To say I haven’t posted in a while would be quite an understatement – unfortunately I’m not too good at maintaining this blog, but I did write loads of draft posts before so I’ll be editing those before putting them up.
It’s surprising how time flies – I’m halfway into Term 2 now and in three weeks the Easter holidays will be here! After the initial difficulties of settling into French academic life the past term, Term 2 has gone really well and I’ve kept myself busy. On the academic front all my classes this term are new ones – for geography I’m doing a Year 2 Geography module in Cultural Geography, and three other Year 3 ones: Mutation des Campagnes dans le Monde (about changing environments in the world today), Developing Countries in Asia, and Humanitarian Aid and Development. I’m also doing a history module on the economic relations of the EU, Spanish for beginners and a literature translation class (French to English)! It’s a nice mix of modules and I really like all the classes that I’m taking this term and I think being able to pick a range of courses is really one of the strengths of the ERASMUS programme as well as testament to the wide range of classes on offer at the Sorbonne.
Apart from classes I’m also working nine hours per week… as a babysitter and English teacher, which has been more tiring than I imagined. It’s fun working with kids but also a huge commitment, though I really do like drawing up lesson plans and trying to coax the kids I teach to speak only in English to me and not French! As one of the families I work for live in Versailles I’ve visited the area several times so far, albeit not having seen the Chateau of Versailles before, which is still very much on my Paris to-do list.
Versailles on Monday afternoons is quiet and rather deserted – it didn’t help either that when I visited for the first time it was a gloomy day, contributing to the rather sombre mood. It seems that many of Versailles’ inhabitants actually work in Paris and commute from the town, and that it mostly thrives on tourist activity during the weekends, explaining perhaps why all the shops and restaurants were closed. It felt very surreal to be honest, as if I was the only person amongst towering old buildings.
meandersandbends 