Photo Insight !

As promised, here are some photos :

Below are several photos of the Forum I talked about yesterday:

A game to play with young people to learn more about Europe

Other volunteers having fun whilst practicing for the "Flash Mob"

Sat down for food n quiz :-)

Yves giving a speech about the answer to one of the questions

Eszter (long-term volunteer from Hungary) also doing the same thing

The formation of the CRIJ logo at the end of the Flash Mob

My 3 words for Europe, what Franco-Belge means to me and my representation of Europe in a picture !!!

Presenting my board on camera (in French)

Learning the moves for the Flash Mob

 Some more photos of my English workshops :

The advanced English group walking around town learning new vocabulary :-)

Playing "Who Am I?" ... Can you believe they gave me Mickey Mouse hahaha, I lost !!!

And finally some photos of Elshan's Azerbaijan evening and some social nights with volunteers:

 

Having fun one evening !!!

Une soirée avec des volontaires qui vont partir en Irlande le 5 Novembre :-)

Preparing Azerbaijani food

Elshan demonstrating the traditional dancing

Discussing traditions in Azerbaijan... You can see the flag on the left :-)

I hope you enjoyed this little selection selection of photos !!! My parents are now in Lille (woooo) So I shall be back online in a week or so. Bye bye for now !

Full Steam Ahead

Time is flying by so quick I just can’t believe it !!! I just can’t believe that there is now only 35 days left of my project ooooo …. It feels weird that it now seems there are few enough days to count down in days, not just weeks (5 weeks today I’m leaving however, if you’re interested hehehe).  When I leave, I’m going to miss people here in Lille so much, because I’ve met some amazing people who will always be special to me (bring out the violins!).  At the same time I’m really looking forward to catching up with friends and family who I haven’t seen in a while, and I guess the prospect of starting a new chapter of my life.

In terms of my project, on the 12th of October there was a forum event all day for professionals from organisations that support young people (18 to 30 years old) with any problems they may have and generally.  The forum was focused on information about Europe for the organisations and there were over 100 people who attended.  To start the day, there were speeches to give thanks to those that had helped organise the day (you know the type of speech ;-) ) and afterwards there were stands to attend speeches at.  Everyone had been divided into groups so that not everyone would go to the same speech at the same time (very cleverly done!).

The speeches were about varying projects and materials that could be used by the professionals or with the young people regarding discovering more about Europe or mobility within Europe.  For example, there were games and books that were available to buy.  As we rotated around the stands, there were two that involved learning a dance and then practising the formation outside …. I’ve got you wondering right ??? Hehe.  Well this is the thing … The organisers decided we would do a “Flash Mob” enactment !!! With half hour preparation and over 100 people!!!  I’ll explain more in a bit …

After the stands and before the "Flash Mob", we had the “Diner Quiz” … All the attendees were divided into tables of around 7 people and we had a quiz … But not just any normal quiz … Whilst taking part we were treated to “Carbonade Flamande”, a Flemish French traditional dish including beef marinated in a type of sauce including beer (!) which is apparently traditionally very Flemish, accompanied with chips (fries, not crisps, to those french people reading).  Yummy!  Furthermore, through the quiz we had dessert (in fact more choice than you could imagine).  The organisers had basically told everyone to bring along traditional desserts that would be shared after and OH MY GOSH .. It was amazing… Desserts ranging from all over ! I have a SLIGHT obsession with good food …. In fact I’m constantly eating in the office.  I think the only reason I stay this size is because I constantly eat little bits but never big meals … It’s the only reason I can think of ! (And the dancing and scooter maybe).

After this meal and quiz, we headed outside for the “Flash Mob” … We had colour coded t-shirts and we knew what we had to do and when … It started with us pretending to be listening to a speech about European Mobility, which was interesting the first time round but not after 4 or 5 takes haha.  Near the end of the speech, the music suddenly boomed on the speakers and we started dancing ! Very fun ! At the end of the dance, we had all made our way into position to form the symbol for the “Centre Régional d’Information Jeunesse” (Regional Centre of Information for Young People).  There was a camera on the roof looking down on us and then cameras walking among us on different takes to get different angles (very show-biz)… J’ai hâte de voir le vidéo (I can’t wait to see the video) !!!

