ends and beginnings
Well, they say all good things come to an end. And my time here is now nearly over - I can't believe how fast 6 months has gone by. It has been a brilliant experience in so many ways - it got me out of London at a time when I was so miserable and tired; I have had a flat to myself and plenty of space (after having 2 housemates whose idea of tidy was completely different to mine!); Toulouse is a lovely city to live in - all very accessible by foot, and also so easy to drive out into the countryside from here to explore medieval villages/mountains/lakes. I particularly like the French attitude to life and work - take it easy! Things get done without the need to stress about them! And the attitude in the office is one of 'get the work done, but without killing yourself' - taking at least an hour for lunch and leaving at a sensible time is the norm. And with everyone on holiday in August, it is possible to have no work and leave mid afternoon. I will miss that.
I have had my last day of work out here, a week of holiday and then I will be back in London on 1st September. Back to colder weather, longer hours, stricter dress code and more formal working conditions. Most of all, back to the London City mentality, where nothing is quite as relaxed.... I am kind of surprised how positive I feel about it really - there is so much that I will miss (food, flat, friends) and yet there are still a few upsides: the work I have been doing out here has ceased to be that interesting, so it will be good to go back to something different and hopefully challenging; the flat that I am moving back into is only 15 mins walk from work, which is so good for exercise and for getting home when leaving the office at 3am; the girl I am going to be living with is someone I know quite well (another DLA trainee) and I think we will get on. I am looking forward to catching up with friends I haven't seen for more than 6 months. And London has the advantage of theatres/galleries/more bookshops.
Let's just hope that the post-secondment depression doesn't set in too quickly (I have been told it can take only 2 weeks!)
I have had my last day of work out here, a week of holiday and then I will be back in London on 1st September. Back to colder weather, longer hours, stricter dress code and more formal working conditions. Most of all, back to the London City mentality, where nothing is quite as relaxed.... I am kind of surprised how positive I feel about it really - there is so much that I will miss (food, flat, friends) and yet there are still a few upsides: the work I have been doing out here has ceased to be that interesting, so it will be good to go back to something different and hopefully challenging; the flat that I am moving back into is only 15 mins walk from work, which is so good for exercise and for getting home when leaving the office at 3am; the girl I am going to be living with is someone I know quite well (another DLA trainee) and I think we will get on. I am looking forward to catching up with friends I haven't seen for more than 6 months. And London has the advantage of theatres/galleries/more bookshops.
Let's just hope that the post-secondment depression doesn't set in too quickly (I have been told it can take only 2 weeks!)