French snapshot 2

So here we are again...the end of another week (I have now completed an entire month of my year abroad!) and another French life post. Enjoy!


Cultural Curiosities:

• things closing. Literally, things close at the craziest times here! I knew pretty much all shops close on Sundays in France, so I was prepared for this and bought milk etc. on Saturday ready, but have been caught out many other times with the weird opening hours of other places. For example, I went to the bank a total of 3 times to try and get my bank card, and discovered not only is it closed on Sundays, but also Saturday afternoons AND all day Monday too. Now Saturday I can vaguely understand, but Monday?! What is going on. Some places also close on Friday afternoons, such as the department secretary's office at uni...so basically, the French have a 3.5 day working week it seems
• Freshers, and student life in general. This is a pretty big difference, and mostly stems from the fact that most French students don't move away from home to go to uni, and so student life is much more like school. People go to uni in the day, and many go home to their parents in the evening: when I tell French students that I live with my friends at uni, and my parents live two and a half hours away, they find it really weird. Students just don't have the same expectations of uni here: they seem to see it mainly as simply a continuation of their education, whereas for us it's a chance to move away and gain independence, and a completely different way of life. This is probably most obvious in the lack of societies and events at French unis compared to British ones, and just the fact that life is a lot more 'normal' here when you're a student, as opposed to the all-consuming, once-in-a-lifetime, emotional roller coaster experience that I have experienced. I have to say, studying somewhere else has made me realise why so many foreign students come to Britain to study: British unis really are the best. They just are. I take pride in wearing my Exeter hoody round campus every once in a while, just to feel extra patriotic
• weighing vegetables. In supermarkets here you have to weigh your vegetables yourself on a little scale, and then stick the price on the bag before taking it to the till. This caught me out first time I did it, and I had to walk back down the queue with my head down all the way back to the fruit and veg section so I could weigh my 2 carrots

PS Last time I wrote about the curiosity of pedestrian crossings here, and how I had stopped thanking drivers when I crossed because no one else did. I thought you would all be pleased to know, I have now started doing it again, because I just think it's nice. I'm waving my little Union Jack as I cross the road (metaphorically, obviously) and trying to change the world, one wave at a time

Linguistic Lessons:

• prayer words. Praying in another language is something I hadn't really thought about before I came to France, but it's quite difficult! Mostly because we tend to speak slightly differently when we're praying, which is hard to replicate in a second language, and also because I realised I didn't know a lot of key prayer words! But having done some vocab research, listened lots to other people praying in French, and done some practise myself, I think I'm improving...my prayers don't consist of me repeating the same few words and phrases again and again at least!
• my conversation is definitely better already: I can slip in to speaking French much more easily, and am now much better at small talk and just generally chatting in French. I was very pleased when 3 people commented one Sunday at church on how good my French was! I also find it easier to think in French, and do that sort of 'running commentary' thing we do when we are doing something with other people...although I definitely still need some practise at that!
• understanding passers-by. I always used to find it really hard to understand snippets of conversation in French when I was back in the UK, but now that I'm here and so used to hearing French being spoken I've found that I'm sort of 'tuned in' all the time, and so can pick up phrases without really listening or intending to like I can in English, which is very exciting!

Things I'm grateful for:

• church. My church here has just been fantastic: everyone has been so friendly and welcoming, and I already feel really at home there. I'm so grateful for people's openness and willingness to chat, my life group, lots of French practise, and also lots of English speakers for a bit of a break! They're quite simply brilliant, and probably my biggest answer to prayer.
• printing. Some of you may know that printers and keys are my two arch nemeses (is that the plural of nemesis? nemeses?), but in the last couple of weeks I have discovered not just how to print on the initially insanely complicated uni printers, but also how to scan and print, AND how to scan and then email a document! I literally never thought I would ever learn how to do these things, and had seriously started planning how I was going to cope writing everything out by hand and then having to send it all by post, so I'm so happy I somehow managed to do it!
• letters. I have received a few letters in the last couple of weeks, and they're just such massive encouragements: looking in our postbox and seeing a letter or finding one on our kitchen table with 'Miss Katie Watson' written on the envelope, just completely brightens up my day! And I love having a legitimate reason to write to people and use my sealing wax and stamp, so that's a bonus. Hint hint people.

I've survived Week 1! And French life snapshot 1

So Week 1 is done!! I can't quite believe it to be honest! So in honour of this achievement, I am starting a new segment thingy to document my YA. Every few weeks I will do a post like this, with three sections: cultural differences I've noticed, language milestones or words and phrases I've picked up, and things I'm feeling grateful for. Consider it a little look into the world of the Frenchies (hence the name). Here goes!