At the end of the week after the forum, I had a couple of English workshops which went really well.  I also had some last week with a few EVS volunteers who may have projects in February and all the Leonardo volunteers who are due to leave on the 5^th and 12^th November.  I have built up really good relationships with them and it’s a shame some are leaving so soon (although to be fair, I will be leaving shortly afterwards).  It’s great fun running English workshops with people who are genuinely motivated to learn.  I’ve found more and more I deviate from my lesson plans and am able to adapt easily to situations… For example, due to the workshops being based mainly on speaking practice to prepare for projects, when I say we will have a debate I try and let them chose the topic.  The best debate to date was with the advanced group who chose to debate “Men are better than Women” … It got rather heated and very funny !! Of course it wasn’t true opinions but there were some outrageous reasons given, such as Jesus and other religious figures are all men, therefore men are obviously better hahaha.  In fact here are a few photos of that particular situation : (notice guys one side, girls the other :P)

Me with 5 Leonardo and 2 EVS Volunteers

Guys team arguing that "Men are better than Women"

Heated debate ;-)

Girls Team ... obviously "Women are better than Men" LOL

Apart from the project, I have also been very active in the past couple of weeks.  As well as dancing salsaaaa I have also visited the UK for 3 days ! I went to Nottingham to visit family for the day the Saturday, which was so great.  Then the Saturday night I was back to London, partied Saturday night, and then Sunday went for a full English breakfast (had to be done!) and then went to the World Bboy (Breakdancing) Championships at Brixton O2 Arena and finally visited a couple of close friends on the Sunday.  Booyyyyy that was worth the money !!! Incredible performances throughout the Sunday night and amazing time spent with great people … WOW !

This Tuesday night (25/10/11), Elshan, the long term volunteer from Azerbaijan, had a party at 2 other volunteers' apartment.  He wanted to cook for us all as he is due to leave the first week in November.  It was a great night, with traditional food, meeting new people and then we all went together to a bar and danced Salsa, Bachata and Merengué … It was the first time most of the people had danced latino style dances and they really seemed to enjoy it :-)

At this moment in time, I’m really thinking about job applications, because when I arrive in the UK the 30th November, I do not want to be unemployed.  I have always been either in employment or studying and now on this project … Although I do have my TEFL course that I need to finish by the 1^st January… That will keep me busy for a while when I get back (as well as skiing… Oh yes I will be straight back into France 2 weeks after I get home, but the Alps this time!).  But oh my gosh … sooner or later I will actually have to be an adult with a full-time job … scary !! So hey, may as well start a 2 year masters next September (avoid the inevitable a little longer)! 

I’m heading off now … I will upload some more photos here tomorrow as I don’t have them all here now in the office, so hope you look forward to that ;-)  My parents are due to arrive in Lille in 1 hour from now ! Exciting stuff; Dad’s first time in France and Mum’s first time driving on the right hand side hehehe.  Gonna be a good week !!! Bye for nowwww.

7 Weeks To Go – HOW ?!?!

Me and Biljana, a Serbian long-term volunteer

So once again I managed to leave it 3 weeks in between posts … apparently I’m not the greatest at keeping on top of this blog malarkey !!! Hahaha… But yeah … It feels like lots has happened in those 3 weeks and I’ve had a lot on my mind.  It’s quite strange really… I’ve changed my mind about my next steps after this project around a million times and I seem to keep changing it.  I’m slowly building longer term ideas in my head, but in the short term … Pick a country !? As my mum said yesterday; “Rebekah, it feels like you want to travel and Au Pair to avoid full-time working life and settling down” … Heck yes !!! Abso-blooming-lutely! After further reflection, she then went on to say “But then again, if you don’t do it now whilst you’re young, then you may never” … My point exactly :-D Now is the time to discover new countries and cultures, meet new people, broaden my horizons … I can’t say enough positive things about how “Youth in Action” has really helped me start in this process!  But regardless of this, I have finally decided to go back to England at the end of November to decide what I truly want to do.  No harm in giving myself that little bit of time !!!

Apparently, this very confused phase is normal for volunteers.  I have found that I’ve become very attached to Lille and have been fighting between my head or heart about whether I want to stay here after my project or go home.  It has meant that I have had to do a lot of thinking, but it has made me realise that I have a lot more opportunities in my life than I did 4 and a half months ago.

Yves had a good dance at the Turkish night !

There has been plenty to do here in Lille in the past 3 weeks.  For example, 2 weeks ago 2 Turkish short term volunteers with “Service Civique Internationale” (another local organisation that hosts and sends volunteers with EVS) hosted a Turkish evening (fr: une soirée).  Me and the Boss Yves went along and it was great fun.  We all talked, watched presentations about Turkey, ate a feast (!) of Turkish food, drank Turkish spirits and finally did Turkish line dancing.  I certainly slept well that night ! It’s making me hungry thinking about it.

