Chaotic Travel

The metro …. That thing that we all hate yet love at the same time! We spend so much time travelling every day on this hot, sweaty underground tube.  We complain constantly, yet it’s so blooming useful! So let’s consider the pros and cons.

Pro’s:

• Journey’s can be twice as fast
• It is so regular
• It’s really not expensive
• It allows time to enjoy your book (whereas normally you just wouldn't find the time)

Con’s:

• Hot and sweaty
• No one smiles … Life ain’t that bad … Come on now people ;-)
• It can feel expensive (yeah yeah I know I said it isn’t, but y’know…)
• It’s just no fun at night with drunkards
• People are ruuuuddeeeee

Haha even today, there were loads of free spaces so I took 2 spaces to myself.  An elderly lady gets on and insists on sitting next to me, purely so that I had to move my legs.  Then on the next journey, there was the moment where the obese person insisted that they could fit in between 2 people (which evidently they couldn’t…)… yes this also happened to me today.  It just heightens the sweaty hotness, and what’s more, you feel it would be rude to move, so you sit there wedged in lol.



Rant over.

On a happier note… I’m being very productive today here at La Mission Locale de Lille ;-) I have:

Lots of planning and research done = check. 

Lots of previous volunteers contacted = check

Eaten healthy (very important!) = check

Grammar workbook on the table (with intention of studying) = hopefully a soon-to-be check (though possibly uncheck at a later time … grammar is never fun haha)

5 a day keep the doctors at bay !

Living life day by day

Well there’s another month down and how quickly it is going (literally 2 months of my project are finished today) … no wonder 6 months was too short when I did my European Voluntary Service here !!

I’m really starting to feel like my French is improving massively now.  Just as a quick example … Last night I was in bed reading a book in English.  When I put that down, I started thinking in French just before I went to sleep.  It was so strange to realise that my head had flipped like that from one language to another.  When I think about it, I only speak English now when I’m teaching, typing online or skyping my family.  It has even reached a point where in English conversations I sometimes mix words up haha … That’s funny when that happens!

My Service Civique voluntary project is going really well as well now.  I have plenty of tasks to be doing with the project I am focussing on, and really it’s just that I’m trying to choose where to start! It’s so great being able to help other young people like me who just want that opportunity to experience something new abroad whilst learning another language.  I find the English workshops really fulfilling too, when they learn something new or gain in confidence in their speaking ability.

In terms of my living situation, that is all sorted out now too :D I will be living in a town called Villeneuve d’Ascq, just outside of Lille.  It’s only 20 minutes commute in to work and is next to a really nice park with lakes, so I’m happy ;-)

For now I’m going to head off and crack on with some work, before heading to Wattrelos, a nearby town, for a presentation at their Mission Locale this afternoon.  Anyhow, below I have attached some pictures of the lovely park … hope you enjoy and keep smiling ;-)