she buzzes through the room, leaving perfume in the air, and that's what's triggered this...
ok, an actual post after all the poetry loving over the last two days. realised how much i enjoy looking at old entries so i'm now doing this just for future-me since diary writing died almost a year ago, and i'd forgotten so much stuff that i've written in here!
it's been a busy... while. It's been a good semester, plenty going on, though the "hard work" i thought was happening when i last wrote clearly didn't... took it kinda easy on the work front this year- went to most lectures and classes and stuff but since history isn't my thing -at all- it's been hard to make myself do the extra work. especially when i don't need the grades. 3 exams down though, and though i didn't have all that much to say it's been such a joy just being able to walk into an exam and calmly write for 3 hours in french. doing the french language exam for french people (essay and grammar skills for people who failed the language test at the start of the year) was infinitely satisfying, arguing some statement by a french sociologist. just gotta push on for the german exam on saturday morning (WHY????) and next week is history of women in modern (i.e. 16th- 18th century) france. It's an awesome course and i did a presentation last week which seemed to go really well- afterwards 2 students came up to me and said i was really easy to understand and engaging too! well, i did have handouts, and did my usual thing at the start of saying "obviously, i'm not french, so if there's anything you don't catch stop me and i'll try to explain what i mean!". I have high hopes for this :D dissertation title and plan have been handed in. what a relief. hopefully down hill from here til september with that!
[/workrant] in other news, i;ve done loads more travelling. Have been home at easter for dads wedding, what a grr, though am beginning to see how good this all is for him and for rosie too. this does in no way mean that i have come to think that it is good for me too- i still have no room to stay in over summer. but tough titties for them as sorry, but i have nowhere else to go (despite kind offers from mags, it isn't my friends' place to do my dad's job for THREE MONTHS of summer holidays). after that, i spent an exciting 5 days in germany with a friend and despite an epic 12 hour journey home i had an awesome time partying german stylee. I miss my newnham girls *sooo* much. so much. since then have had a weekend in paris (going again on sunday for free museums loving) and been to versailles palace again. planning japes for after the exams, and just got back from an epic weekend in Biarritz, just before the exams (bad plan!). We took the night train there and back and there was a bar/dj/lounge on the train which was awesome. got a bit (!) tipsy on my first real game of ring of fire- i have the feeling that games of "i have never" will be significantly more dangerous for me this summer if they get played as my "most daring moment" has been trumped several times in the course of one weekend :P
I only have 3 weeks left here. I want to fill them to the brim with everything i love about being here. I am so lucky in so many ways and I cannot imagine my life or myself without this experience. Yes, I'm like a broken record on this topic, but it's just made an unimaginable difference to my life to have been able to come here and, well, live. I can't believe I have to leave. And as Sarah said at her birthday meal tonight, I can't believe that we haven't even known each other for 9 months yet and we're already all so special to each other.
I love speaking at least 3 languages a day. I love chattering on and not even realise I'm speaking french. I love being a regular in my beautiful tea shop and getting cheek kisses on entry and that they know exactly what i'm going to have. I love looking down into Rouen from the top of the valley. I love the breathless exhilaration of having left my old life behind, temporarily at least. I love having friends from england, scotland, ireland (northern and republic), the usa, canada, finland, germany, france, austria, spain, belgium, greece. i love fresh bread and stinky cheese. i love going to the market on a sunday and knowing exactly where best to get each different product. I love making jokes in foreign languages. I love being the pianist for a foreign choir. I love mocking the Normandy accent. I love the confidence I've found here.
If I have another year in my life as intense and eye-opening as this one in my life I shall consider myself blessed- though I guess life is as intense as one chooses to make it, and intensity of experience is what I'm always going to be going for now. Not that I haven't had shitty times, misery, pain, blahblahblah or that it hasn't been difficult to keep going and not just wish for London and an easy life- but it's those times which have made the good times all the better.
9 months ago I started randomly grinning as I walked around my new -chez moi-. I still have that smile plastered all over my face.
it's been a busy... while. It's been a good semester, plenty going on, though the "hard work" i thought was happening when i last wrote clearly didn't... took it kinda easy on the work front this year- went to most lectures and classes and stuff but since history isn't my thing -at all- it's been hard to make myself do the extra work. especially when i don't need the grades. 3 exams down though, and though i didn't have all that much to say it's been such a joy just being able to walk into an exam and calmly write for 3 hours in french. doing the french language exam for french people (essay and grammar skills for people who failed the language test at the start of the year) was infinitely satisfying, arguing some statement by a french sociologist. just gotta push on for the german exam on saturday morning (WHY????) and next week is history of women in modern (i.e. 16th- 18th century) france. It's an awesome course and i did a presentation last week which seemed to go really well- afterwards 2 students came up to me and said i was really easy to understand and engaging too! well, i did have handouts, and did my usual thing at the start of saying "obviously, i'm not french, so if there's anything you don't catch stop me and i'll try to explain what i mean!". I have high hopes for this :D dissertation title and plan have been handed in. what a relief. hopefully down hill from here til september with that!
[/workrant] in other news, i;ve done loads more travelling. Have been home at easter for dads wedding, what a grr, though am beginning to see how good this all is for him and for rosie too. this does in no way mean that i have come to think that it is good for me too- i still have no room to stay in over summer. but tough titties for them as sorry, but i have nowhere else to go (despite kind offers from mags, it isn't my friends' place to do my dad's job for THREE MONTHS of summer holidays). after that, i spent an exciting 5 days in germany with a friend and despite an epic 12 hour journey home i had an awesome time partying german stylee. I miss my newnham girls *sooo* much. so much. since then have had a weekend in paris (going again on sunday for free museums loving) and been to versailles palace again. planning japes for after the exams, and just got back from an epic weekend in Biarritz, just before the exams (bad plan!). We took the night train there and back and there was a bar/dj/lounge on the train which was awesome. got a bit (!) tipsy on my first real game of ring of fire- i have the feeling that games of "i have never" will be significantly more dangerous for me this summer if they get played as my "most daring moment" has been trumped several times in the course of one weekend :P
I only have 3 weeks left here. I want to fill them to the brim with everything i love about being here. I am so lucky in so many ways and I cannot imagine my life or myself without this experience. Yes, I'm like a broken record on this topic, but it's just made an unimaginable difference to my life to have been able to come here and, well, live. I can't believe I have to leave. And as Sarah said at her birthday meal tonight, I can't believe that we haven't even known each other for 9 months yet and we're already all so special to each other.
I love speaking at least 3 languages a day. I love chattering on and not even realise I'm speaking french. I love being a regular in my beautiful tea shop and getting cheek kisses on entry and that they know exactly what i'm going to have. I love looking down into Rouen from the top of the valley. I love the breathless exhilaration of having left my old life behind, temporarily at least. I love having friends from england, scotland, ireland (northern and republic), the usa, canada, finland, germany, france, austria, spain, belgium, greece. i love fresh bread and stinky cheese. i love going to the market on a sunday and knowing exactly where best to get each different product. I love making jokes in foreign languages. I love being the pianist for a foreign choir. I love mocking the Normandy accent. I love the confidence I've found here.
If I have another year in my life as intense and eye-opening as this one in my life I shall consider myself blessed- though I guess life is as intense as one chooses to make it, and intensity of experience is what I'm always going to be going for now. Not that I haven't had shitty times, misery, pain, blahblahblah or that it hasn't been difficult to keep going and not just wish for London and an easy life- but it's those times which have made the good times all the better.
9 months ago I started randomly grinning as I walked around my new -chez moi-. I still have that smile plastered all over my face.