 

Some Turkish Line Dancing !!!

Everyone at the Turkish evening chatting and eating

Presentations about Turkey

Turkish volunteers giving speeches (basically saying thank you)

As well as parties like this one, I also went to a small soul concert last Friday where there was a live bands with musicians and a singer … It was such a nice evening with a good bit of dancing too (and a few beers…).  And of course you can’t forget the dancing Salsa that I do fairly regularly … I may even try a new type of dancing this week hehe … Gotta love dancing !

One of the soul bands

Last week I also started my French evening classes to try and brush up a bit more.  I was so surprised in the advanced class that the teacher said I use a lot of familiar slang language, which is fine for communicating but not so much for exams … Oh well eh, I don’t plan on doing exams too soon ;-) I found that the intermediate class wasn’t a challenge at all but I will give it another go this week and see whether or not I can benefit from it.

With Eszter, a Hungarian Long Term volunteer

I have also recently started English workshops in my project with a whole new group of young people (I don’t know if I mentioned that in my last blog).  I now have in action 3 different workshops, for beginner, intermediate and advanced, which is great.  All the activities I am doing are mainly based on conversation practise and some listening (usually in the form of gap fills in song lyrics or watching scenes from programmes or movies).  I had a great class with the entire group of Leonardo volunteers last week who are due to leave the 5^th November for projects in Italy and Ireland. 

During the class we were discussing stereotypes and there were definitely certain stereotypes that arose regarding differences between England and France.  One of the true or false statements was “The British are not very passionate lovers”. LOL.  Well that started an interesting conversation.  I was asked questions about this statement and I explained from my experience that British are not so demonstrative of intimacy in public as the French (who I have seen on top of each other embracing .. fully clothed… in the park on many an occasion).  I explained that British are probably less likely to full-on snog (!) in public, to which one of the guys in the group replied “Ohhh so they are just hotter in their own homes” repeated a few times… It went from bad to worse, with a lot of laughs and my BRIGHT RED face hahaha.  They were then very interested to have my take on this statement hehe. Can I just reiterate, everyone in my workshops is around my age so we relate well to each other !

I actually just had a workshop for the intermediates yesterday afternoon, but unfortunately only one person turned up.  She is due to leave for a long term EVS project in February and it was great to have a one on one session actually.  At the first workshop she was very quiet with little confidence to speak up.  After an hour and a half today, she was really starting to make an effort to express herself in English and had shown great progress so I’m very happy!

Fun in the park last weekend (I didn't know these guys haha)

Me in the zoo ... I'd planned on doing exercise ;-)

Now I’m gonna head off … It's Tuesday morning and we have preparation today for a forum tomorrow.  I also have 3 more 2 hour workshops this week, which I need to ensure I'm fully prepared for.  I’ve got a lot to look forward to during my final few weeks on my project.  As well as within the project where I will be helping prepare the new group of volunteers as well as possibly helping on the project to open a Facebook page, I will go to London next weekend to see friends and family.  After that I have my only remaining free weekend when I may go to Belgium.  My weekends are then accupied by my parents coming to Lille, Noel visiting, going to Paris, Amie visiting and voilà … C’est fini !!! How time flies when you’re having fun !!!

9 Weeks to Go ... Eeeeek !!!

Wow, over 3 weeks since I wrote and I guess a lot has happened in that time (or at least it has felt like it !!!). As soon as I got into the second half of my project it seemed to start absolutely flying by, with each day flashing by in the blink of an eye.  So anyways, I have plenty I want to talk about, so I guess I should just get on with it, considering otherwise the day will just be over and I won’t know where it has gone ! Hehe.

Since I did my Mid-Term training I have started a couple of new English workshops, 1 with a couple of more advanced young people and one with a couple of beginners… All volunteers who are hoping to find EVS projects for 2012.  It has been nice working with pairs and I have found that I am finding it easier now to be more flexible in the delivery of my lessons.  The advanced is a little difficult, because I need to find things that really challenge them at their level and I still need to establish exactly how to do that.  With the beginners however, I am working through exercises such as telling the time, counting and the alphabet, as well as simple conversation that can be useful. 

