Ninth week
Well, it's been a week seen I last posted. We're in ninth week now, which is technically after the end of term, but lots of people have exams or papers to write so most people stayed on. I haven't really done much except watch lots of Peep Show and say goodbye to lots of people. I actually did some work on Tuesday, which was a slightly amazing
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I had the advantage of (in Study year) having two good friends among those at the same university in France and then I managed to get a place in a Hall of Residence and met a lot of others there though the expats were more friendly on the whole than the natives at first. thought the first french person who spoke to me at the Fac by amazing coincidence had just spent a year as assistant at my old sixth form college.
When I was at Cergy-Pontoise teaching I was incredibly lonely to start with living in the middle of no where. The answer is to join something - obviously what I joined (the Choir at one of the English Churches) prob isn't for you but anything that will get you meeting like minded folk is what you need. I met an Irish girl who was lectrice at La Sorbonne and we would explore on my days off and when I moved in to Paris I had so many friends from Choir that I have never been busier socially.
I suggest, unless your accommodation is provided, that you find somewhere to live in the Student quarter since it is a uni town. The people who were assitants from my Uni had to sign up for a course for one UV while they were there so I suggest you might see if you can sign up for a course that interests you at Tours - it shouldn't be expensive. There are probably political/humanitarian groups you could join. I remember that there was a community project wanting students to help deprived kids with their homework, another friend got involved in the student radio. You are unlikely to have a completely full timetable so you will need something.
There may be a German language assistant or another Brit in a nearby school... I know you want to meet french people but it can be nice to have someone to do stuff with even if you go your separate ways ...
Be prepared for the first weeks to be rough but you will get through.
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