later that day we were walking down the Champs Elysees and in this fashionable, famous, stylish street of French culture we decided to have Maccas... its the only Maccas which doesn't have the golden arches outside its entrance, because it would ruin the chracter of the street, apparently. So it has a subtle pair of silver arches. We had a 'Royale Cheese meal' - otherwise known as a Quarter Pounder meal and while there we met up with 5 other Contiki trainee people, who we ended up spending the rest of the day with - and despite the cold it was a really good afternoon, we went to all the other sites, and then came back to our hostel (cos ours is the coolest) and had a few drinks and dinner, and again we had our notes out and were adding to things and sharing ideas and stuff... at the end of our meal we gave the waiter a nice tip so he came and brought us some free shots... they were vodka and grenadine, but then he came around and poured tobasco sauce in them as well!!! He really wouldn't take no for an answer... so we threw them back and some people had their eyes watering but I was actually okay... maybe its cos the tobasco kind of warmed you up after such a cold day outdoors!!
It was really good to talk to more people about their interviews and assignment and preparation. I think everyone knows about my interview, about how I was embarrassingly pathetic at the European knowledge quiz, and that because I seemed reserved they asked me to sing to them. I was pretty polite and although I was firm about some things, I didn't argue with them, more like I laughed/giggled through the whole thing cos I laugh when I'm nervous, whereas Suzi full told them what she thought when they tried to push her buttons, she had balls! The interviewers told me that they were quite mild to me and it seems very true, hearing about other peoples interviews yesterday, the interviewers told people they were arrogant, questioned their sexuality, hassed them for their career choice, accused them of pretending to be someone they're not cos they were wearing coloured contacts, condemning people who laughed because they weren't taking the interview seriously... gosh I don't know what I would have done if they did some of that stuff to me! One girl did get told to teach them a dance, since she's a salsa teacher, so thats somewhat like my instructions. And for 8 people who had been chosen we all seem quite different, although the main common denominator is that we went out of our way to stand up for ourselves or do something unusual - like dance or sing!
Everyone is also in the same boat about their assignment - having completed it but not KNOWING it yet, stressing about trying to learn it all, training starts next monday so its a week of study left for us now. The first week of training is in London, and apparently next week they'll be waking us up at THREE A.M to do tours of London, because its the only time there is no traffic. So umm perhaps I should start learning more about London's landmarks so I don't flunk that!
Some other things from the last few days...
* When Suzi and I tried to buy fruit and didn't understand how you make your own barcodes before you go to the register by weighing the fruit and pressing buttons and not knowing French and feeling so... foreign!
* We tried to find a lined notebook but they all had grids instead of lines. They look like normal notebooks and pads - but with grids instead of lines. Weird!
* We went on a night walking tour around Montmartre (near Moulin Rouge) which was really good - beforehand there was a huge Palestinian protest in the street and there were hundreds of Gendarme (policemen) in the streets and in vans and lining the street with those shield things. They were decked out as though ready for a massive rollerblading expedition, so much protection all over their bodies. And unflattering little hats.
* A few places down from the Moulin Rouge is the Museum Erotique - which apparently has a chair in which the seat is taken out, and there is a set of pedals which turn a wheel underneath the chair - and on the wheel is a variety of tongues - shapes, sizes and textures - use your imagination!!
* After the night tour Suzi and I spent a considerable amount of time making a Mr Hanky out of Scotch tape and napkins. He's awesome. And on Sunday I got a wicked pic of him with the Eiffel Tower.
* There are dogs EVERYWHERE and yesterday we went along a street filled with pet stores and so many cute puppies of all breeds!!
Okay, it's noon so I need to go upstairs and actually do some work. I'll probably come back later tonight tho, hehe. Tomorrow Suzi and I take the Eurostar back to London, we're staying at a hotel until the training starts, then we'll still be staying at that hotel but we won't be paying for it! This hostel has been really cool, not sure how much net access we'll get at the hotel, and as of next week hardly any, so I'll be milking it over the next 24 hours!
h x