I also did a workshop yesterday at “Service Civique International” in Lille (Civil Service) with a couple of volunteers who will be leaving the 1^st November for a month long project in Turkey.  In the 2 hours I was there, I helped them work through the preparation booklet I have prepared in English for volunteers who are due to be leaving on projects (which I have updated and adjusted this week to further improve it).  They seemed to find it useful as well as practicing their English at the same time, so I was content with the session.

Furthermore concerning English workshops, I’m looking forwards to next Friday afternoon, when I will be running a workshop with around 10 to 15 new Leonardo da Vinci volunteers coming from the Mission Locale de Douai.  They should hopefully be going on 10 week projects starting the beginning of November in Germany, Ireland and Italy (if I’m not mistaken).  Next Friday I will need to distribute the various documents I have prepared for Leonardo volunteers, as well as establishing each person’s level of English.  From the following week, the less developed English speakers will have 2 workshops a week and the more advanced will have 1 a week.  I am yet to decide exactly how to establish the levels of English but I will decide on my method within the next week :-)

I have been busy on other things within my project as well over the past 3 weeks.  For example, last week I was involved in a meeting at the “Centre Regionale d’Information de Jeunesse” of Lille (regional centre of information for young people), where planning was done for a “Dinner Quiz” at a forum that will be run for young people in the area to provide them with various information.  The quiz will involve questions on Europe in teams of around 8 sat at tables and round will be done whilst having a meal together.  The idea is to learn about Europe whilst eating and networking with new people.  In the meeting we discussed the planning of the event, including the types of questions that will be used and who will do what during the afternoon. It all sounds very exciting and I am looking forward to the day on the 12^th October.

The meeting at CRIJ in Lille

Furthermore, for all the people who work at the Mission Locale de Lille, I have written an article explaining what I have been doing since I arrived on the project with a bit about me, along with photos.  Obviously it’s in French hehe !!! Yves (my boss :-) ) has decided not to correct my mistakes 'cos then it’s truly an article from me … I hope I have done a good job hehe.  I have also started to work more closely with the volunteers here to help them to find projects abroad that may be recruiting… It helps that I can read in English quickly (all project descriptions are in English) and then translate for them into French so that they understand exactly what the project is about.

After a swim in the sea in Barcelona !

As well as all the exciting things that I have been doing on the project, personally I have been having a lot of fun as well.  Last week I was in Barcelona for 5 days (why not ey?!).  I met a friend there and we spent time relaxing on the beach, sampling local food and sight seeing.  It certainly is a very cultural and exciting city with beautiful architecture, though slightly too big and touristy for my liking.  I have also over the past couple of months in Lille really got into Salsa dancing !! It is becoming really quite a passion of mine.  I have always loved dancing but never really focused on it, so now I am really enjoying being able to dance with a partner … Although having mainly done hip hop and dancing on my own in the past I have to say it is really quite difficult to completely allow yourself to be lead ! :-) Although I think I am slowly improving :-) It’s just great fun to do and a brilliant way to meet new friends (and keep fit ... as long as I keep the beers in check...).

Me and my friend David at a great viewpoint in the centre of Barcelona :-)

During the next 9 or 10 weeks (the final weeks of my project) I still have plenty of things to look forward to.  In October I am starting French classes which will be very beneficial.  Tomorrow I’m going to Paris for the weekend; I’m going to London on 15^th October for a couple of nights, where I will see family, friends and the World Break Dancing Championships; my parents are coming for a 10 day holiday; my friend Noel is coming for a weekend; Graduation from university 22^nd November, and the final weekend of November my friend Amie is coming for the weekend… Yeeyyyy !!! :-D :-D :-D

Yes, it is clear that I am a busy bunny… At the same time as everything else, yesterday I finished my French CV and am starting to job search for the 1^st December… I’m not ready to go back to England :-) I’m loving life here too much !

Hope you have enjoyed reading… I’m now going to carry on with my “To Do List” for today.  Have a great day !!!  Bonne journée :D :D

Mid-Term Training

I can’t believe I am just about half way through my project already! Where did all the time go please??? Lol.  It’s absolutely flying by, but you know what they say… “Time flies when you’re having fun”.  And I am certainly loving every minute of being out here in France!  I just wish I had more time on this specific project in all honesty.