Cultural Curiosities:

• organisation. This is a big one. I just, I can't even explain how illogical a lot of French bureaucracy is. And how ridiculously complicated. You know when you're nervous about doing something official like going to the bank or something in the UK, and you know it's silly, and once it's done you walk out and say 'well, that was easy!'. Those days are a think of the past for me, my friend. Only once have I even vaguely thought that here. I'm pretty sure most people in France rarely experience that feeling. I have many many more, but I'm going to give you just one example. We've been waiting all week for the uni to give us our timetables, and then the other day we discovered: we don't get timetables. The administrative people seem to have absolutely no knowledge regarding what modules we want to/can do - despite us having submitted 2 learning agreements with complete module lists on both - and therefore we have to choose our modules this week, then on Monday morning (when classes are meant to start...not sure what we do if we then discover we're meant to have a class then!) go and look on the massive emploi de temps boards with ALL the department's classes on (that's right, EVERY SINGLE ONE) and find the correct lecture, then go to each departmental secretary, inform them of our choices, and they will allocate us a seminar group. If we have a clash, we have to go back and ask to be put in a different group. No idea how they know whether we're going to classes we're actually allowed to go to (despite this relaxed system, there are still rules on what we can and can't take), or even how they know if we're going any to classes AT ALL. Anyway, that will be a fun experience!
• pedestrian crossings. I'm not sure if pedestrians actually have right of way at crossings, because most of the time cars just don't slow down, even if you are evidently waiting to cross/have actually starting crossing. So what's the point in having them? Also, the French don't seem to wave to say thank you to drivers when they let them cross...I've stopped doing it now, because the drivers looked at me confusedly, and now I feel really rude every time I cross the road
• bathrooms. Our flat has a toilet at one end of the flat, and a bathroom with a sink and shower at the other end. Apparently this is completely normal here, but I can't help thinking it's pretty unhygienic, and kind of weird. 

Linguistic Lessons:

• French people talk fast, and it's OK to not understand everything. I rarely understand every word someone says to me, but that's alright. I've only been here a week, and already I feel like my listening is so much better: I can pretty much always get the gist of things, and can understand each word if I really really think about it, but then of course I miss the next bit. The point isn't to dissect every verb of tense use, but to concentrate on being able to work out the main meaning and then to respond appropriately. I find that the more I do that, the more comfortable I feel interacting in French, and the easier it is.
• coucou and tac. These are two words that I have heard used a fair bit 'on the street' here (this is obviously not literal...I have not become some edgy, alternative, cool person since moving to France). My flatmate says coucou a lot as a sort of less formal version of 'hi', kind of like we would say 'hiya' or something in the UK. The other word is tac, which I think is less of a word and more of a sort of 'filler', like we say 'so' or 'well'. French people seem to use this in all sorts of contexts, but it seems to used predominantly when they are completing a step-by-step task, and they accomplish a stage. For example, if they are filling in a form, they say tac after they finish a section: sort of like we say 'there we go' in a running commentary as we do something. I feel like saying these things will make me sound very Frenchified, so I'm working up to using them...I'm just a bit scared I will use them wrong and look like an arrogant English girl trying to be too clever, and instead falling flat on her face.
• the more you listen, the better your accent will inherently become. I haven't been consciously focusing on my accent or pronunciation, or been doing any specific listening practise, but just from being here I feel like I have absorbed the French accent, and I'm starting to hear and feel the benefits in my own speech (I know saying it 'feels' easier might sound a bit weird..I mean the sounds are easier to make now, for example the French 'r').

Things I'm grateful for:

• my fantastic family and friends at home. It's true that you really find out how much you love the people you love when you're away from them, and even more so when you are going through something hard. My family and friends have supported me in the best way possible, by remembering what I'm doing, sending encouraging messages, praying for me and clearing their schedules to skype or chat to me. I would not be coping like I am without their backing!
• our amazing mentors here in Rennes. My marraine was so happy to help out with anything, and gave me her number to text with anything, and Ellie's godmother took us for lunch and then helped me open a bank account...a complicated and confusing process which would have been much more so without her there to explain things to me! Also, my lovely flatmate, who has been so patient with my ums and ahs and grasping around for verb forms and phrases, taught me new words, and helped me understand French culture when I was confused. And she has always been there for a chat when I felt homesick, which has made our flat feel much more homely!
• friendly French people who understand I need them to speak SLOWLY and CLEARLY. Some French people seem to have two settings when it comes to non-French speakers: carry on speaking French as quickly as you would to a native and expecting you to just keep up, or 'I'm going to speak English because I fail to acknowledge the fact that you might actually have the ability to speak my language, because you're English'. Obviously this is definitely not ALL French people, just some. And it's super annoying. So I am very grateful for friendly assistants who accept that I'm English but trying my best to speak French, bear with me and try to understand what I mean!
• I can watch Bake Off here. And Ellie loves it just as much as I do, so I have someone to watch it with who takes it all as seriously as I do. Enough said: I'm over the moon.

I feel like the image of Mary, Paul, pastry and the tent is a good one with which to leave you...so until  the next time, mes amis!