I arrived back from the South of France on Sunday evening (after a long train ride finishing with a LOT of very excited children who had just been to Disneyland).  I went from the Monday 22^nd August, and had my mid-term training the Monday to Thursday in a village called Sommières between Nîmes and Montpellier.  It was sooo quaint, with old buildings and a river, and really not a lot of people.  There was also a great night market, where suddenly all the streets came to life :-)

The mid-term training was completely different to the on-arrival training.  The on-arrival training had a big focus on welcoming us to the country and lots of linguistic activities.  This training was more focussed on what we had gained so far, if we had changed and possibilities after our projects.

Full Group Work :-)

To start with, we spent a good amount of time really getting to know each other.  It was really great being able to share and compare experiences with one another.  Every person’s experience on their EVS project differed greatly and so did what they had taken from their projects personally so far.  It was so interesting because there were many different countries represented among us; England, Spain, Germany, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Italy and a few others, meaning that our outlooks on our experiences also differed according to the country we had come from.  Talk about broadening horizons :-)

A work-in-progress - organising post-its for the pyramid

Another activity we did that I found incredibly beneficial was the Motivation Pyramid.  We had to reconsider our motivations from the on-arrival training and establish whether they had changed or not.  I found mine had definitely altered in terms of what I feel is important to me now compared with back in June.  We used post-it notes, with Green representing motivations we have met, Orange being those we hadn’t quite reached but were working on and Pink were those too difficult or impossible to obtain.

The Motivation Pyramid was an activity where we could work on our own and really reflect, but not all the activities were designed in this way.  On the Wednesday morning, we were taken to a table (outside in the beautiful sun), where there were boxes of rice, lots of balloons, some paper and scissors.  The leader told us we had 45 minutes to make 3 juggling balls each and to learn to juggle using a video on the computer.  There were also a couple of example balls on the table.  As you can imagine, straight away most people went storming in (me included) trying to do it alone.. Eventually, we worked together mainly in pairs and although people used many different techniques, we all succeeded in making the 3 balls (not so much in juggling hehehe).

Making the juggling balls (granted, a messy process)

This led on to us looking at the Youth Pass.  We evaluated the juggling exercise to realise the skills we used that we had already had, and those we gained through doing the exercise… Not necessarily concerning how to make the balls but skills such as initiative and team work.  These are skills we need to discuss when completely the Youth Pass, which will be a kind of summary of the EVS experience, signed by the tutor in the project.  It’s a way of demonstrating to future employers what you learned on your voluntary project and what responsibilities you had, so can really be quite beneficial :D So throughout the exercise we really started thinking about the skills we had already used in our projects, and I found it very refreshing to realise that I really have used a lot of beneficial skills, that not only did I have before, but ones I have developed since arriving.

My group presenting "Travailler en France"

Another activity we did, that we finished the training off with, was in groups we had to present a certain topic area that we researched to the rest of the volunteers.  In my group we researched working in France and found some really important information out.  Through this group work I also realised I would really like to live here when my project finishes, so I really hope that it is possible!!!

Justine and I out for a meal in the centre of Avignon

Following the seminar, everyone went their own ways and it was kind of sad to say bye to so many cool people! Despite this, I went to Avignon for 3 nights (the South of France is beautiful with great weather).  For years I’ve had a penpal online that I’ve never been able to meet (we had no money... no surprise there!).  Finally I could spend 3 nights with her, her boyfriend and friends, and it was great!  So thanks a lot to Justine for making my mini holiday down south great :D

It's a hard life...

For now, I’m back at La Mission Locale, full of energy and enthusiasm :D I know now that I have 3 months left and have to make the most of it, whilst really making the best of my free time to research how to stay in France from the 1^st of December.  Anyone got any ideas? :-)

Les Ateliers Anglaises – Les Débutantes !!!

Alors, il fait du soleil dehors et je suis dans mon bureau – typique !!! Mais je pensais… Il faut que je fasse mon blog de temps en temps en français.  Comme ça, je peux démontrer comment j’ai amélioré (ou si je n’ai pas… comme vous voulez !).  Depuis je suis arrivée, j’ai essayé très fort de parler souvent en français, mais c’est très difficile en fait.  D’abord, quand je parle avec beaucoup d’amis, ils disent « oooo il est nécessaire que je pratique mon anglais avec toi ».  En réponse, normalement je dis « mais une raison j’ai venu en France est pour mon français ».  Alors, ils ne comprennent pas héhé.  Aussi, il y a beaucoup d’autres volontaires qui parlent l' anglais couramment… Mais ils peuvent continuer de pratiquer l’anglais avec moi et le français… L’anglais est ma langue native !!!  Puis, même-si je comprends bien les conversations dans les groupes qui parlent le français, c’est près d’impossible de joindre quand ils parlent très très vite ! Donc j’ai décidé aujourd’hui que je dois pratiquer mon français.  Si vous voulez comprendre, on peut utiliser Google Translate :-P

Ok – Mes ateliers.  Aujourd’hui, je suis un peu triste (pas triste exactement mais je ne peux pas trouver un autre mot).  Pour mon atelier pour les jeunes qui peuvent parlé un peu d’anglais il n’avait personne qui est arrivé !  Mais je suis très contente avec mes débutantes ! Premièrement, c’étais très difficile avec mon préparation pour les débutantes… Comment on peut commencer les cours ?  Comment on peut s’engager les jeunes ?  Quels types de sujets ?  Combien de temps dans chaque exercice ?  Mais après beaucoup de recherche,  je décidais qu’une ambiance plus relaxé était mieux pour la première cour. 

Nous avons discutés qu’est-ce qu’ils veulent faire dans les ateliers.  Je veux qu’ils aient la confiance avec moi.  Après, j’ai fait un peu de travail avec les numéros et l’alphabet.  Bien sûr, leur connaissance de la langue n’est pas complètement comme un débutant.  C’est plus qu’ils ont oubliés beaucoup de choses après du lycée.  Finalement, j’ai fait 2 exercices avec le transport et les phrases très simples.  Je pense que c’étais un succès pour mon premier essaye.  Jai eu beaucoup d’attentes de moi-même et en fait j’étais contente.

Pour le 2iéme atelier, premièrement j’ai commencé avec un jeu avec les numéros… alors ce n’étais pas très excitant.  Toutefois, c’est toujours bien de pratiquer les numéros !!!  Quand j’ai dit les numéros, ils ont les notés… donc toute de suite ils ont pensés en anglais.  Après, j’ai fait un exercice avec l’alphabet, avec la question « peut-on épeler ……. s'il vous plaît ? »  . J’ai donné les listes de 5 objets de chaque jeune.   Ca marché bien je pense !  Après les numéros et l’alphabet, on a fait les exercices d’apprendre les meubles (avec un jeu) et finalement beaucoup de travail avec comment on peut dire l’heure !

La fontaine dans la grande place

Après les exercices, je pensais il a fait du soleil dehors, donc avec les jeunes j’ai marche sur la rue centrale.  Nous avons pris les photos avec mon appareil photo et discutés les noms des objets.  C’étais très utile pour les jeunes, parce que c’étais plus visuelle.  C’est positive parce quand on marche, on peut voir les trucs qui sont peut-être très importante dans les autres pays.  Par exemple, « les feus rouges / verts = traffic lights », « la gare = train station » ou « une poubelle = bin ». 

L'Opera de Lille

Après l’atelier, j’ai fait un dossier avec les photos et touts les nouveaux mots.  Je vais les donner des jeunes dans mon atelier prochain.  J’espère à l’ avenir, s’il fait beau, je vais faire plus dehors.  C’est plus intéressant, et pas juste pour les jeunes mais moi aussi !!!  Mais sans aucun doute, il pleut et il fait du vent ici plus de quand il fait beau! Mdr J

Plus de mes ateliers, je fais les autres choses dans mon projet.  Par exemple, j’ai aidé une jeune qui va partir ce vendredi pour un projet à Leeds en Angleterre.  Elle a eu les soucis avec quelques choses, donc j’ai les discuté avec elle, et j’ai appelé l’organisation d’accueil (Everything is Possible).  C’est aussi mon organisation d’envoi en fait !  En plus, j’ai envoyé les contrats pour les jeunes qui vont commencer les projets à l’étranger en Septembre, et j’ai fais un peu de préparation pour un nouveau page de FB pour la Mission Locale de Lille. 

Ok, maintenant je dois pratiquer un peu ma grammaire français (et peut-être si vous êtes français vous comprenez pourquoi !!) donc je vais finir.  Pour cette lecture, je n’ai pas utilisé soit mon dictionnaire soit mon livre de la grammaire, juste ma tête.  J’espère que vous avez bien compris, et prenez soin de vous.  A bientôt… Bisous (on doit donner les bisous héhé).    

Rue de Béthune - La rue centrale pour le shopping à Lille

2 Months Down, 4 To Go

I can’t believe how fast the time is flying at the moment.  How exactly did 2 months manage to pass already? It just seems like last week that I arrived here.  It has taken me until now to really start branching out in my life here and I am really starting to settle in.  I am getting to a point where I know the good places to go (mainly bars!), the best places to shop, where not to go, etc.  Although don’t get me wrong, I have so much more to discover yet!  I plan on making the best of my remaining 4 months here to do that.  I’ve finally started making friends with more French people too, which often proves to be difficult when I can really be quite shy at times with new people (you wouldn’t think so hehe), never mind when attempting to speak my 2^nd language.

Citadelle Park, 20 minutes walk from my place, 10 minutes from my office

In terms of the cultural differences here, there are so many! For example, in England when you clink glasses and say cheers when spending times with friends, you don’t necessarily look them in the eyes.  Here, when you say “Santé” (health) or what ever else, it is so rude not to look at each person individually in the eyes.  In fact, apparently it’s bad luck if you don’t and you will have bad sex for a certain period of time (really not making this up!).  It’s also rude if when shaking a person’s hand you aren’t looking at them in the eyes; something I just wouldn’t worry about in England.

Also, if you are out in a bar or relaxing with a big group of friends, you really would not know amongst that group who there was in a romantic relationship.  I met a group of Americans who had done some research on French romantic relationships and it appears they are so different to English or American relationships.  In England or the U.S.A., if you were out with your partner, regardless of who was there, you would probably most of the time be next to them, either holding hands or at least with some bodily contact (or at least in my experience and from discussions).  It’s almost like putting a stamp on that person and saying “they are mine” hehe.  Whereas here, it is far more relaxed.  You could be talking to many different people throughout the night (male or female) and at the end you will come back together, but not necessarily hold hands or anything until you are on your own.  There has been some interesting conversations about these differences!!!

The French also love their “Soirées”.  These are gathering at people’s houses, normally with a lot of beer (this is after all the region of beer, right next door to Belgium, with the Flemish influence).  Not that I complain… 1) It’s so easy to just relax and gossip at a person’s house and 2) It’s beer, what more is there to say!!!  Normally, most people will also have a cigarette in their hand.  Health campaigns do not seem to have an impact here – I’ve never seen so many people smoke!  There is always somebody outside our office “’avin a fag”… C’est dommage (it’s a shame)!

A beer in a relaxing bar :-) A "Monaco" and a "Desperados"

When not at house gatherings, why not hit the bars?! Lille has a great variety, from cheap relaxed bars near where I leave in an area called Wazemmes, to posh bars in Vieux Lille (the old part of the town).  This area has so many beautiful buildings, but everything is just a tad expensive.  However a great thing I’ve discovered there is Salsa!!!  Free lessons every week… amazing.  I’ve already seen a few salsa bars and had a couple of lessons… Gotta get my groove on!  My friends and I have decided that’s definitely our weekly “rendez-vous”: Mercredi, 20h, Baobab Café hehehehehehe.  Wow, I’m starting to sound like a tour guide!

A picnic with friends (on a rare sunny day)... I took the pic!

Another very French thing is that they love their picnics.  This was one of the first things anyone told me here.  If the weather is nice, grab a sarnie and nip to the closest park.  I often do this at the fountain at Beaux Arts… Just sit and relax whilst eating my lunch.  It’s a great way to unwind ready for an afternoon of work.  I also love just watching the world go by.

In terms of seeing any more of the country and other countries, I haven’t really travelled yet as I’ve been trying more to settle here, but all that is to come.  I may pop to Luxembourg in a week and a half (figured why not).  I’ll travel by Covoiturage (check it out online – you can share petrol costs) and Couchsurf for accommodation (stay for free on somebody’s sofa). I will also go to Montpellier (South France) in 2 and a half weeks for my midterm training and afterwards I will travel around the South for a few days.  I may even go into Italy for a couple of days if my funds allow me to.  Then in September, I’m going to Barcelona in Spain for 4 days. I also went to Brussels in Belgium back in June.  So I’m not doing badly really… You can really make a volunteer budget go far if you know how!

That’s all from me for now about cultural differences.  I shall update soon regarding how the project is going.  I can’t complain… I am very happy in my life in Lille, despite constantly being frustrated with my level of French!  But hey, slow progress is better than no progress at all.  Anybody who may think going to another country is a sure-fire way to learn the language is wrong. It takes hard work and motivation, with a lot of commitment, but it is all worth it!!!

Giving my first presentation in French :-)